Interest-based advertising...interesting

I recently received an email from google about interest-based advertising. Interest-based advertising will allow advertisers to show ads based on a user's previous interactions online.

The email states:

"To develop interest categories, we will recognize the types of web pages users visit throughout the Google content network. As an example, if they visit a number of sports pages, we will add them to the "sports enthusiast" interest category."

Question "well how?". Answer "Cookies"

Google adsense publishers will drop crumbs into the computer of every person who clicks on an ad on their page . Publishers will have to inform their visitors of this new "interest-based advertising". How many clicks do publishers feel they will get with the following statements:

• Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on www.com
• Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.

Google does however allow users to opt out but the damage is done if you ask me. I don't see the benefit to the user. For me it's too much that even my "interests" will be free for google to exploit.

However it is interesting in a Orwell "1984" sort of way.

:P

My dog made $2.05 on the internet!

Ha ha! Sounds good? Well not really. The title of this blog may cause you to think "If her DOG can do it I SURE can!" Well you can...but $2.05 aint gonna do much!

I was explaining previously that I had constructed a site to check out if I could make any money using Google Affiliate Network (GAN). In case you forgot I took the advice of other bloggers and made a site I was passionate about. My dogs! (doxiedogstore.com)

• The first step was to create a few pages with content that I had personal experience with. I'm not much of a writer, in fact If I'm honest about it I'M TERRIBLE! But I muddled through and did the best I could.

• The second step was to find ads that went with my content. I would recommend you look at ads first, it can help give you ideas for the content in the first place! I was able to find some, even doxie dog related so it worked out.

• The third step was to try and get traffic without really doing anything. I'm all about doing nothing for a bit. You do have to sometimes. I added tracking to my google analytics for the pages and waited. People were slowly trickling in! I seem to have been able to get myself ranked in yahoo with content and simple html know-how. And even better, average time spent on the site is 10 mins! Not bad for "waiting to see".

I added google adsense to the pages as well. That's how my dog made $2.05. People came, read my pages and then sometimes click on a google ad. They certainly click on the ads more then they do for the GAN banners. GAN doesn't pay until someone buys something....not just "click" on the ad. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'll have to add more content of course. But things have been a bit hectic lately. I will do it, after-all if my dog can make $2.05 without really trying to promote herself.....

Google Affiliate Network

I'm sure you all know about google adsense. For those of you who don't know you can find out more at this LINK

Basically Adsense allows you to place google ads on your website's pages in order to earn money depending on the clicks they get. Some people seem to do well with them. I don't. I had ads up for the last month and earned all of $4. Yippy~

Then I found out about Google Affilate Network. You have to apply, and have your own website and agree to certain terms (such as not bidding on companies keywords) but once you are approved you have a large list of affiliates to join.

The network provides you with banners (or text links) which earns you a % if people purchase any items at the links store. It also inserts cookies so it can track your "click" sometimes upto 90 days. So if 45 days later, a person makes a purchase I can still earn a commission. Some commissions for affiliates are upto 25% (a heck of alot more then amazons offering of all of 4%)


They have a great selection of banners (see example above) for each advertiser. They also have a pretty nice reporting section. It shows the number of impressions the ad displayed, the number of times the ad was clicked...as well as, of course, the sales you make. They pay out by check (or transfers to US bank accounts).

I just added it myself this weekend. No sales yet but a few click throughs so who knows, maybe in 24 days :P