Articles by Receptional

Google have just announced a small policy change in how you can use display URLs in PPC adverts. It could be bad for PPC affiliates. Basically, in Adwords, you used to be able - in certain circumstances - to have a different display URL to the actual landing page url. A large number of affiliates could, often with the blessing of the merchant, set the advert to click direct to their site, but have the client's brand name URL displaying on the advert. For example, the following would be acceptable: Display U... View full article.

Recently I have been researching Facebook. I know many of you are there because you’ve tracked me down! I’ve also been looking at YouTube and Yahoo Answers. With all three, my main purpose was to see how major brands can manage reputation in these spaces and possibly conduct marketing campaigns. But everywhere I looked I saw better opportunities for affiliates than brand owners at this time. With affiliates getting battered by the PPC suppliers, you might want to think about a few of these ideas as ... View full article.

In part 1 I found myself having to change from Kowabunga/Kolimbo/MyAP’s affiliate tracking technology to AllAffiliatePro with only a few weeks’ notice. Now I’ve actually come out the other end, I can risk writing part 2. The new system is up and running and apart from a number of one off inconveniences I hope that the affiliates themselves hav... View full article.

I assume that I am not the only merchant/manager that had the shocking email from MyAP/Kowabunga/Kolimbo/Think Partnership organisation saying that - from next month - their charges will go from a flat fee (in my case of about US$85 a month as I've been with them so long) to a performance based pricing like the other networks. The new performance base will be 30% override of affiliate commissions or $500 a month, whichever is the greater. For Leisure Direction that works out to be an in... View full article.

I was in a chat room on the Internet Chess Club the other day and someone read my profile and said I was an “seo expert”. The predictable barrage started from a couple of presumably very able web developers about the SEO industry being a bunch of snake oil charmer salesmen and general charlatans.   I’m not saying they didn’t have a point, but it depends on what you are asking the optimiser t... View full article.