AdSpyPro Pre-Launch Available
Filed Under Affiliate Marketing, Google, Google Adwords, Yahoo, Yahoo Search Marketing | Comments Off
AdSpyPro has won the race by releasing a new way of monitoring other affiliates’ PPC efforts in the same way that UnderCoverProfits does. There are some clear differences between the two programs, most notably the price. AdSpyPro pre-launch is being released at the super low price of $47.
The other major difference between AdSpyPro and UnderCoverProfits is that Ad Spy Pro doesn’t have a subscription fee or limits on the number of keywords you can monitor.
They can do this because they are releasing the software package for installation on the end user’s server. They will install it for you for $30 extra. This means you have to pay the server costs, but you will not have to pay $300 a month like those who are currently subscribed to UnderCoverProfits.
To tell you the truth I am one of those people who have been using UnderCoverProfits, but I just made a purchase of Ad Spy Pro. I am looking forward to saving that $300 a month in fees from Under Cover Profits.
I am not sure if it will have all the features of UnderCoverProfits, but at that price it doesn’t have to. If you want to check it out here is the link: http://adspypro.income-booster.info/
Testing AuctionAds Advertising Platform
Filed Under Adsense, AuctionAds, Google, Yahoo, Yahoo Publisher Network | Comments Off
If you take a look at the sidebar on my blog you will see an advertisement served up by the AuctionAds advertising platform. AuctionAds launched about 3 months ago. It is the brainchild of ShoeMoney as a way for affiliates to earn top tier commissions from eBay by pooling everyone’s efforts together.
Ebay pays high volume publishers a much better percentage of sales than they pay to lower level publishers. Shoemoney estimates they are generating about 400,000 clicks per day through their new AuctionAds platform. That is an incredible amount of volume.
If you sign up as an eBay affiliate on your own here is the commission structure you will be faced with:
Revenue Share Compensation
eBay Revenue Compensation
$0 – $99.99 50%
$100.00 – $4,999.99 55%
$5,000.00 – $199,999.99 60%
$200,000.00 – $699,999.99 65%
$700,000.00 – $2,999,999.99 70%
$3,000,000.00 + 75%Active Registered User (ACRU)
ACRUs Compensation
1 – 49 $25.00
50 – 1,999 $28.00
2,000 – 29,999 $31.00
30,000 + $35.00
This in itself makes it clear why Auction Ads is such a good idea. By pooling many affiliates traffic together AA (AuctionAds) are able to maintain the top tier commission payout of 75%. That is 25% better than what someone starting out on their own would earn. This is one of the reasons why AA has over 17,000 users at just 90 days running.
Ad Widgets
To make things simple for publishers who are used to running Adsense ads, AA has provided ad blocks that are formatted in all the same sizes as adsense advertisements. There is no need to reformat your Adsense site to incorporate AA or a combination of AA and Adsense.
Referral Program
To make the deal even sweeter for publishers, AA has integrated a referral program into their ad units. Most everyone knows that Google’s Adsense has benefitted from free advertising on all of its publisher sites by incorporating a link to a sign up page on each and every Adsense unit. That notorious “Ads by Gooooooogle” is really just a link to get other publishers to sign up. Google has never offered it’s publishers any compensation for this referral program. Yahoo Publisher Network does the exact same thing.
Auction Ads explains how their referral program is different:
With AuctionAds, we don’t want you to worry about the loss of revenue caused by the branding we use to identify the ad units as ads on your site. So we have implemented a referral program that is imbedded right into your ad units. So anytime anyone clicks on the “Ads by AuctionAds†and signs up for the program, you will earn 2% of those new publisher’s earnings. Pretty sweet deal. This means every single click made from our ad units, even the clicks on the “Ads by AuctionAds†gives you the potential to earn money.
I will be testing AuctionAds on this blog over the next few weeks to see what my readers think. I am not sure if the products offered will be useful to you all. As in everything, you will all vote with your wallets, and in time I will report to you if AuctionAds are really a money maker or not.
The ShoeMoney vs. SEOmoz Link Discosure Debate
Filed Under Adsense, Affiliate Marketing, Blogs, Link Discosure, Pay Per Post, Yahoo Publisher Network | Comments Off
Everyone seems to be talking about the link disclosure debate between ShoeMoney’s Jeremy Schoemaker and SEOmoz’s Rand Fishkin. They are debating whether disclosure is necessary when a paid review is posting on a blog, or when an affiliate link is used for a recommended product. I think this gets down to two distinct issues.
- Whether or not paid reviews posted on blogs should be disclosed as paid reviews. These are the reviews where a company pays the blogger directly or through an intermediary like Sponsored Reviews, PayPerPost and ReviewMe
- Whether or not an affiliate link should be disclosed if a product is being recommended.
Paid Blog Reviews
I want to discuss the paid blog reviews first. Currently both ReviewMe and Sponsored Reviews require paid reviews to be disclosed as such. PayPerPost does not require disclosure. I feel disclosure is up to the blogger and Rand Fishkin agrees with me on this:
OK, let me first say that I agree with Jeremy’s opinion about blogger disclosure policies or some sort of blog organization that lords over bloggers with codes of conduct. I’m not a fan of it in the SEO world, and I’m not a fan of it in the blogosphere either. It’s up to individual bloggers to decide and individual audiences to trust or reject what they read.
The essence of this issue is trust. Can readers trust a blogger’s message if they are getting paid to write? I think that depends on the blogger. A blogger with integrity will write their true opinion of a product or service whether they are paid or not. If a blogger writes a positive review of a product they would not themselves use, then they are being dishonest to their readers. As Fishkin says, the readers will have to decide for themselves whether they can trust the blogger’s opinion.
Jeremy Schoemaker writes the following opinion:
In fact every time I see a blog post or basically anything including conversation I assume someone is benefiting from mentioning the product they are talking about. Even if they are not paid directly for reviewing or mentioning the product directly I assume they are hoping the users find the information useful or maybe even the product owner will see the review and pay them in the form of mentioning them back or advertising on there site…
…So basically my disclosure policy is you should assume I am getting paid for or will get paid for anything I ever mention…
…I think these blogger disclosure policies while noble and all that good stuff are extremely silly. Everyone gets paid one way or another.
Schoemaker makes the point that you should assume he is making money from everything he mentions, so there is no need for disclosure. While I don’t agree with the premise of his position that everything is paid for everything they write, I do agree that no one should be required to do anything. I am not currently paid for what I write on this blog. I offer my honest opinion on subjects I have knowledge of. But I do believe in the blogger’s freedom to choose whether they want to disclose or not. It is no one’s business but the blogger’s, and they are the one who has to decide.
Why would anyone disclose at all if it is the blogger’s prerogative? Bloggers will disclose when they feel it is necessary because they want to build the trust of their readers. If readers do not trust a particular blogger’s opinion they will move on to another blog they can trust. Popularity in blogging is all about the trustworthiness of the information that is presented. Bloggers who use the pay per post services have to do a balancing act of choosing companies and products that their readers will be interested in and those they can honestly recommend. I think readers will smell a dishonest blogger a mile away. Once they do, they will never come back.
Affiliate Link Disclosure
The second issue being discussed is whether or not affiliate links should be disclosed as affiliate links when a product is recommended on a blog or a website. While there are some instances when the disclosure of a link as an affiliate link can be advantageous, as a rule I don’t think it is necessary.
The same rules that govern the trustworthiness of a blogger also govern disclosure of affiliate links. If the blogger is simply promoting anything and everything they can make money from through an affiliate program and omitting everything that doesn’t have an affiliate program, then the reader should use his brain and read someone else’s review or recommendation. The onus is on the consumer of information to consider the source. If the source is considered trustworthy, then the advice is assumed solid. If not, then find another source.
The debate about link disclosure has long been fermenting and is just now coming to a head. As more and more pay per post programs crop up, the affiliate marketing and internet marketing community have to come to grips with what they consider ethical.
I trust the market in these circumstances, and I believe the paid reviews market has spoken on the issue of disclosure. Two of the three pay per post programs mentioned above require some form of disclosure of a paid review. None of the affiliate networks I know of require the disclosure of a link as an affiliate link. Most advertising platforms like Google Adsense and Yahoo Publisher Network have integrated disclosure into their ad units. The market deems disclosure necessary is most cases, except for affiliate links.
Rigorous debate is a sign of a healthy community, but I would oppose any legal requirements because they would infringe on the freedom and rights of the individual blogger. I think this is something that both Fishkin and Schoemaker would agree on.
Yahoo Search Marketing Launches Quality-Based Pricing
Filed Under Affiliate Marketing, Internet Marketing, MSN, Quality Score, Search Engine Marketing, Yahoo, Yahoo Search Marketing, adCenter | Comments Off
Yahoo just announced that they will begin offering discounts on clicks from their Sponsored Search and Content Match network of websites. They are going to discount clicks based on the quality of traffic their search affiliates and content network websites provide. They are calling this “quality-based pricing“.
“Quality” is calculated based on conversion rates and other measurements of the ability to deliver more interested and valuable customers to you from particular distribution partner sites. Discounts will be automatically applied to your account.
Apparently click discounts will start taking place today and they will be automatically credited. No changes by the end user are necessary. We will all begin receiving a discount on clicks. Who can complain about that? How significant that discount will be remains to be seen, but I hope some readers will post their experiences in the comments.
Those who extensively use the content network and Yahoo search affiliates will likely see the lion’s share of the discounts. Yahoo is recognizing that their search affiliates and content network do not provide the same level of quality that the standard search results offer.
Everyone who has done any significant search marketing already knows this, but it is interesting that Yahoo would come right out and admit it. I think it is a good move in the direction of greater transparency. Yahoo is continuing to roll out improvements to their Panama platform. Preliminary results are good, but whether or not they will increase market share remains to be seen.
I find myself thankful that Google is not the only game in town. Competition is good for everyone. Now if MSN could just get their search marketing platform in order, we might see some serious innovation.
Viral Marketing – a number’s game
Filed Under Affiliate Marketing, Internet Marketing, Viral Marketing | Comments Off
Viral Marketing expert David Meerman Scott sent out a press release stating that viral marketing should be viewed in the same terms a venture capitalist thinks about new start-up companies. Scott says it is simply a numbers game.
Successful viral marketing campaigns are amazing, because a website or a company that was virtually unknown, can become a household name in a matter of days. The problem is no one knows which viral marketing campaigns the public will reward and which they will chide into oblivion.
Scott says that while it is difficult to purposely create viral marketing buzz, it is certainly possible. “The way to create viral programs is a lot like the way venture capitalists invest in start-up companies and studios create films,” he says. “A typical VC has a formula that states that most ventures will fail, a few might do OK, and one out of twenty or so will take off and become a large enterprise that will pay back investors many times the initial investment. Record companies and movie studios follow the same principles, expecting that most of the projects that they green-light will have meager sales but that the one hit will more than pay back the cost of a bunch of flops. It’s the same with viral marketing campaigns.”
Scott says it may take up to 20 flops before a company finds a winner. He reassures skeptics that one successful campaign will more than pay for the cost of producing all the losers. I think he is right.
David Meerman Scott is the author of the book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to use news releases, blogs, podcasts, viral marketing & online media to reach your buyers directly”.