Biz Tips Blog: Online Marketing, Visibility and Business Blogging Tips

PhoneScoop.com Gets You the 411 on Mobile Devices

Last night, after salad at Sammy's Pizza, the Hubby and I checked out the latest smart phones at the AT&T store. I don't know how those young sales guys manage to keep all the different models and features straight.

There are a ton of different phones - Blackberry, Palm Treo, plus the iPhone - to choose from. All with great things like GPS location services and wireless connections. We liked the Blackberry Pearl, but haven't decided to switch yet.

What was different about this visit to a retail store was that the salesman ended our visit with his card and a website:

"Check out the comparison reviews on www.PhoneScoop.com," he said, and then explained how we could find forums on the Web and read negative comments about each phone!

Isn't that a great way to sell product? Tell people where they can find the good and bad feedback?

We're no strangers to forums or negative feedback, it was just the first time I heard a salesperson encourage customers to investigate like that. Maybe I don't spend enough time in retail shops, but it looks like they're evolving to use Internet marketing as well.

BTW, PhoneScoop.com is a great shopping site for mobile phones!

links for 2006-04-21

• The Virtues of a Second Screen - New York Times
  We were mighty impressed when we saw our mentor, Tom Antion, working on two monitors at once. Now, learn all about how to do it and increase your productity.
  (tags: computer howto productivity)
• Google in China: The Big Disconnect - New York Times
  (tags: Google China Internet)
• Official UpHook Blog: Website Revenue For Extra Income: [Getting The Most Out Of Adsense]: Top 10 Adsense Tools
  This looks like a really useful list of tools for optimizing your adsense income. Since I'm learning about this world, I'm bookmarking it here so I remember to follow up and check out the tools.
  (tags: blogging Google tools advertising adsense)

Blog Advertising

• Blog ads - are they worth it? | Blogs and News | E-consultancy.com
  (tags: blog advertising PPC)

For some blog advertising works, for others it doesn't.  One of the benefits of advertising on blogs is that the audience is generally very targeted.  When I want to get some additional exposure for a service or product, I submit ads through Blogads.com.  I also accept ads through Blogads (see ad for diet articles in left sidebar). One of the things I like about Blogads is that as the publisher, you have total control over what you charge for your ads as well as what ads you want to accept.

As an advertiser, it's a relatively inexpensive way to reach more people and is a good way to test your ads in front of your target audience.

What's your experience with blog advertising?  Please share by clicking the comment link below.

The Evolution of Google AdSense

The Evolution of Google AdSense
Copyright 2005 Sharon Housley

The web has evolved into a complex "organism" which, to
some, appears to have a life of its own. As the Internet
has evolved, so too have online marketers and publishers.
The dot-com balloon is said to have burst but savvy
publishers have grabbed the coat tails of the Google search
monster and employ Google AdSense on content-rich websites.
Google AdSense, a pioneer for providing content-sensitive
advertisements, has been a boon to webmasters looking for
alternatives to amortize their web trafffic.

How Does Google AdSense Work?
The concept is simple: The publisher or webmaster inserts a
java script into a website. Each time the page is accessed,
the java script pulls advertisements from Google's AdSense
program. The ads are targeted and related to the content
contained on the web page serving the ad. If a web surfer
clicks on an advertisement served from Google, the
webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that
the advertiser is paying Google for the click.

Google handles all the tracking and payments, ultimately
providing an easy way for webmasters to display
content-sensitive, targeted ads, without the headache of
having to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor
clicks or track statistics, any of which could easily
become a full-time job.

While Google AdSense, like many pay-per-click programs, is
plagued by claims of click-fraud, it is clearly an
effective revenue source for many reputable web businesses.
There seems to be no shortage of advertisers in the AdWords
program from which Google pulls the AdSense ads. Webmasters
seem less concerned by the lack of information provided by
Google and more interested in cashing their monthly checks
from Google.

Now you can advertise

In my usual effort to keep on top of trends on the Internet, and most especially on blogs, I am trying out the Blogads system.  You can now place an advertisement on this blog!  It's pretty reasonable as far as advertising goes, only $10 per week or $20 for a month.

Next Level Biz Tips is focused on helping independent professionals learn how to leverage the Internet.  It's all about all the tactics available to create a viable business using the Internet.  Coaches, consultants, trainers, and professionals from many fields visit daily and subscribe for updates. Approximately 100 unique visitors view this blog everyday, so though it's not much yet, it's pretty targeted traffic and I spend a lot of time working to increase my traffic.

As celebration, I'm giving away 2 free ads to the first 2 people to respond to this post.  Click on the "comment" link below with your name and email address and I'll send you the special offer code so you can get a free ad on this blog.

TWO WINNERS HAVE RESPONDED.  Thanks for playing!  I may make this offer again periodically so watch this blog!  I also encourage you to check out blogads.  It's an inexpensive way to reach new prospects.