Archive for August, 2008



Track Adsense Clicks on Google Analytics ???

Sunday 24 August 2008 @ 2:23 pm

I read in Digital Inspirations blog that AdSense click tracking is now in integrated in Google Analytics (Beta Stage). I am still not quite sure whether how old the news was, since I cannot find the “news” from the site he is referencing into.

Anyway I made a couple of Googling that lead me to Bloglines referencing screenshots to the original blog post. The buzz is really out adsense publishers can soon track their adsense click earnings from google analytics.

Here are more info.

These new reports in Analytics have enough details to help you exactly measure AdSense performance on every single page of your website.

Google dropped hints on AdSense - Analytics integration some two years but the program has finally entered the beta phase as revealed by a post on GoogleCache (offline now).

Luckily the story remained in FeedDemon’s cache and picking from there, following is a summary of AdSense related data that you’ll be able to track via Google Analytics:

1. The number of times AdSense ads were clicked on any given web page.

2. AdSense revenue generated per page for clicks mentioned in #1.

3. You’ll also know the CTR and CPM for all web pages - no need to create individual URL channels in your AdSense dashboard.

4. “Top AdSense Referrers” - this is the most interesting report as it helps you know about revenue made per referring websites.

Let’s take an example. Assume two sites - digg.com and cnn.com - have linked to a page on your website and are sending some referral traffic. Now Analytics will tell you exactly how much AdSense revenue you are making through traffic from each of these sites.

This report has enormous potential as it lends a “measurable” value to each incoming link. Some sites could even use this as a replacement for affiliate programs.

All the above information is based on screenshots that were shared by Google Cache but that story is no longer available on the web.

Screenshots. Click the pic to view in full.

adsense-analytics integration adsense-analytics integration 2 adsense-analytics integration 3 adsense-analytics integration 4 adsense-analytics integration 5

I hope that the Google Adsense-Analytics integration will be out soon so that we can benchmark our earnings more precisely.

Live life. The purpose of life is to be alive.
James

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Adsense for Feeds

Saturday 23 August 2008 @ 5:09 pm

If you are an Adsense Publisher like me you might have noticed that Google has already launched Adsense for Feeds. I have not yet set up mine yet. I am still weighing whether it will be good for my visitors or not.

According to Google Adsense here are the major benefits of Adsense for Feeds.

# Receive higher CPMs and maintain a positive user experience by displaying ads specifically optimized for RSS feeds.
# View detailed stats on your feed audience, distribution, and more through FeedBurner when you set up your feeds with AdSense.
# Manage monetization for your feeds through the same account that you use to manage other AdSense properties.

Watch the introductory video from GA’s Product Manager Steve Olechowski:

Why am I still hesitant in putting the Adsense For Feeds?

The objective of my RSS feed is to drive traffic to my site(s) so that I can still show other things to my readers (my own products, affiliate products etc.) and have them subscribe to my list.

Maybe someday… after weighing the benefits, I might consider using the Adsense for Feeds but not today Jose.

Live life. The purpose of life is to be alive.

James

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Lollipop for your customers

Wednesday 20 August 2008 @ 1:06 am

What do you do when a furious customer was dissatisfied with your product or service? Give the customer a “lollipop”. Read on and I’ll tell you my experience.

In my previous post, I mentioned how my eldest daughter was scratch by a cat and how I re-learn my marketing skills. This post is a continuation of the scratch by a cat experience and my realization of excellent customer service.


lollipop for your customers

In my previous post, I mentioned how my eldest daughter was scratch by a cat and how I re-learn my marketing skills. This post is a continuation of the scratch by a cat experience and my realization of excellent customer service.

My daughter cried very loud upon seeing the anti-rabbies vaccines to be injected to her. She was crying furiously until the lady doctor told her that if she wanted a lollipop. She ignored the doctor but was pacified a bit. Then the doctor asked her what color of lollipop she likes, Elai’s eyes widened as the different lollipop was offered right before her eyes. Elai picked the yellow lollipop.

The doctor then told her that she is about to get a “shot” and she needed to be calm. She agreed while she was holding her lollipop into her right hand. Upon getting the shot, she cried and this time its even louder that the first cry. Pacifying her seems to be impossible.

The lady doctor then asked if she wanted another lollipop, she refused and continued crying. However when the jar of lollipop was given to her she stops and took five lollipops.

The rest is history.

How this relate to excellent customer service? Let us say that you sold a 1000 products, most likely one will be dissatisfied by your product or service. As the saying goes you cannot please everybody. One is bound to be dissatisfied. What will you do?

  • Battle with the customer by debating that the product you sold is the best product verified by the majority of the customers.
  • Ignore the customer completely.
  • Send the customer to another “customer service support personnel”.

Or you can give the customer a “lollipop”. Lollipop in a sense an additional giveaway that you can give in return to pacify the customer. For example you can give the customer an extra drink if his order is taking to long to serve, additional pizza for late deliveries (Pizza Hut is very good at this), or if you are into digital products an extra ebook, discount coupon, may help in alleviating the customers dissatisfaction.

I remember when I was still selling SUV vehicles. One of my customer went berserk when we were an hour late in delivering the vehicle (there was a lot of delivery during that day). I told her that we were sorry and admitted its our fault, then I told her that in return for our shortcomings we are giving her a FREE maintenance service on her first vehicle checkup. Her mood suddenly changes from furious to smiling. She told us that the freebie is no longer necessary. After a month, I got three sales referrals from her.

Giving lollipop is not only applicable to furious customers but you can also use it to complete a sale.

Happy marketing.
Live Life. The purpose of life is to be alive.

James

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Scratch by a cat…

Wednesday 13 August 2008 @ 6:14 pm

Last night an unexpected thing happen to us, my youngest daughter Elai was scratch by a stray cat near her neck. As soon as my wife realized the incident she started to freak out. This created a lot of tension in the house. Tension that made also my eldest daughter to cry even louder than Elai. You could just imagine the environment (three girls freaking-out, oh man… :-)).

I on the other hand called my mother and asked her if she could take care of Jeth (oldest) as we rush Elai to the nearest hospital for anti-rabies. Then I called the different clinics within our area and asked if they administer anti-rabies, luckily I found one in just a few calls. Then the rest is history… she got injected and were told to come back for follow-ups.

cat

What did I learned from this experience? In business it is the same with family life… there will be a lot of surprises to come. There will be times that when you expect that everything is running smoothly an untoward incident will happen that is beyond your control.

You might be ranking high in Google search for a certain keyword then the big G changes its algorithm and you finally found yourself on the 5th page. Or worst your website got deface due to a security hole in your CMS. Instead of freaking out you may want to remember the following points:

1. Be calm. It is much easier to think and make decision when the mind is calm. In emergency cases Paramedics always stay calm so that they can assess the situation and make appropriate decision.

2. Damage control. Do the first necessary solution. For example if your site was defaced, you may want to closed your hosting temporarily or change the index page asap. It is much nicer to see a 404 Page than a porn page.

3. Ask an expert. Seek the help of experts in the problem that you are encountering. First it will be much faster to solve the problem, second it will be more concrete since they have already experience it. If you cannot afford for an expert seek solution through web forums or community. It is more probable that someone has encountered your problem and may offer quick solution.

There will always be unexpected things to come, accept it as challenge so that the next time we encounter it we will be more prepared in dealing with it.

More power.

James
“Live life today. the purpose of life being alive.”

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What are invalid clicks and click fraud?

Saturday 9 August 2008 @ 11:48 pm

Many new internet marketers that earn money online through adsense were banned due to invalid clicks or click fraud. So when does a click is considered invalid or fraud? The following section is an excerpt from the Google Adsense blog explaining what are invalid or click fraud.

Invalid clicks are clicks for which we decide not to charge our AdWords advertisers, since they may artificially drive up advertiser cost or publisher revenue. These include extraneous clicks without any value to the advertiser, such as the second click of a double-click. They also include many other types of clicks that we’ve determined aren’t motivated by genuine user interest.

“Invalid clicks” are often confused with “clicking on your own ads”. However, we’d like to stress that invalid clicks are generally any clicks that artificially inflate advertiser cost or publisher revenue, regardless of their source.

Click fraud is a subset of invalid clicks that are generated with malicious or fraudulent intent — in other words, clicks that are intended to drive up advertiser cost or publisher revenue artificially. Sources for these clicks include, but are not limited to:

  • A publisher clicking on his own ads, or encouraging clicks on his ads
  • Users or family members clicking to support the site / publisher
  • Third-party programs with user incentives, such as paid-to-click services and click-exchanges
  • Automated clicking tools, robots, or other deceptive software

The same principles above apply to ad impressions and conversions as well. Some sources of invalid impressions include, but are not limited to:

  • Excessive page refreshes, generated either manually or automatically
  • Third-party programs with user incentives, such as paid-to-surf or auto-surf programs
  • Third-party programs for purchasing fixed amounts of traffic, e.g. “$10 for 1,000 page views”

To summarized the article any method that generates artificial traffic or clicks are not considered valid. What are the repercussions? They might ban your website without any warning.

For more information you may want to visit Google Adsense Program Policy.

More power to you.
Live life. The purpose of life is to be alive.

James

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