May 18

How to Build an Affiliate Site You Can Sell for $1M

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Now that’s a catchy headline, eh.

But wait, there’s more…

Seriously, this is a very good analysis about how to value a website. And how to do the right things in order to add value to a website.

“In the vein of Warren Buffet’s Advice to SEOs, I’ll admit that the following strategems have also served me well:

* Structuring sites so that the ads are the content
* Building traffic of visitors who are in the buying cycle
* Finding affiliate merchants who don’t operate at CJ
* Partnering with reliable, honest people whose talents complement (not overlap with) my own“

Jan 08

Testing Yahoo! Publisher

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Loren Baker has switched over to Yahoo! Publisher, and is recording his experiences.

“Search Engine Journal has decided to take the plunge to go 100% YPN in order to get an honest feel of the system, its performance, ease of use and customer service.�

Loren echos what many say about relevancy, which, at times, can be a little on the irrelevant side. However, get this:

“Monday evening I sent off an email to Margaret Holland, my customer representative at Yahoo Publisher Network (Margaret appears in this video about YPN which I recommend that all bloggers & publishers take the time to view).

Ms. Holland shot me back an email early that morning stating that the relevancy problem had been fixed and she would be monitoring Search Engine Journal throughout the day to enhance the contextual targeting. Now that my friends is excellent and swift customer service!�

That’s pretty impressive. To be fair, Google Adsense have always treated me well, but it would be nice to get that level of contact and assistance.

Jan 08

Advertising Will Disappear

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Dave Winer has posted a thought-provoking piece on the future of advertising. According to Dave:

“When they finish the process of better and better targeted advertising, that’s when the whole idea of advertising will go poof, will disappear. If it’s perfectly targeted, it isn’t advertising, it’s information�

Which jives nicely with Google’s thinking, and switched-on Adsense advertisers: Adsense IS content, and it is good content if it provides information at the point the user wants it. A shame, really, that Google won’t give us webmasters more control over that content.

But Dave doesn’t think that we’re quite there yet.

“Targeting� customers is the wrong metaphor for the future. Instead make it easy for the people who lust for what you have to find you. How? 1. Find out what they want, and 2. Make it for them and 3. Go back to where you found out about it, and tell them it’s available.�

Ah - you don’t need me to contextialize it :) Read it now. I’d be really interested to hear your comments.

Jan 08

Internet Gambling Goes Into Meltdown

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It will soon be illegal for American banks and credit card companies to process payments to online gaming companies. The new law will make it vitually impossible to operate online gambling companies in the US.

“The bill, a compromise between earlier versions passed by the two chambers, would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites. Democrats had accused Republicans of pushing the bill to placate its conservative base, particularly the religious right, before the 7 November congressional elections“

Some websites went further and described the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 “a spectacular display of hypocrisy, meaningless toadying to right-wing zealots, and a blatant attempt to protect the horse racing, tribal casino, and state lottery lobbies�.

Jan 08

What People Want

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  • What I want is anonymous upload
  • What I want is the ability to specify “use the browser defaultâ€?
  • What I want is something much simpler and much more integrated
  • What I want is rel=â€?spammerâ€?
  • What I want is a phone/addressbook/personal schedule AND no more
  • What I want is a laser-based shower add-on that zaps hair from any part of the body
  • What i want is the insects not the group
  • What I want is an internet application with a desktop frontend, with a choice of providers you can plug into
  • What I want is a Bluetooth digital hearing aid
  • What I want is a proper cup of coffee
  • What I want is to constantly discover new ideas, new restaurants, new places to go
  • What I want is not that important, and no one cares anyway
  • What I want is a super simple way to buy an amp and speakers (of good quality) and just plug them into a box that in turn, talks wirelessly to all of my PC’s and/or hard disks
  • What I want is a laptop that does not require electricity
  • What i want is a little award, about as long as a banner, but a little thicker
  • What I want is a good digital lifestyle and technology magazine
  • What I want is a lot simpler than that
Jan 08

Could A Three Year Old Use Your Web Site?

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Put it another way - are Ebay the usability kings of the internet?

“3-Year-Old Buys Pink Convertible on Internet.

The brief account states that a British three-year-old named Jack Neal had managed to purchase, and briefly “own,� a Nissan Figaro pink convertible. The desirable car was Pepto Bismol pink—so you can all see what the appeal would be to a toddler.

Jack’s mother, Rachel, told the BBC in an interview that she had left her eBay password in her computer. Her son had apparently found it and used the “buy it now� option to complete his transaction. Jack bought the car from a dealership near Worcestershire, England for 9,000 pounds, or approximately $17,000 U.S. dollars.“

Rule #1 - Never make it difficult for people to give you money. Or “treat your users like three year olds�. Or something.

Talking of usability, this is as good a summary as any - design your web site like a Casino.

  1. Casinos have no windows because they don’t want gamblers getting distracted. Just like casinos, you want to remove the cool features and unnecessary links on your website so visitors don’t get distracted and start wondering off.
  2. Free booze and rooms is a great way casinos attract people. Offering some sort of freebie on your website is a great way to attract and retain visitors. Once you have them on your website then you can try to convince them to purchase something.
  3. When you first walk into a casino slot machines and tables are in your face. Make sure your call to action such as a “buy it now� button is visible and in your visitors’ face.
  4. Casinos have a specific atmosphere that causes people to be energetic and gamble. The gambler is usually making decisions based on emotion instead of logic. With your website you want to create the same effect through design, color, and content. Make these elements play on the visitor’s emotions so that he or she spends their money without thinking about shopping around.�

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