Networking with Promotional Products

I just returned from yet another trip.  This time it was a 5 day trip to an entertainment event in Nevada.  Throughout the course of the trip I met with many public relations officers of different companies, talent managers and just your every day people.  I was working in tandem with another blogger and podcaster that has a couple years on me in this genre and I was struck by how much play he received off of offering promotional items in the form of stickers for his online video show.

When we think of promotional items, we often think of corporate gifts that have no function like a retirement watch or something.  But if you can come up with cool promotional products they can take on a life of their own and help remind people to check out your site, your show, or your company products and services many times over.  Plus, they might even regift it and get you more attention virally from other people in the future.

Now for me, I run many different sites, and I have to determine the best way to proceed with this.  I can't carry around a different promo product for every site I have.  Maybe the right call is to centrally brand things under Softduit Media and just offer up something focused on that site itself.  I'll let you know how that proceeds as I continue to mull it over.

Blog Articles with Video and Pictures Generate Adsense dollars

If you are writing a blog and monetizing the site with Adsense you need to insure that you are including pictures and video as often as possible with your post.  If you can include pictures in every post that is ideal.  If you can mix in videos embedded from sources like YouTube or even Revver, you will engage the people that view your site and pages.  These days you can embed videos that other people have posted or you can even upload your own videos individually or in a batch file.

When they click on videos to start playing them on your site, they are already breaking past the passive role of just viewing and moving into the realm of clicking.  Then if they get an idea while watching the video, they may connect that idea with an Adsense ad and explore that adsense ad earning you money!

Google Adsense Secret Scam Fixed with Apology

If you have been following the recent controversy over the new AdSense secrets 4.0, you may have heard about the automatic subscription charge of $29.99 that was triggered if you signed up for it.

Well apparently that was a mistake and Joel Comm has fessed up to that mistake with an apology.  From what I can tell it's difficult to determine whether or not this marketing tactic was done on purpose or not, however all future profits will now be given to a charity.

All that said, it's difficult to tell if the actual product, AdSense secrets 4.0, was really worthwhile or not because most of the buzz is about the hidden $29 charge as opposed to the usefulness of the content.  If you've tried it or read it, I'd be happy or what you think if it's worth the effort are not.

In the meantime you might consider some of the ways to improve your business with business performance management software tools and metrics analysis systems.

Google Stock is Up and So Are Adsense Earnings

Google stock price lurched up last week after Google came in with some great results for the quarter.  In a way this is unsurprising for any of us that have been experiencing a lurch upwards of our Google ad sense earnings.  AdSense clicking activity seems to be on the rise across the board.

It's still too early to tell however whether or not this has anything to do with some of the new AdSense units that are being offered by Google these days.  The stock market may be happy with Google, but that could be more of a function of Google's competitors Microsoft and Yahoo failing to execute while Google draws water.  So before you pop a cork of Riedel wine and celebrate your Adsense and Google Stock earnings, make sure that you are diversified enough in both areas to deal with a changing market this year.

Google's Stock Price Rebounds

As the value of the US Dollar (the currency that Adsense is paid out  in the US) plummets, and as oil went over $115 a barrel with expectations of hitting $120 soon, Google's stock price bounced back a little today.

Many people saw their 4th quarter as disappointing, but Google's first quarter showed results that surprised analysts in a good way and people jumped back on the band wagon.  Google's still in a hot business, the business of internet marketing and marketing the flow of information so that is keeping the stock hot.  With no signs of any competitor capable of keeping up with Google's lock on the market, that won't change unless their results take a long term turn for the worse.  So as long as companies want to market directly to internet searchers and as long as those searchers click on ads for things like the best acne treatment and purple pill information and mesothelioma and everything in between, this industry will be safe.  If consumers change their ways, then all bets will be off.

Google Adsense left and right scroll buttons Now Present

Early in the week we talked about Google's new scroll buttons and provided a quick 18 second video example of how they work.

Well here is yet another format.  Its a left and right scroll button for use with Adsense ads.

We first saw them on a 728 x 90 advertisement on a Solar Energy website, but it is just as likely that these will fly well with the 468 wide google adsense ads also.

Still no word from anyone on how well these ads are actually working for anyone, and the conventional wisdom does seem to be skeptical.  Let's hope that the Google geniuses aren't just shooting blanks into the wind hoping to pull their stock price and market capitalization back up so that a Google millionaire somewhere can redesign their garden this spring with some fancy garden gnomes and other frivolous garden decor.

18 Second Video Example of Scrolling Adsense Ads

Shortly after I wrote the article, Experimenting with Adsense Continues - Now Google Offers Scrolling Adsense Ads , I found this example video showing Google Adsense ads with the scroll down buttons (and the scroll back up after you scroll down).

This just gives you an idea of how they function, nothing spectacular.  It would seem that clicking on the arrow to scroll does not constitute an actual PPC click btw.

Experimenting with Adsense Continues - Now Google Offers Scrolling Adsense Ads

For several months Google has been experimenting with new ad concepts that automatically display in the areas set aside and accepted by publishers for Adsense.  Most webmasters are not aware that they are participating in Google's experiments and this latest one seems extra peculiar.

Google has added one of the web's most annoying features built into the Adsense block.  The Scroll down bar/button.

That's right your readers can now scroll through adsense ads looking for the ad they are looking for!

Wait a second, how in the world is that useful?

What web visitors want to scroll through and look for more ads?

Trying to play devil's advocate in favor of Google, I suppose that if a reader was some what interested in an ad about bedding, they might see something close to what they are looking for and then scroll down looking for a better fit.

The problem however is in Google's own success.

Most internet browsers typically will rapidly jump to a Google Search box to get an answer as opposed to interacting with a scrollable advertisement.

Google's Racing to Get Out of Search Engine Marketing

Google is racing to get out of the Search Engine Marketing business after acquiring DoubleClick, which ran a Search Engine Marketing business to help companies get placed higher within Google's Search Engine listings.

The online search and advertising leader is looking to spin off its Chicago-based search marketing business, Performics, which employs 200 of DoubleClick's 1,500 staff.

Tom Phillips, director of DoubleClick's integration efforts with Google, said the company wants to dispose of the search marketing business to eliminate the perception Google might favor the unit in its search results and other efforts.

"It's clear to us that we do not want to be in the search engine marketing business," Phillips wrote. "Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount to Google's mission and core to the trust we ask from our users."

Reuters

As a pseudo monopoly of search Google has been fighting an up hill battle to defend its reputation and maintain the perception of integrity as it relates to Search Engine listings.

So the staff of 200 that are losing their jobs (technically being spun out of Google) will have to go and promote keywords for their customers like 'hotel deals' and 'mesotheliomoa' somewhere else.