Addicted To Ads http://www.addictedtoads.com/index.php Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:17:03 -0500 Copyright 2008, Radoslav Gazo Radoslav Gazo en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.7.1 :: AddictedToAds.com AdCenter for Firefox Users http://www.addictedtoads.com/AdCenter+for+Firefox+Users-060804-003156 adCenter will be upgraded on August 5th and starting August 6th, you'll be able to use Microsoft adCenter with the Firefox 1.5 browser!

AdCenter won't be accessible for 14 hours this saturday, but all campaigns will continue to run normally.]]> Advertising, Internet, Microsoft, adCenter http://www.addictedtoads.com/AdCenter+for+Firefox+Users-060804-003156 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 04 Aug 2006 04:31:56 -0500 BidClix: InteGREAT the Ads into your Website http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix%3A+InteGREAT+the+Ads+into+your+Website-060728-131149 BidClix allows publishers, bloggers, and webmasters to beautifully integrate the BidClix ads into their content.

BidClix InteGREAT goes beyond anything you might find at Google or other big ad-networks. The publishers have full control over the ad-placement size, colors, fonts, header, footer, etc. This allows them to match the design to their website and increase the aesthetic appeal of the ads.

Here are some screenshots of the new BidClix admin pages and some examples of InteGREAT ads in action: bidclixbuddy's photos]]> Advertising, Internet, Google, AdSense, BidClix http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix%3A+InteGREAT+the+Ads+into+your+Website-060728-131149 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 28 Jul 2006 17:11:49 -0500 Google AdSense: Site Diagnostics http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+AdSense%3A+Site+Diagnostics-060722-164320 site diagnostics tool. You will find the tool in the Reports->Site Diagnostics tab in your AdSense account.

Site Diagnostics enables you to see some of the errors Goggle's crawler finds while it's crawling. Two types of errors may appear at the moment:

URL not found – this means Google's crawler wasn’t able to reach your pages, most likely because your server was temporarily down

Robots.txt file – this indicates that your robots.txt file was blocking the crawler from visiting
]]> Advertising, Internet, Google, AdSense http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+AdSense%3A+Site+Diagnostics-060722-164320 Radoslav Gazo Sat, 22 Jul 2006 20:43:20 -0500 BidClix: New Enhanced Publisher Review Ads Tool http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix%3A+New+Enhanced+Publisher+Review+Ads+Tool-060627-122354 BidClix improved the functionality of the review ads tool for publishers. Now you can filter and search the list of ads to Approve or Reject based on these parameters:

1. Keywords (contained in or excluded from the Ad Copy or URL)
2. Advertiser "Ownership" (You or BidClix)
3. Status

You can also now sort the list of ads by Date or Price.



Publishers can choose which ads can and can't appear in each and every ad space placement on their site.]]> Advertising, Internet, BidClix http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix%3A+New+Enhanced+Publisher+Review+Ads+Tool-060627-122354 Radoslav Gazo Tue, 27 Jun 2006 16:23:54 -0500 Official Google Analytics Blog Launched http://www.addictedtoads.com/Official+Google+Analytics+Blog+Launched-060622-232008 launched a new blog for Google Analytics users to provide product update news, bug fixes and useful tips and tricks.

The newest blog entry explains how to measure the average value of a visit from a certain website, or how to use Google Analytics to compare the relative value of traffic coming from your AdWords campaign as opposed to traffic from users typing your URL directly into their browser.

You will find the Google Analytics Blog feed here.]]> Advertising, Internet, Google, AdWords http://www.addictedtoads.com/Official+Google+Analytics+Blog+Launched-060622-232008 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 23 Jun 2006 03:20:08 -0500 Google Testing AdSense CPA http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+Testing+AdSense+CPA-060622-002659 invitations to a selected group of AdSense publishers to participate in testing of their new Cost Per Action (CPA) ads.

With this new feature, Google enters the affiliate marketing segment, currently dominated by ValueClick's Commission Junction and has a good chance to become the nr. 1 provider, thanks to it's large publisher and advertiser base.

More: Seeking Alpha]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google, ValueClick http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+Testing+AdSense+CPA-060622-002659 Radoslav Gazo Thu, 22 Jun 2006 04:26:59 -0500 American Apparel Opens in Second Life http://www.addictedtoads.com/American+Apparel+Opens+in+Second+Life-060618-024347 Second Life, which has now over 260 thousand residents. The newest advergamer is American Apparel, which is opening an in-world showroom located on a private island in Second Life as soon as this weekend.



Via: Micro Persuasion

Related: My Virtual Life]]> Advertising, Internet, Games, Advergaming http://www.addictedtoads.com/American+Apparel+Opens+in+Second+Life-060618-024347 Radoslav Gazo Sun, 18 Jun 2006 06:43:47 -0500 Pay Per Troll Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Pay+Per+Troll+Advertising-060616-214056
The trolls are recruited by a company called NetVocates, which realized that blogs are too important to be ignored and offers a "well-planned communication strategy" where "blogs can serve as an effective communications tool to promote key messages to targeted audiences."[1]

The NetVocates solution is to monitor and analyze the blogosphere and then "recruit activists and consumers who share the client’s views in order to reinforce those key messages on targeted blog."[2] These activists (posing as real users) then post comments, which are usually the exact opposite of what the established community on the targeted blog thinks. This is what NetVocates calls "rebutting misinformation". The Wikipedia on the other hand, refers to it as trolling.

More: behind netvocates]]> Advertising, Internet, Blogs, NetVocates http://www.addictedtoads.com/Pay+Per+Troll+Advertising-060616-214056 Radoslav Gazo Sat, 17 Jun 2006 01:40:56 -0500 Online Advertising Network Roundup http://www.addictedtoads.com/Online+Advertising+Network+Roundup-060609-021558 Charles Iliya Krempeaux summarized a list of 130(!) advertising networks and added some valuable tips for advertisers and publishers. If you are thinking about trying alternatives to Google Advertising, then start your search from this list.

If you wonder why you would want anything but AdWords, the answer may be cheaper prices and possibly a higher ROI.

You may want to try an alternative to Google AdSense to generate more revenue from your website or to have better control over ads displayed on your pages.]]> Advertising, Internet, Google, MSN, Yahoo, BidClix, Pheedo, RSS Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Online+Advertising+Network+Roundup-060609-021558 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 09 Jun 2006 06:15:58 -0500 US online ad spending grows 38 percent http://www.addictedtoads.com/US+online+ad+spending+grows+38+percent-060531-103941
The spending figure was a new record for quarterly revenue and amounted to a 38% increase compared to the first quarter of last year.

A substantial chunk of that first quarter revenue probably ended up in Google's bank account. Google reported in its first quarter 2006 financials that it had revenue of $2.25 billion. Virtually all of Google's revenue comes from online advertising.
]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google, MSN, Yahoo, BidClix http://www.addictedtoads.com/US+online+ad+spending+grows+38+percent-060531-103941 Radoslav Gazo Wed, 31 May 2006 14:39:41 -0500 Heat Map: Choosing The Best Placements For Ads http://www.addictedtoads.com/Heat+Map%3A+Choosing+The+Best+Placements+For+Ads+-060512-022258

Certain locations tend to be more successful than others, as illustrated by this "heat map" provided by Google AdSense Blog.

The strongest performance areas are represented by dark orange color, while weaker areas are represented by light yellow. All other things being equal, ad placements above the fold tend to perform better than those below the fold.
Ads placed near the primary content and menus usually do well because users are focused on those areas of a page.

Tip: Forum webmasters can find specific forum heat map and other useful tips in this article: Six AdSense optimization tips for forums

]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/Heat+Map%3A+Choosing+The+Best+Placements+For+Ads+-060512-022258 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 12 May 2006 06:22:58 -0500 BidClix Improves Publisher Profile Pages http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix+Improves+Publisher+Profile+Pages-060509-164948 BidClix announced today the launch of improved publisher profile pages.
The new-and-improved "Publisher Profile Page" is a powerful sales tool. Publishers can customize it by adding the name, url and description of their websites, uploading their logo and setting the minimum prices for their content channels.

Here is an example

This is what advertisers see by clicking on the "Advertise Here" link below the BidClix ads. Advertisers can then place bids and create new accounts directly from there.

More Info: Paul Needham's Blog]]> Advertising, Internet, BidClix http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix+Improves+Publisher+Profile+Pages-060509-164948 Radoslav Gazo Tue, 09 May 2006 20:49:48 -0500 New Adsense referrals for Google Pack and Picasa http://www.addictedtoads.com/New+Adsense+referrals+for+Google+Pack+and+Picasa-060505-025623 released two new items in their referral program. In addition to AdSense, AdWords and Firefox with Google Toolbar, you can now refer users to Google Pack and earn up to $2 each time a users installs Pack, or earn up to $1 for each Picasa install.
Picassa referrals are available for several AdSense languages and Pack referrals are offered in US English.]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/New+Adsense+referrals+for+Google+Pack+and+Picasa-060505-025623 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 05 May 2006 06:56:23 -0500 Microsoft Officialy Launches adCenter http://www.addictedtoads.com/Microsoft+Officialy+Launches+adCenter-060505-012524 Microsoft adCenter will now receive 100% of MSN search traffic on pages in US, France and Singapore. A limited U.K. launch is slated for June. Microsoft still partners with Yahoo! on many other international regions.
By summer Microsoft will launch a contextual advertising product that competes with Google AdSense and Yahoo Publisher Network.

References:
adCenter Blog Article
TechSpot: Microsoft launches adCenter in the U.S.
MSN adCenter Review
MSN adCenter Launches: 5 Reasons NOT to Use It
]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google, MSN, Yahoo http://www.addictedtoads.com/Microsoft+Officialy+Launches+adCenter-060505-012524 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 05 May 2006 05:25:24 -0500 Intralink Ranks Search Relevance http://www.addictedtoads.com/Intralink+Ranks+Search+Relevance-060503-010624 report was compiled by doing hundreds of searches on a wide range of terms, considering factors like relevancy, freshness of content, failure rate and search performance.

Surprisingly, the study found that the MSN returned consistently better results than some of the newer search engines, with Google a close second.

Intralink plans to regularly update their search relevance report every three months.]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google, MSN, Yahoo http://www.addictedtoads.com/Intralink+Ranks+Search+Relevance-060503-010624 Radoslav Gazo Wed, 03 May 2006 05:06:24 -0500 Amazon switches to Microsoft from Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/Amazon+switches+to+Microsoft+from+Google-060501-022629
Windows Live is at the core of Microsoft's efforts to win online advertising dollars away from Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
A9 Chief Executive David Tennenhouse said that Windows Live presented a "very interesting, powerful web search option" that had previously been featured on the A9 site.
Tennenhouse said the Google search was removed from the site on Sunday, following the expiration of that contract.
]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google, MSN http://www.addictedtoads.com/Amazon+switches+to+Microsoft+from+Google-060501-022629 Radoslav Gazo Mon, 01 May 2006 06:26:29 -0500 Pheedo Unveils Cut-and-Paste Ads For Feeds http://www.addictedtoads.com/Pheedo+Unveils+CutandPaste+Ads+For+Feeds-060426-014558 Pheedo launched today two new solutions for publishers: "Pheedo Ads for Feeds" and "Pheedo Ads for Feeds+".

Pheedo's Ads for Feeds allows publishers to get started with simple cut and paste ad code. Ads for Feeds Plus provides robust feed analytics and high-performance ad units. The new solutions are sort of a cross between the cut-and-paste RSS ad code available via Google, Yahoo! Publisher Network and Kanoodle, and the analytics services offered by the likes of FeedBurner.

Ads can be priced on a CPM or CPC basis.]]> Advertising, Internet, Pheedo, RSS Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Pheedo+Unveils+CutandPaste+Ads+For+Feeds-060426-014558 Radoslav Gazo Wed, 26 Apr 2006 05:45:58 -0500 New image ad format for AdSense http://www.addictedtoads.com/New+image+ad+format+for+AdSense-060425-134638 supports image ads for two new formats - the Large Rectangle (336 x 280) and Square (250 x 250).

]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/New+image+ad+format+for+AdSense-060425-134638 Radoslav Gazo Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:46:38 -0500 My Virtual Life http://www.addictedtoads.com/My+Virtual+Life-060420-232953 My Virtual Life Thousands of people are living imaginary lives in Cyberspace.
Rob Hof writes in a BusinessWeek cover story, about the gaming site Second Life.
Second Life is today's version of Matrix. A "real" world with real residents, which lets you live your life from scratch. As a resident of Second Life, you can create objects - anything from clothes to storefronts, or find a perfect parcel of land and build your dream house. Careers, socializing, entertainment - unlimited opportunities.

Second life's 3D world is today inhabited by nearly 100,000 people from around the globe. Big advertisers are taking notice. ]]> Advertising, Internet, Games http://www.addictedtoads.com/My+Virtual+Life-060420-232953 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 21 Apr 2006 03:29:53 -0500 Textlinks for Adsense referrals http://www.addictedtoads.com/Textlinks+for+Adsense+referrals-060420-231818 Text links for referrals of AdWords, AdSense and Firefox. The new format is available in US English locale and other languages will be added shortly.

For a preview of the new format click here]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/Textlinks+for+Adsense+referrals-060420-231818 Radoslav Gazo Fri, 21 Apr 2006 03:18:18 -0500 Google makes 12 cents per search http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+makes+12+cents+per+search-060420-022734 figures gathered by Nielsen/NetRatings, Americans carried out 5.7 billion searches on the Net in January 2006. 48% or more than 2.7 billion searches were done via Google alone and the company made 12 cents in revenue per search.
Total year-over-year increase in searches was 39% between January 2005 and January 2006.
"Web users are conducting more searches not because they can't find what they're looking for," said Ken Cassar of Nielsen/NetRatings, "but because search as a utility has become deeply ingrained into people's everyday lives."

Via: Technology Evangelist]]> Advertising, Search Engines, Internet, Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+makes+12+cents+per+search-060420-022734 Radoslav Gazo Thu, 20 Apr 2006 06:27:34 -0500 Google OneBox for Enterprise http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+OneBox+for+Enterprise-060419-013234 OneBox functionality to their Enterprise Search Appliance. This should make search for news, stock quotes, weather and just about anything very easy.

The official Google Blog mentions Oracle, Cognos, SAS and Salesforce.com as partners already using the new OneBox modules for enterprise search.

Another news from Google is the introduction of the new Mini appliance that's 25 times faster and half the size of its predecessor.

Other Mentions:
http://spaces.msn.com/invin05/Blog/cns! ... 1069.entry
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/index.php?p=165]]> Search Engines, Internet http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+OneBox+for+Enterprise-060419-013234 Radoslav Gazo Wed, 19 Apr 2006 05:32:34 -0500 How to promote a blog http://www.addictedtoads.com/How+to+promote+a+blog-060418-171713 Ping your blog at Ping-O-Matic every time you write a new article - Your articles will almost immediately show up at blogging communities like Technorati, Syndic8, My Yahoo and other websites.

  • Send Trackbacks to other blogs, which you are commenting or referring to in your articles - Readers of the blog will be notified about your new post and may visit your blog.


  • Link to others. - The owner of the website you link to will often notice that many of their readers are coming from your blog and may get interested in visiting your site and might even promote it.


  • Create controversies - If you write about sensitive topics, people will be more likely to come and comment on your blog.


  • Post comments on other blogs and use the URL of your blog in your signature.


  • Put the URL of your blog in your signature when sending emails or discussing issues on message boards.


  • Bookmark your blog and articles at del.icio.us


  • Use PPC advertising to get targeted audience.


    • What you should NOT use are various traffic exchanges like BlogExplosion, which are usually just wasting your time. Here is why: Why you should NOT use BlogExplosion]]>     Advertising, Internet http://www.addictedtoads.com/How+to+promote+a+blog-060418-171713 Radoslav Gazo Tue, 18 Apr 2006 21:17:13 -0500     Stopbounce: Earn money when visitors leave your site http://www.addictedtoads.com/Stopbounce%3A+Earn+money+when+visitors+leave+your+site-060418-005208 StopBounce may be for you.

    According to StopBounce:
    The typical path to your site is from someone using a major search engine. However, the majority of the people who click on your listing simply click the "back" button and leave your site. When you use StopBounce, the visitors who click the "back" button will be presented with an alternative list of sponsors relating to the keyword they were searching through the search engine.


    You will be paid 1 cent for each visitor that leaves your site and sees StopBounce ads.

    However, if you are thinking of using StopBounce in addition to Google AdSense, then I have bad news for you: It is not allowed!
    Here is a reply to my inquiry at AdSense support:
    According to our program policies, Google ads may not be displayed
    anywhere on a site that also contains StopBounce. In specific, this
    program interferes with site navigation and is therefore not allowed.

    ]]>     Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Stopbounce%3A+Earn+money+when+visitors+leave+your+site-060418-005208 Radoslav Gazo Tue, 18 Apr 2006 04:52:08 -0500     Online Advertising vs. Print Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Online+Advertising+vs.+Print+Advertising-060417-183813 examines the key differences between print and online advertising. Ed pointed out some obvious disadvantages of print advertising, like limited targeting options and the fact that print ads grow stale and don't provide ongoing revenue for the publisher.

    Online advertising allows various ways to target - by keywords, region, language or demographic factors. Ads are stored and served separately from the articles, which allows serving current ads on archived content.

    One of the other key differences is that the marginal cost of managing smaller advertisers is very high for printed newspaper, but it is close to zero for online publishers. This opened a whole new market which was not available to printed media. Small advertisers with tight budgets are motivated by the possibilities of having better control over their spending and the performance of their ads when bidding online. ]]>     Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Online+Advertising+vs.+Print+Advertising-060417-183813 Radoslav Gazo Mon, 17 Apr 2006 22:38:13 -0500     Google appears to be building travel portal http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+appears+to+be+building+travel+portal-060417-032525 speculates that Google is building a travel portal, possibly in cooperation with Orbitz.

    His conclusions are based on a post from the Job Listing site of mediabistro.com for "Google: Senior Account Executive, Travel Vertical."

    Perhaps in a few weeks we will be able to type travel.google.com in our browser and reserve hotel rooms or flights at Google Travel.]]>     Search Engines http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+appears+to+be+building+travel+portal-060417-032525 Radoslav Gazo Mon, 17 Apr 2006 07:25:25 -0500     Using AdSense to get in the Google SERPS? http://www.addictedtoads.com/Using+AdSense+to+get+in+the+Google+SERPS%3F-060416-151442 JenSense writes about the evidence that pages spidered by the AdSense-Bot (Mediapartners-Google) are getting included in Google SERPS. Jen and Greg Boser use log files and Google's cache to show that the date and time of the AdSense-Bot's visits are identical to the times of the cached version of the pages.

    This is in contrast with AdSense support statement that "Participating in Google AdSense does not affect your site's rank in Google search results and will not affect the search results we deliver".

    One of the commentators of Jen's article also speculates that GoogleBot seems to disguise itself occasionally and that it may sometimes appear as mediabot.]]>     Advertising, Search Engines http://www.addictedtoads.com/Using+AdSense+to+get+in+the+Google+SERPS%3F-060416-151442 Radoslav Gazo Sun, 16 Apr 2006 19:14:42 -0500     Hyperphrase Technologies files patent suit vs. Google http://www.addictedtoads.com/Hyperphrase+Technologies+files+patent+suit+vs.+Google-060415-153549
    Hyperphrase Technologies, Inc.'s patents on data storage and retrieval are allegedly infringed by the AutoLink and AdSense features in Google's toolbar.

    Hyperphrase made news in 2000 when it sued Microsoft for patent infringement in the federal court, seeking in excess of $2 billion in damages. The suit was dismissed in 2003.]]>     Internet http://www.addictedtoads.com/Hyperphrase+Technologies+files+patent+suit+vs.+Google-060415-153549 Radoslav Gazo Sat, 15 Apr 2006 19:35:49 -0500     Optimizing your website for maximum earnings http://www.addictedtoads.com/Optimizing+your+website+for+maximum+earnings-060415-025700
    The latest example showcased at the AdSense Blog is the German technology news portal PCFreunde.de. Choosing the right spots turned the site into a profitable business. "The biggest impact was made by changing the ad placement from the side of the pages into the content of my pages," said Thomas Zehetner, the owner PCFreunde.de.
    ]]>     Advertising http://www.addictedtoads.com/Optimizing+your+website+for+maximum+earnings-060415-025700 Radoslav Gazo Sat, 15 Apr 2006 06:57:00 -0500     Google adds Calendar http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+adds+Calendar-060414-200859 Google Calendar.
    The calendar features:
    * Calendar Sharing (for company calendars, family calendars etc.),
    * Invitations,
    * Quick Add (adding events with 1 click),
    * Gmail Integration,
    * Search,
    * Mobile Access (sends reminders to your mobile phone),
    * Event Publishing
    And it's all free...]]>     Internet http://www.addictedtoads.com/Google+adds+Calendar-060414-200859 Radoslav Gazo Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:08:59 -0500     BidClix launches budgeting tool http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix+launches+budgeting+tool-060412-032006 BidClix announced the launch of a new tool for advertisers to better manage their daily spending levels. The Budget tool allows advertisers to set a daily budget for each ad in their account.

    The same new tool was automatically launched at the canadian based Bell Virtual Marketplace, which is powered by BidClix.]]>     Advertising, BidClix http://www.addictedtoads.com/BidClix+launches+budgeting+tool-060412-032006 Radoslav Gazo Wed, 12 Apr 2006 07:20:06 -0500