Author: Glenn

The Web Design Process

Post author By Glenn
Post date November 18, 2010

Source: Sitepoint.com

Today’s post is the first in a series of three where we’ll look at how to get started with creating your web design layout. If you’re new to web design, a blank screen or piece of paper can sometimes be a scary thing if you have no idea where to start. So, the idea of these posts is to help you develop a process for creating your designs.

So what’s the first step in a typical design process? As a designer you will be rarin’ to go but what do you do? Jump into Photoshop? Start picking out fonts you like? Fire up Notepad or Dreamweaver? No, you need to drop the keyboard and step away from the computer, buddy. The very first step you need to take is to find out what your client wants and/or needs (not always the same thing). If you’re making a web site for yourself, then YOU are the client and you need to figure out what you want and/or need.

Read more about the Web design process…

Tags web design

Search Engine Marketing News

SEOs Ponder

Post author By Glenn
Post date November 18, 2010

Source: ClickZ

If I am ever asked to simplify what it takes to be successful in search engine optimization, I come back to two simple rules…quality, unique and resourceful content, and gaining quality links, pointing to appropriate pages of your website.

If I am allowed to go a little deeper in my explanation, I’ll get into proper site architecture, coding, internal linking, and all the other fun stuff that we get to consider on a daily basis.

There are some bloggers out there who will argue that “all you need is a bunch of links” and others, still, who say that “all you need to do is set up a WordPress website and generate a bunch of content.”

Read more about SEO…

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Affiliate Marketing News

How Google Will Dominate CPA Affiliate Marketing

Post author By Glenn
Post date November 18, 2010

Source: ReveNews

Affiliates have a lot to worry about these days. Advertisers themselves are busy divying up affiliates’ commissions among themselves. The The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division issued a ruling on the so-called Amazon Tax that wasn’t the most positive for the industry. But there’s another burning issue that the industry should be watching which deserves an update: How Google is crowding out AdWords advertisers, as well as advertisers from other affiliate networks, by swapping cost-per-click ads with cost-per-action image ads from Google Affiliate Network (GAN) advertisers.

By placing cost-per-action (affiliate) image ads in the space where AdWords ads traditionally appear, Google is elevating it’s Google Affiliate Network. And it’s tapping into a new revenue stream. As I see it, ValueClick’s (VCLK) Commission Junction unit is suffering, so is Rakuten’s LinkShare. As are retail advertisers who choose to not work with Google’s GAN. In fact, I feel, they’re under increasing pressure to make a switch.

Tags affiliate marketing

Copywriting News

Copywriting For Affiliate Offers

Post author By Glenn
Post date November 14, 2010

Quality ad copy should support and enhance the graphics that are being used to promote a product. Text and imagery should work synergistically. For example, while at the affiliate network, The Useful, I was tasked with designing and writing the ad copy for a landing page featuring baby products. The domain name was GetMyFreeBabyStuff.com, so the target market was low- to middle-income women.

I knew that I had to build trust and communicate a benefit quickly. My approach involved placing the headline under the site’s logo, which was heavily stylized, giving it a branded feel. The headline, “Be good to your baby,” appealed to every mother’s need to raise her child well. Pictures of happy babies pointed to two content boxes. One box featured the baby products and used the call to action, “Get a baby product, FREE (with completion of program requirements).”

Below the call to action was an additional statement. The purpose of the statement was to reinforce every mother’s need to keep her baby happy. This statement read, “Be a good parent. Pick a product.” In a content box to the right of this ad copy was the email submission form that would route site visitors into a registration path.

Each visitor would then have to opt-in to several offers to qualify for the chosen baby product. Traffic was driven to the landing page through various publishers, as well as with a radio spot running in our target markets. The publishers were very enthusiastic about the baby offer. They pushed quite a bit of traffic to it and made money on it. The landing page can be viewed here.

Tags copywriting