You know what SEO is, and you know what an affiliate program is (at least, you should!) … but do you know what the word choreography means, in eCommerce terms? How about orchestration? Do you know what a long tail is, and how it can help you perfect your marketing strategies?
If you’re considering making the switch from shared hosting to dedicated hosting — if your online business or development needs are such that you want to take things to the next level — you need to take the time to consider just what kind of OS your new dedicated hosting platform should have.
Google has just announced exciting improvements in store for one of its signature offerings, Google AdSense, an ad revenue service that runs ads specially suited to a website’s target audience.
AdSense ads (which include text, image, and video) generate revenue on standard “per-click” or “per-impression” basis. But they also usually provide higher-than-normal revenue because they use Google’s trademark search engine technology to provide ads customized around specific data such as website content and geographical area. The end result is ads that are much more smoothly integrated into your site than traditional banner ads — meaning that website users will be less bothered by them and more inclined to click on them. Of course, keeping all your site’s content relevant to your visitors often amounts to increased traffic, in addition to greater ad revenue. In short, AdSense has proven to be an effective, and relatively easy, method of monetizing your website.
So, it’s exciting news that Google is now working on a plan to integrate AdSense into its trademark Web Analytics services. “By integrating your AdSense account with a new or existing Analytics account,” writes the company on its AdSense Blog page, “you’ll have access to in-depth reports about user activity on your site. In addition to … metrics already available in Analytics such as unique visitors and visitor language, you’ll now have access to granular reports that break down AdSense performance both by page and by referring site. Armed with this new data about user behavior, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions on how to improve the user experience on your site and optimize your AdSense units to increase your revenue potential.”
We wouldn’t be sharing this news if it didn’t represent a pretty big leap forward in making your website effective and profitable. Although this development is still in an early stage — in other words, not yet widely available — it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on. Remember, Aplus.net is proud to offer Google AdSense as part of our arsenal of high-powered online marketing tools. And with Google actively working on making huge improvements like this, there’s no better time than right now to start taking advantage of this unique revenue-generating resource.
From time to time, we like to spread the word on particularly useful resources that can help provide you — online entrepreneurs and Internet newbies alike — with a valuable assist on the road to success.
To that end, we want to draw your attention to Leo Laporte, an internationally famous technology guru with an impressive reputation as author and all around tech expert. Anyone interested in consumer tech, or with any kind of interest in popular technology, be it amateur or professional, would be wise to check out his radio show and netcasts.
Laporte’s credentials are solid — he’s been an author and tech expert since the 1980s, with a breadth of knowledge that spans every aspect of technology. Over the past several decades, he’s hosted award-winning TV and radio shows throughout North America and written numerous well-regarded books on technology, including a number of best-selling almanacs. He’s also written software for Macintosh, PC, and open-source programs. A true Internet pioneer, Laporte operated one of the very first bulletin board systems, going way back to 1985.
But his resume aside, Laporte’s biggest claim to fame is his weekend radio show — essential listening for those of us who like to keep up with the ins and outs of consumer technology, the Internet, and the companies that keep the tech world spinning (and those that soon will). These entertaining and informative weekend radio shows, in which he expertly (and entertainingly) fields questions from callers all across North America, run from 11am to 2pm (Pacific U.S. time) every Saturday and Sunday on Laporte’s nationally syndicated radio show, as well as on satellite radio. Find out where you can listen.
Leo Laporte is not associated with Aplus.net in any way. He’s simply an industry expert that you should be aware of, who offers six hours of top-notch tech advice for free each and every weekend. That’s the kind of value we can all appreciate. From the latest news on net neutrality to info on market-leading big screen TVs, Leo covers it all. Check out his show this weekend.
Echoing the trends we’ve been reporting on here at the Aplus.net Blog recently — namely, that online advertising continues to increase despite, and possibly even because of, the sluggish state of the overall economy — a report issued earlier this month by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) states that online advertising has increased by more than 15 percent in the first half of 2008 (as compared to the same period in 2007).
The report, conducted independently by PricewaterhouseCoopers, covers the first six months of 2008. It reveals that Internet advertising revenues for these months were $11.5 billion, “setting yet another new half-year record that represents a 15.2 percent increase over the first half of 2007.”
Search and Display-related advertising continue to set records. Search revenues totaled almost $5.1 billion for the first six months of 2008, up 24 percent from the $4.1 billion for the same period in 2007. Display-related advertising totaled close to $3.8 billion for first six months of 2008, compared to the $3.2 billion reported for the same period in 2007, showing about a 19% increase. Display-related advertising includes Display Banner ads, Rich Media, Digital Video, and Sponsorship.
“Interactive advertising continues to demonstrate year over year growth as marketers and consumers increase their embrace of digital media,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. “The essentially flat performance we see quarter to quarter reflects in part cyclical advertising trends. Compared to the trajectory in other media and in the general economy, interactive has outperformed because it delivers a level of accountability unmatched by any other advertising medium.”
Although this data is from the first half of 2008, when the current financial crisis wasn’t as severe as it is today, the basic conclusion is firmly in line with recent trends: As the economy weakens, and uncertainty grows, consumers are embracing online shopping more than ever because of the time and money it saves over traditional forms of shopping. (Indeed, it’s not much of a stretch to see some validation of this theory in the recent string of major brick-and-mortar store liquidations such as Mervyns and Shoe Pavilion.)
We are at a historic time, when basic human behavior is shifting in major ways. With this being the case, now is absolutely the time to get serious about your online business, if you haven’t already done so.
The IAB, or Interactive Advertising Bureau, is an advertising business group that represents hundreds of “leading interactive companies that actively engage in and support the sale of interactive advertising.” Click here to visit the IAB’s official website. To view the report quoted above, click here.