Besting Adwords

Google Analytics Tracking API

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:10:43 GMT

Google releases a javascript tracking API for Analytics. This API is primarily for AJAX websites that need more programmatic control. Oddly, I'm not sure exactly what you couldn't do before. I was previously using the urchinTracker() function to track AJAX events. This API seems needlessly more complex.

In order to use the API, you have to be part of the exclusive Beta. Google selected one of my websites (www.therssweblog.com) to be part of the Beta program. That website doesn't really use much, if any AJAX, so I'm unsure why they selected it.

http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJSApi.html

How 2 Retire?

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:34:20 GMT

Write at least 6 blog entries per day for a few years. Add AdSense and several PayPerPost services.

Google Dictionary Broken?

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:53:15 GMT

I taught my kids at a young age to use Google to find definitions of words. This is when you type define: in front of a word or click the definition link in the header of the search results pages. Lately, they've complained to me that they don't understand the definitions. I've found that many of the results are now redirecting to copies of Wikipedia webpages, rather than word definitions. I don't know if this was always the case, but I've had to bookmark dictionary.com for my kids to help them around this problem. I remember when Google converted their definition links from dictionary.com to answer.com. I thought it was a bad idea, but it didn't appear to be any better or worse. Now, I wonder if things at answer.com have changed enough to make that a bad idea.

Remove AdSense PSAs?

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:44:56 GMT

One of my websites starting getting a lot of PSAs, about 10% of the pageviews. I decided to use Chitika as my alternate to replace with PSAs with revenue generating ads. Chitika didn't work as the CPM was so low that it wasn't worth it. But in the meanwhile, the number of Chitika impressions as alternates started to drop. From 10,000 per day to 5,000 to 2,000 to 1,000 to 500 to 300 to 200. This is the lowest percentage of PSAs or alterates that I've ever had for any websites. This website went from my highest PSA/alternate ratio to my lowest. I have to wonder if Google makes an extra effort to fill your ads when you have alternate code in place. Thought? I've now converted to alternates that simply display ads for my alternate websites (Chitika sucks!).

$100 for 50 Words

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:19:53 GMT

This sponsored review netted me $65 for 50 words. The money was almost immediately dropped into my PayPal account. I can't believe everybody isn't doing this. What? You are still sitting at that desk getting yelled at by your boss and cow-orkers? While I work in my basement playing video games all day? This is too easy. Wake up!

http://www.kbcafe.com/spam/?guid=20081022084354
http://www.sponsoredreviews.com/?aid=26518

More Amazon Stupidity

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:23:52 GMT

Amazon is getting more pathetic by the second. I don't do very many reviews for them, only on products I really hate or like. Today, I submitted my first review in more than a year and they asked me to verify the review with a credit card number. Somebody at Amazon should be fired. I figured out how to submit the review without a credit card number, but I cannot believe someone would actually request that I enter a credit card number to submit a review. I'm gonna bet their number of review conversions is drastically down since they started that stupidity.

Bored? See ReviewMe

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:40:46 GMT

I was little bored this last week, so I wrote ReviewMe blog entries and pocketed nearly 100 dollars. Got laid off? Wake up! Start blogging for money. I'm usually very busy with my countless websites, but otherwise I could blog and make 50 thousand per year in my sleep. Screw the economy. Life is too easy. Except you are lazy. Glad I'm not.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:40:51 GMT

Last year, I made a deal with an Internet marketing firm to advertise their customer's wares. After about a week, their ad server stopped working, so I pulled the ads. I was already paid and they didn't ask for anything back, since it was their fault. That same marketing firm, advertising the same company's wares contracted me again this year. After 24 hours, their ad server started acting stupid again and I pulled the ads once again. From what I can tell, I won't have problems with payment either. Any company contracting these guys are blatant idiots. I won't mention who at the moment, because they still owe me $200, but once they pay me, I'll blow the whistle. These guys deserve to have zero customers.

Chitika Dead?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:35:39 GMT

My average CPM on Chitika ads dropped to 0.05 dollars over the last week and 0.01 some days with zero clicks on as many ten thousand impressions and sometimes zero clicks for days running. I think that I'm calling it a day on Chitika. I've not been able to find an adequate replacement either, so I'm going to run my own alternate ad system.