Latest Google Rules Hit Affiliates

By John Hartley

Google has changed its rules affecting Adwords advertising, as it does every so often. This time it is getting tough on the use of the display URLs for adverts. The display URL must match the actual destination URL exactly.

Where's the problem? Well, the easiest way to advertise as an affiliate is to link your advert directly to the merchant's page. You used to be able to do that so long as your URL was different from the merchant's URL, which you could do with a tinyurl redirect URL or a redirect page.

Generally, the merchant advertises using his own URL, so you can't use it. If he does not advertise, then you have a chance of using it. But to do so you will need to compete with a lot of other hot marketers. Why? Because Google only allows any URL to appear once in the adverts for any keyword.

Affiliates now need their own websites

This means that affiliates will be obliged to have their own websites, and to do well, each website will need to have the keyword in it somewhere. This will make it very difficult for people who market hundreds of products, purely through direct-link advertising.

There is really no choice but to have a web page of some sort for each product. Again, to do well, that page will need to be rated highly by Google, otherwise you will pay a lot for your adverts. The solution is to market several products in one niche, and use a domain name that matches the niche.

In other words, your landing page, which is where you send the prospects from the advert, will need to have plenty of text about the thing you are selling. If you selling a dog training guide, the page will need to be about dog training.

Will redirect pages work?

One sneaky way around it is to use a redirect page, which has some JavaScript code in the head which redirects people to the merchant's page. To pass the test of relevance, that page will also need to have at least 300 words of keyword-rich text about the product you are selling, or that market.

Search engines do not read JavaScript when ranking web pages, but there is nothing to stop Google setting up robots for Adwords that do read JavaScript, or at least flag a problem, and rate the page badly so you end up paying more. This is a possibility. Some people suggest that you will get banned. I'm a bit doubtful myself because Google makes nearly all its money from Adwords adverts, and wants to keep it that way. But it is probably not worth risking.

Is this big business vs the small guy?

Some folk think that this is the big corporations ganging up to push the small man out. Well, it might be, and it will not help the small operator, because it is much easier for a multi-million dollar company to set up plenty of landing pages for products than it is for a small guy.

It looks to me as if Adwords advertisers are getting the same bullet that Adsense publishers got a couple of years ago, and guess what? The solution is the same. Make sure that you do send the prospect to a landing page that is relevant to your advert, and provide a way for him or her to sign up for your list at the same time.

That way, you will be turning a problem into an opportunity, and that is the secret of success in business.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

For FREE reports and the latest reviews of affiliate marketing products and services go to www.reallyusefulmarketing.com - which is run by John Hartley.

Take Your Photography Expertise To The Internet And Rake In The Big Bucks

By Sen Ze

Photography is a hobby that is loved by many, but very few people actually turn to it as a full-time career, as it is often considered to be a hard field in which to become successful. But much like any other path you take in life, if you're willing to work hard to make it work and you're willing to take the necessary steps to ensure your triumph, you can't go wrong.

And when it comes to photography, one of the very necessary steps you should take is to give your business an online presence. With so many advancements in recent technology, people are going online for almost everything these days - and photography is no exception.

In fact, as a photographer, you stand the most to gain from the progression of the Internet! Never before has it been so easy to share your photos with millions of people around the world - and with something as simple as starting your own domain and blog on photography, you can greatly boost your financial and career prospects!

1. Share, Comment And Learn
One of the most important benefits you will gain with your own domain and blog is the chance to share your photographs with the rest of world in an easy and effective manner that you simply cannot do any other way. You literally reach out to millions of people - a big jump from being able only to share them with your friends, family and peers.

And by sharing your photos with people, you also have the chance for them to comment and give their views, much like they would comment on a blog post. By creating a network of like-minded individuals who visit your blog to see your photographs (and you visit theirs too, of course), you can hone and perfect your skill based on their input.

2. Make Money Selling Photos
Of course, you also want to make money, and that is another big aspect of getting yourself a website. By displaying smaller sized (and watermarked, for added security) photos on your website, you can give people the opportunity to purchase high-quality images that they like simply by setting up a shopping cart and merchant credit account. Thus, your visitors can buy directly from you using their credit cards, and you can make money in your sleep!

3. Make Money Selling Your Expertise
Another way for you to make money is to sell your expertise in photography. After many years in the business and with a lot of experience under your belt, you will no doubt have many jewels of knowledge to share with other budding photographers. With your own domain, you have the opportunity to turn this knowledge into cash, and here are two easy ways to do it.

Firstly, you can sell information via e-mail. In return for a monthly membership fee (to join your mailing list), you can send weekly or daily e-mails to your customers outlining photography tips and tricks that you have picked up. This is a useful way of earning recurring income for a minimal amount of work, since your e-mails can be pre-written and stored to be sent out automatically.

Another way to sell your information is to write short electronic books (in PDF format, for example, as you save a lot of money on printing and distribution) that cover a certain aspect of photography that you are an expert in. Since people who visit your website are clearly interested in photography, they are the best prospects for you to market your book to, again saving you money on marketing and advertising costs!

4. Build A Reputation
In any business, the more people that know you, the better it will be for your career. Photography is certainly no different, and one of the best ways to get people to notice you is to get a domain that is your own name. Thus, anyone that visits your website will know who you are and all about your expertise in photography. Over time, this prominence on the Internet will turn into greater opportunities in the physical world.

As you can see from the benefits above, turning to the Internet is an indispensable option for all photographers. Most importantly, however, since budding photographers often don't make much money, it is important to note that getting a domain and blog is incredibly easy and cheap to start up and maintain.

With so many benefits at such a small price, it's no wonder that many photographers have already turned to the Internet. Isn't it about time that you, too, jump on the bandwagon?

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Sen Ze and his 1-of-a-kind sites at www.SenZe.com (where else?) and www.SOLOBIS.com help you make money online in ways you've never known. Discover how to make money with your hobby within days, starting with a dotcom version of your name!