Comments Off on Quick Report: Search Engine Strategies (San Jose)

I spent half of my day yesterday visiting the exhibitor booths at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose. My primary goal was to learn more about some of the advanced PPC search management tools, but I was also looking for anything new that might help my clients or me. Read more »

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California is considering a bill which would effectively terminate advertising by out-of-state merchants on web publications owned by Californians. Read more »

Comments Off on What to Call It? “Amazon Tax” or “Advertising-Nexus Tax Law”

What should we (web publishers, merchants, and others in the affiliate-marketing industry) call the unconstitutional law which NY enacted (and which RI, NC, HI, CA, TN, CT, and MN are considering)? Read more »

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(December 11, 2008) — I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to obtain support from Dell for my Dimension 5150 (e510) computer. I’ve finally concluded that Dell will not provide support, for any price. Read more »

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October 6, 2008 — I’m angry today, because I’ve just wasted two trips to LensCrafters, and now must start over from scratch looking for new eyeglasses.

I wanted to buy new glasses. I knew what I wanted, and I had my prescription (written by the nice lady at the EyeExam office inside LensCrafters, for the bargain price of just $59.95). However, the salespeople I spoke with (and the general manager) kept trying to pitch me on “upgrades” — featherweight lenses, anti-reflective coating, and the “new thing” called AVP (for “Advanced View Progressive,” not “Alien Vs. Predator”). Read more »

Comments Off on Web Site Checklists for Merchants (draft) (2007)

This is a “work-in-progress” checklist that I created in December 2007, but never finished. It is essentially a list of “issues” to consider when evaluating a merchant’s web site. Read more »

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In the movie Akeelah and the Bee, a quotation is displayed on a framed certificate in the home-office of a main character, and the words are incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela, as part of his 1994 Inauguration Speech as President of South Africa. Read more »

Comments Off on Types of Affiliates (Web Publishers)

Most merchants find it useful to divide prospective and current affiliates into major categories, which usually have different performance characteristics and concerns. Read more »

Comments Off on Selling the Affiliate Program

Here is a typical outline of issues that a merchant (advertiser) should consider when explaining to prospective affiliates (publishers) why they should consider participating in the merchant’s “performance-based advertising” program (affiliate program). Read more »

Comments Off on Outsourced Program Management (OPM) for Affiliate Programs

1. My usual recommendation is that merchants should hire a full-time in-house affiliate manager to administer the program. However, you should be aware that there are a number of “outsourcing” options for administration of an affiliate program. Read more »