Obtaining vital online casino affiliate links is a long process but a necessary one, unless you want to spend a fortune buying them. For most though that's not an option. This guide is to learn how to do this properly and get new sites off to a flying start.
The Page Rank (PR) is Google's way of 'grading' a site's importance and is taken as a sign of status - with every site awarded a number (rank) that ascends with time and not solely based on content. Page Rank is generally accepted as some sort of 'award' and although it's not official, apart from Alexa it's currently the only thing available with which to grade a casino affiliate site.
Many place great authority on PR, and some trade, exchange and only deal with sites of a certain rank e.g.: PR6 and above, this is very foolish. A site can be really awful, possess little content or usefulness and still be given a fairly high PR (I've seen sites with PR 6 that are no more than shells) not to mention missing out on real good quality traffic because of a bad judgment based on the little green bar. Some casino affiliate site owners refuse to exchange links with sites lower than PR4, so it will largely depend on how desperate you are for links. The foolbar needs to be thought of more like a 'reward bar' as sites rise in rank and are given a higher rank with the passing of time, usually every 3 months or so. So a higher rank should give you some better status, and thus make it easier to obtain online casino affiliate links, if human nature and incentive is anything to go by.
Traffic is the most important and the main reason for online casino affiliate linking. At the end of the day a website needs traffic to build more traffic, sales, reputation and presence on the web, and swapping links is the best way of doing it. For one thing it's free and the only cost is the time it takes to perform the exchange. The benefits are that links get spidered and can generate additional links, some sites will approach you and some will just link without your immediate knowledge. But not all links are equal in PR or traffic levels, so any unknown links may be untargeted and not favorable.
Try and get links on top casino affiliate sites as this will provide both sets of visitors with useful information and make life a bit easier for everyone. I'm always thankful for webmasters who go to the trouble of setting up a few pages of extra links that point me in the right direction and your visitors will like this too.
It is quite easy to approach and ask for links, well the approaching bit anyway - but it's harder to convince the bigger sites to link with you, if they are more established. Good sites just don't always link easily, and why should they give you a link when they can charge for it.
If you managed to get a few PR6's to link with you, then I say that's an achievement, but it's near impossible to get PR 7 and above to grant you that favor, especially when you are the new site on the block! As earlier stated, PR is given according to the time a site has spent on the web, so a new online casino affiliate site can't expect to be a PR 4 status right away - it has to pay it's dues and EARN that PR.
To approach webmasters all you need is a simple email. Just ask politely saying their site is nice looking, targeted and would be useful to your needs and place a link to their site first. This normally does the trick - I've gotten hundreds of exchanges this way, and it works very well.
But some will refuse, or insist that your PR be higher before they exchange (even though their site has lower value), and some will even insist they get a homepage link in return for a recipe page placement from them (yes, these parasites do exist) but most webmasters are kind hearted folks and are usually chuffed you approached them! Either way, don't forget that internet casino affiliate marketing works; it's just a matter of perseverance.
A word of warning though - DON'T use link exchanges paid or free! They only ever send untargeted and desperate pleas for links that won't provide decent traffic or referrals, and once signed up with these exchanges, it's very tough to cancel or unsubscribe from the emails and offers. Just beware that's all
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
PPC Tips
Pay-Per-Click is a paid form of advertising, popularized mostly by Overture.com (formerly GoTo.com). The concept is fairly simple. Businesses bid to be placed at or near the top of the search results for particular keyword phrases. The bidding is done on a "per-click" basis, meaning that a company pays a specific amount every time the engine sends them a visitor. The two top players; Google and Overture, do not allow casino ads.
Affiliate Casino PPC marketing campaigns have some advantages over traditional search engine optimization. First of all, they require no changes to a current site's content or look to obtain top positions, just a willingness to pay. Also, the implementation of a pay-per-click campaign is relatively quick- it can take just a few minutes to start getting targeted traffic, versus sometimes months for standard internet casino affiliate SEO campaigns. Finally, unlike search engine optimization, the implementation of a casino affiliate PPC campaign is relatively easy and does not necessarily require any specialized knowledge (although experience with search engine marketing and keyword research is a definite advantage).
Obviously, there are limitations to this type of casino affiliate advertising. New bids can lower the positions of other firms, and many will react by raising their bid to regain a previous ranking. Monitoring of positions becomes crucial. These campaigns can also become prohibitively expensive, depending on the competitiveness of the keyword phrases and the aggressiveness of the competition.
In addition, many of the "savvier" search engine users have learned to recognize casino affiliate marketing PPC results as paid advertising and bypass them without consideration.
Understanding how much each casino affiliate website visitor is worth is vital to the success of a strategic casino affiliate pay-per-click marketing campaign. If it costs $50 in a click-through to make a $40 sale, the campaign has failed.
The formula is relatively simple, but some specific historical data is necessary. In the most rudimentary form, it is the profit from the website over a given period divided by the number of total visitors for the same period. If a site netted $1000 in profits from services in a given period, and there were 2,000 visitors during the same period, each would theoretically be worth 50 cents (profit divided by visitors). But this is only the breakeven point. Depending on the desired profit margin, the optimal price to pay per click would probably be something much less than 50 cents. Popular keyword phrases can often run more than this, so it then makes sense to bid less money on less popular terms to pay an acceptable amount per visitor.
As with typical search engine optimization, keyword research is critical to the success of a PPC campaign. Unlike typical search engine optimization, there aren't practical limits on the number of phrases to target. Usually, there is no extra cost to add as many casino affiliate keyword phrases as possible. This makes the keyword selection process easier, since there is not a good deal of resources committed to optimizing a site for a particular keyword set. Under-performing keywords, while still an annoyance, do not cost extra (except for the time involved in setting up the account). To help identify casino affiliate keyword phrases, Overture has a tool on their site that allows advertisers to see how often particular search terms are actually typed in their engine. It also gives out popular suggestions based upon the terms you enter.
With a typical search engine description, the object is to entice as much traffic into a site as possible in the hopes of converting that traffic into customers. With PPC, a different approach is mandated. It is undesirable to pay for unlikely prospects, so the description is designed to eliminate the "tire kickers" while attracting highly targeted traffic. For this reason, the description should describe exactly what the business offers- a company wouldn't want to pay for every visitor looking for "insurance" if they only sold renter’s insurance, for example. At the same time, proven casino affiliate marketing copy techniques should be employed to insure that the description is enticing enough to attract ideal prospects.
It is crucial to the success of any PPC campaign that it be monitored regularly, since positions can and do change every day. If the price gets too high, it is usually prudent to withdraw and pursue a different key phrase (the only way to really "lose" a bidding war is to pay too much for each visitor!). Apart from position monitoring, it is important to track and analyze the effectiveness of individual casino affiliate keyword phrases on a monthly basis. Viewing click-through rates and studying visitor habits can lend valuable insight into their motivations and habits, and help to further refine a Pay-Per-Click campaign.
Pay Per Click campaigns may bring large numbers of highly targeted visitors to your website. However, these campaigns can become prohibitively expensive (and unlike "traditional" search engine optimization, the costs of any PPC campaign are likely to increase in the near future due to the increasing popularity of this type of advertising). It is crucial to the success of the campaign that you pay a reasonable price for each visitor, that each visitor is highly targeted, and that you monitor your positions to maintain your exposure over time.
Robert Green
Affiliate Manager
www.Viploungecasino.com
robertg@viploungecasino.com
Affiliate Casino PPC marketing campaigns have some advantages over traditional search engine optimization. First of all, they require no changes to a current site's content or look to obtain top positions, just a willingness to pay. Also, the implementation of a pay-per-click campaign is relatively quick- it can take just a few minutes to start getting targeted traffic, versus sometimes months for standard internet casino affiliate SEO campaigns. Finally, unlike search engine optimization, the implementation of a casino affiliate PPC campaign is relatively easy and does not necessarily require any specialized knowledge (although experience with search engine marketing and keyword research is a definite advantage).
Obviously, there are limitations to this type of casino affiliate advertising. New bids can lower the positions of other firms, and many will react by raising their bid to regain a previous ranking. Monitoring of positions becomes crucial. These campaigns can also become prohibitively expensive, depending on the competitiveness of the keyword phrases and the aggressiveness of the competition.
In addition, many of the "savvier" search engine users have learned to recognize casino affiliate marketing PPC results as paid advertising and bypass them without consideration.
Understanding how much each casino affiliate website visitor is worth is vital to the success of a strategic casino affiliate pay-per-click marketing campaign. If it costs $50 in a click-through to make a $40 sale, the campaign has failed.
The formula is relatively simple, but some specific historical data is necessary. In the most rudimentary form, it is the profit from the website over a given period divided by the number of total visitors for the same period. If a site netted $1000 in profits from services in a given period, and there were 2,000 visitors during the same period, each would theoretically be worth 50 cents (profit divided by visitors). But this is only the breakeven point. Depending on the desired profit margin, the optimal price to pay per click would probably be something much less than 50 cents. Popular keyword phrases can often run more than this, so it then makes sense to bid less money on less popular terms to pay an acceptable amount per visitor.
As with typical search engine optimization, keyword research is critical to the success of a PPC campaign. Unlike typical search engine optimization, there aren't practical limits on the number of phrases to target. Usually, there is no extra cost to add as many casino affiliate keyword phrases as possible. This makes the keyword selection process easier, since there is not a good deal of resources committed to optimizing a site for a particular keyword set. Under-performing keywords, while still an annoyance, do not cost extra (except for the time involved in setting up the account). To help identify casino affiliate keyword phrases, Overture has a tool on their site that allows advertisers to see how often particular search terms are actually typed in their engine. It also gives out popular suggestions based upon the terms you enter.
With a typical search engine description, the object is to entice as much traffic into a site as possible in the hopes of converting that traffic into customers. With PPC, a different approach is mandated. It is undesirable to pay for unlikely prospects, so the description is designed to eliminate the "tire kickers" while attracting highly targeted traffic. For this reason, the description should describe exactly what the business offers- a company wouldn't want to pay for every visitor looking for "insurance" if they only sold renter’s insurance, for example. At the same time, proven casino affiliate marketing copy techniques should be employed to insure that the description is enticing enough to attract ideal prospects.
It is crucial to the success of any PPC campaign that it be monitored regularly, since positions can and do change every day. If the price gets too high, it is usually prudent to withdraw and pursue a different key phrase (the only way to really "lose" a bidding war is to pay too much for each visitor!). Apart from position monitoring, it is important to track and analyze the effectiveness of individual casino affiliate keyword phrases on a monthly basis. Viewing click-through rates and studying visitor habits can lend valuable insight into their motivations and habits, and help to further refine a Pay-Per-Click campaign.
Pay Per Click campaigns may bring large numbers of highly targeted visitors to your website. However, these campaigns can become prohibitively expensive (and unlike "traditional" search engine optimization, the costs of any PPC campaign are likely to increase in the near future due to the increasing popularity of this type of advertising). It is crucial to the success of the campaign that you pay a reasonable price for each visitor, that each visitor is highly targeted, and that you monitor your positions to maintain your exposure over time.
Robert Green
Affiliate Manager
www.Viploungecasino.com
robertg@viploungecasino.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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Cgi scripts
Did you know you can get cgi scripts for free?
You can find free cgi scripts for setting up anything on your site:
Access counters
Access statistics
Ad rotation
Affiliate tracking
Auctions
Audio
Bulletin boards
Calendars
Chat
Classifieds
Clocks
Communities
Content management
Cookies
Customer support
Databases
File downloads
Forms
Greeting cards
Guestbooks
Images
Link managers
Mailing lists
Page editing
Password protection
Recommend a friend
Redirection
Search
Shopping carts
Surveys
Web promotion
and many many more uses.
You don't have to be super smart to use cgi scripts, you only need to read the instructions and instill the script.
My faviorte site to grab free cgi scripts is located at:
http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/
Or you can do a quick Google search for free cgi scripts.
Have fun and enjoy!
You can find free cgi scripts for setting up anything on your site:
Access counters
Access statistics
Ad rotation
Affiliate tracking
Auctions
Audio
Bulletin boards
Calendars
Chat
Classifieds
Clocks
Communities
Content management
Cookies
Customer support
Databases
File downloads
Forms
Greeting cards
Guestbooks
Images
Link managers
Mailing lists
Page editing
Password protection
Recommend a friend
Redirection
Search
Shopping carts
Surveys
Web promotion
and many many more uses.
You don't have to be super smart to use cgi scripts, you only need to read the instructions and instill the script.
My faviorte site to grab free cgi scripts is located at:
http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/
Or you can do a quick Google search for free cgi scripts.
Have fun and enjoy!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Reciprocal links
Reciprocal links are the best way to drive traffic to your site.
I have found a great article listed on Wikipedia.com
A reciprocal link is a mutual link between two objects, commonly between two websites to ensure mutual traffic. Example: Alice and Bob have websites.
If Bob's website links to Alice's website, and Alice's website links to Bob's website, the websites are reciprocally linked.
Website owners often submit their sites to reciprocal link exchange directories, in order to achieve higher rankings in the search engines.
Reciprocal linking between websites is an important part of the search engine optimization process because Google uses link popularity algorithms (defined as the number of links that led to a particular page and the anchor text of the link) to rank websites for relevancy.
Automated linking
In order to take advantage of the need for inbound links to rank well in the search engines, a number of automatic link exchange services have been launched.
Members of these schemes will typically agree to have several links added to all their web pages in return for getting similar links back from other sites.
Three way linking
Three way linking (siteA -> siteB -> siteC -> siteA) is a special type of reciprocal linking. The attempt of this link building method is to create more "natural" links in the eyes of search engines. The value of links by three-way linking can then be better than normal reciprocal links, which are usually done between two domains.
Link exchange
An alternative to the automated linking above is a link exchange forum, in which members will advertise the sites that they want to get links to, and will in turn offer reciprocal or three way links back to the sites that link to them. The links generated through such services are subject to editorial review.
read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_link
I have found a great article listed on Wikipedia.com
A reciprocal link is a mutual link between two objects, commonly between two websites to ensure mutual traffic. Example: Alice and Bob have websites.
If Bob's website links to Alice's website, and Alice's website links to Bob's website, the websites are reciprocally linked.
Website owners often submit their sites to reciprocal link exchange directories, in order to achieve higher rankings in the search engines.
Reciprocal linking between websites is an important part of the search engine optimization process because Google uses link popularity algorithms (defined as the number of links that led to a particular page and the anchor text of the link) to rank websites for relevancy.
Automated linking
In order to take advantage of the need for inbound links to rank well in the search engines, a number of automatic link exchange services have been launched.
Members of these schemes will typically agree to have several links added to all their web pages in return for getting similar links back from other sites.
Three way linking
Three way linking (siteA -> siteB -> siteC -> siteA) is a special type of reciprocal linking. The attempt of this link building method is to create more "natural" links in the eyes of search engines. The value of links by three-way linking can then be better than normal reciprocal links, which are usually done between two domains.
Link exchange
An alternative to the automated linking above is a link exchange forum, in which members will advertise the sites that they want to get links to, and will in turn offer reciprocal or three way links back to the sites that link to them. The links generated through such services are subject to editorial review.
read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_link
Monday, December 17, 2007
Building a mailing list.
One of the most effective ways of communicating with and building up your client base is by creating a mailing list.
+
It is getting harder and harder to do that with new SPAM laws, mail filters and the general consensus that signing up
for a mailing list on a website will guarantee an instant deluge of unwanted email.
First, let’s start with how to build your list.
Before you start, you will need to start by creating a privacy policy. You can find a free privacy policy generator by visiting:
http://www.the-dma.org/privacy/creating.shtml
This website will walk you through the processs of creating a rock solid policy that will enable your business to function smoothly, and build client confidence.
When you are finished creating your policy, you will need to post links on your website that are easily visible to your clients.
It is also a good idea to include a link to this policy on the page where you’ll be collecting your client’s data.
Your next process will be to figure out how you would like to collect the client data. There are several free mailing list managers available.
You can choose between remotely hosted mailing lists, which handle all of the details for you, including set-up, storing information and sending out emails.
Before selecting a company to handle your remotely hosted list, you will want to make sure that they do not sell client data and that they have a good reputation.
You can also choose to install software on your site that will handle list creation and management.
These programs often include a web-based control panel, which make it very simple to send out messages to your clients and maintain their data.
If you plan to have a large list, make sure that your software and you have the capability of handling it.
Plan ahead to avoid loss of data, switchovers and the need to start from scratch.
If you plan on running the list manually, using your email program to send out client messages, back up your data frequently.
You will also need to check with your web hosting service to see if they require clients to “double opt-in” to your mailing list.
Basically, this means that the client will have to reply to an email generated by the list managing program before they are added to your list.
This ensures that clients will not be included to lists that they have no desire to be on, and will help you to stand out from spammers.
Now that all of the technical stuff is done, you can get to the business of building your list.
You will need to make sure clients can find your mailing list, so you will need to post links on your website that are easy to find.
It helps in the startning stage to offer a free gift, or free information as an incentive for clients to sign up.
You can also include a link to sign up clients automatically if they place an order on your site.
Many sites now have pop-up windows to encourage sign-ups and this does increase your client base significantly.
However, there is nothing more annoying than a persistent pop-up. It is best to have the pop-up appear once during a client’s session.
Now you’ve got your client list up and running, how do you keep them interested and most importantly,
how do you keep them coming back to your site for more? One easy way to do this is to offer a free ezine to your mailing list.
This can keep them informed and increase their level of trust in you as a business.
People feel more secure about ordering items from companies they know. You can send out your ezine daily, weekly or monthly.
Just make sure your clients know how often the ezine will be sent out ahead of time, to cut down on spam complaints.
It is possible to run an informative and lucrative ezine with just a few minutes of your time.
Proper planning and effective list management software will ensure your success in creating your own mailing list.
I always recommend EasyList, it’s free to try for 30 days and is real easy to use.
http://www.focalmedia.net/easylist.html
+
It is getting harder and harder to do that with new SPAM laws, mail filters and the general consensus that signing up
for a mailing list on a website will guarantee an instant deluge of unwanted email.
First, let’s start with how to build your list.
Before you start, you will need to start by creating a privacy policy. You can find a free privacy policy generator by visiting:
http://www.the-dma.org/privacy/creating.shtml
This website will walk you through the processs of creating a rock solid policy that will enable your business to function smoothly, and build client confidence.
When you are finished creating your policy, you will need to post links on your website that are easily visible to your clients.
It is also a good idea to include a link to this policy on the page where you’ll be collecting your client’s data.
Your next process will be to figure out how you would like to collect the client data. There are several free mailing list managers available.
You can choose between remotely hosted mailing lists, which handle all of the details for you, including set-up, storing information and sending out emails.
Before selecting a company to handle your remotely hosted list, you will want to make sure that they do not sell client data and that they have a good reputation.
You can also choose to install software on your site that will handle list creation and management.
These programs often include a web-based control panel, which make it very simple to send out messages to your clients and maintain their data.
If you plan to have a large list, make sure that your software and you have the capability of handling it.
Plan ahead to avoid loss of data, switchovers and the need to start from scratch.
If you plan on running the list manually, using your email program to send out client messages, back up your data frequently.
You will also need to check with your web hosting service to see if they require clients to “double opt-in” to your mailing list.
Basically, this means that the client will have to reply to an email generated by the list managing program before they are added to your list.
This ensures that clients will not be included to lists that they have no desire to be on, and will help you to stand out from spammers.
Now that all of the technical stuff is done, you can get to the business of building your list.
You will need to make sure clients can find your mailing list, so you will need to post links on your website that are easy to find.
It helps in the startning stage to offer a free gift, or free information as an incentive for clients to sign up.
You can also include a link to sign up clients automatically if they place an order on your site.
Many sites now have pop-up windows to encourage sign-ups and this does increase your client base significantly.
However, there is nothing more annoying than a persistent pop-up. It is best to have the pop-up appear once during a client’s session.
Now you’ve got your client list up and running, how do you keep them interested and most importantly,
how do you keep them coming back to your site for more? One easy way to do this is to offer a free ezine to your mailing list.
This can keep them informed and increase their level of trust in you as a business.
People feel more secure about ordering items from companies they know. You can send out your ezine daily, weekly or monthly.
Just make sure your clients know how often the ezine will be sent out ahead of time, to cut down on spam complaints.
It is possible to run an informative and lucrative ezine with just a few minutes of your time.
Proper planning and effective list management software will ensure your success in creating your own mailing list.
I always recommend EasyList, it’s free to try for 30 days and is real easy to use.
http://www.focalmedia.net/easylist.html
Sunday, December 16, 2007
RSS feeds are important.
What is an RSS feed?
"RSS" is about getting live web feeds directly to your computer. RSS takes the latest headlines from different web sites, and pushes those headlines down to your computer for quick scanning.
The acronym RSS stands for many versions of the same thing.
* Really Simple Syndication
* Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
* RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0)
* Real-time Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
Read more here:
More about RSS feeds.
Why use RSS Feeds?
Add RSS Feed to Your Web Site and Make Money, thats why!
Read more here:
Make money with RSS feeds.
Add RSS to your site.
Add any type of feeds you would like by clicking here.
Try to find something that your users may want to read.
Good luck and have fun!
"RSS" is about getting live web feeds directly to your computer. RSS takes the latest headlines from different web sites, and pushes those headlines down to your computer for quick scanning.
The acronym RSS stands for many versions of the same thing.
* Really Simple Syndication
* Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
* RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0)
* Real-time Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
Read more here:
More about RSS feeds.
Why use RSS Feeds?
Add RSS Feed to Your Web Site and Make Money, thats why!
Read more here:
Make money with RSS feeds.
Add RSS to your site.
Add any type of feeds you would like by clicking here.
Try to find something that your users may want to read.
Good luck and have fun!
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