August 2006

As part of my Adsense site investigations, I decided to have a go at making one of those nasty webpages you come across which actually contain no real content, mostly adverts and information and links borrowed from other peoples blogs and websites.

It was quite easy really.
The page can be viewed here

http://megatao.com/test/index2.htm

Let me stress that this page is just a test.  It is not a live webpage and does not contain information about the PS3 that you might want to read.  It is just a test on integrating images and text with Adsense code.  If anyone does click on the adverts after going there - then more fool you!

How I made the page

The page was made up as follows:

1.  A free basic CSS template from CSSFill.com
2.  Some images hot linked from Google Images - I will download these to my site when I get a chance so not to piss people off.
3.  For the "news" sections, I used Feed2js.org to generate the javascript code that would churn out HTML versions of RSS feeds.

I chose feeds for PSP, playstation and playstation 3 straight from the RSS feed of searches from within Bloglines.

4.  Some links I made up - but the target URLs are valid.
5.  A little "welcome message"

And that is basically the site done.  As the content is based around RSS feeds, it will change as new items are published by "an other" on other sites and blogs.

What I learnt

I have learnt that when you create a page and put your Adsense Adverts into it, the adverts are based on the content at that time.  This happened when I created another test page with the text "this is a test page for adsense" written on it with just one Adsense advert and nothing else.  Part of my testing was to change the text from "adsense" to "xbox" to see the changes it made.  I was also looking at ways to display Xbox on the page and then show ads for Playstation 3 - which I could’nt get to work.  After I had changed the wording, the adsense adverts did not change until I renamed the HTML page to something else - index2.html for example.

I assume that this means that Google indexes the page immediately but may not react to any changes straight away.  It may take time for them to reindex the page and apply Adsense accordingly.

Conclusion

The page is ugly, cheap, nasty and was done in about 2 hours.  Would it work?  Who knows.  If I could get it on a good domain name, then maybe…..

Tags: psp, ps3, playstation, playstation 3, adsense, google, monetize, advertising

I was thinking of doing a little list of good web sites to use to check out Adsense keywords and also any good sources of information that I have been reading.

ePublishingdaily has done a much better job that I have!

The Ultimate Resource Page

It is broken down into various sections too.

I have already been using a few of the Adsense sites listed, but have also been using Keyword Country which also has some good information and articles available for free.

Via ProBlogger

Tags: adsense, google, earnings, montize, resources, adwords

DriverChris made a valid (if slightly tounge in cheek) comment on my Finding Your Adsense Niche post regarding whether making sites that concentrate on high paying keywords is the best route, rather than making a site based on content you like, enjoy or participate in.

If you look at it from a pure business angle, a site can be created with content scraped from RSS feeds and free articles without any need for knowing the subject in any great depth. If good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques are followed and the site gets near to the top of Google and the other main search engine players, then traffic is guaranteed.

From what I read on places like the EarnersForum, sites like this are seen as “cheating”. Not that people there don’t use them - they are just seem to be frowned upon.

Content that is original and created by yourself is better because it will bring new visitors and incoming links from other sites.

Without traffic, you have no readers and without readers, you will have no income.

Also, incoming links from other sites will boost your rating in Google and make your site more visible.

Personally, I want to make a site that is generated from new unique content created by me. This means that my options for finding the best combination of subject and keywords has been reduced, but it also means that the longevity of the site will be extended. I do get bored quickly and I want to make a site that is respected in the online community, but one that also brings me in some extra money. So a personal interest is required.

I might make a “scrape site” to see how it works though. Not as a money making venture, but as a test of my coding skills and feasibility. In fact, my recent posts about Adsense have been picked up by one such site already!

Technorati Tags: adsense, google, income, marketing, monetize

I found this “checklist” over at EarnersForum.com where someone had produced a detailed example of the steps they take when finding an Adsense Niche to monetize and putting it to work. The link to the original post is here and can be accessed without needing a login at EarnersForum.

I have taken the headings and added my own words around each one, just to make it personal to me - and maybe more relevant in the hope that I might understand and remember each one.

1. Find a Niche
Simple eh? This might be the hardest part! I am already stuck on this one….

2. Check Search Volume
Use sites like Overture and Wordtracker to find out the search amount for your niche’s core keywords.

3. Check Competition
Fire your core keywords into Google to see the competition. Use the various search options like enclosing the keywords in quotes.

4. Judge Monetization Potential
Use sites like Overture to gauge the amount that an add for your keywords might get. Are there any other affiliate sites that you could include to bring more monetization to the site?

5. Expand and Organize Your Keywords
Providing that the keywords are worth some money, go ahead and start diversifying your keywords into a larger group and selection.

6. Let it Stew
Chill, have a cuppa and go back to the idea in a weeks time. Jot down any other thoughts along the way.

7. Refine
Refine your list of keywords. Chuck out the rubbish ones and concentrate on the money makers.

8. Site Mapping
Decide on how your site should work. Draw it out. Main sections are dictated by your keywords and their groupings. One page for Paint, one for Blue Paint, one for Painting Techniques etc.

9. Choose a CMS
How will you do your website? You will need to choose one that allows interactivity (comments etc) from readers. Wordpress, Joomla etc

10. Design and Content
Design the site offline. Test it online but keep it hidden from the outside world before you go live. You will need content to go live with.

11. Make it Public, Grow, and Get Links
Add content to the site slowly, link to others so they might link to you. Submit to search engines and places like Digg. Network and interlink your sites and pages.

Remember, this is not my list. All credit is due to the creator. You can read the original posting and follow ups here.

Technorati Tags: adsense, earnersforum, income, marketing, monetize, niche

If you come here often you may have noticed that I have started to introduce Google Adsense into my blog.

Google Adsense is a Pay-per-click based form of advertising whereby the page owner gets a (small) fee paid for each advert clicked on by a reader. There are also some pay-per-view advertisements too, but they are seldom seen.

I feel that I put quite a lot of effort into writing things for my blogs and it is not unrealistic to assume that I would want to profit from people who might want to follow advertising based on the content I provide. I have been writing for Geeklimit for a while now and each of my posts has Adsense embedded. So far I have achieved a sum so measly that I could not even buy a coffee with it! In fact, all of the income I have received has been from Geeklimit so far.

I have been reading sites like ProBlogger, run by Darren Rowse for a while now and have seen that a living can be made from Adsense based income. There are tricks to getting Adsense to work the best for you and there are plenty of sites out there that will tell you the best places to put the adverts and how to target them according to your content.

ProBlogger also put me on to a forum based site called EarnersForum where internet based entrepreneurs discuss means and methods of making a living online. it makes very interesting reading and there are people out there who obviously make thousands a month from websites based on the Adsense formulas. And once they have created one site - they can just apply the same theory to another and double their income!

I have decided that I would like to “jump on this bandwagon” and will be looking to set up a site based around Adsense advertising. Not as a real income generator but more as an experiment on how it works and whether it is possible. It all seems “too easy to be true” that a site could generate me extra money so that my wife would not have to work part time or something like that.

I have to take a lot of things into consideration when approaching this, like visibility in Google and other search engines. Using high paying keywords and targeting Adsense on those keywords to generate the most income from each click. The web is flooded with sites set up in this manner already and choosing to make a site based on say, MySpace Video Codes would be foolish as there are millions of results in Google and getting anywhere near the top of that list would be a near impossible task.

The main problem is finding that niche area, getting a good domain name and generating the site based on all the various criteria. I have a few things in mind for the content but need to find that niche before I jump into anything. Most people don’t search past the first few pages of a Google search before they start delving further into the sites themselves. Getting to the top of that list is probably the most important thing - but achieving that goal may be a different matter.

Technorati Tags: adsense, google, income, problogger

Hot on the heels of my 10 People You Find In Every Office post, here is a list of 10 things you will find in any office environment.

1. The Laminated Award
So you did a good job and saved the business 20 million last financial year, stayed all night to rebuild a server so that the MD could get his daily Dilbert email first thing in the morning. And what do they give you? A pat on the back and a laminated Powerpoint slide that tells everyone what a great person you are. There is nothing more demoralising than an award generated from a preset template and done in the MS Comic Sans font. I wonder if anyone has ever produced one of these in an interview?

2. The World Cup Chart
Yes, I know that football in the office environment is good fun but the World Cup finished months ago! Get that poster down and replace it with something else. Like a laminated powerpoint slide award for the person who won the sweepstake!

3. Funny Posters
“You don’t have to be mad to work here - but it helps”
“Due to financial problems, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off until further notice”

They might make you chuckle when you first see them, but the secretaries photocopy them and then they are all over the place. Flamethrower…on!

4. Uglies
People! You come to work to get away from your kids! We also come to work to get away from our kids! So why would we want to look at pictures of ugly kids smiling sweetly or holding a fish they caught 12 years ago. That goes for pictures of your pets too!

5. Sweets
Candy in the office is a good bartering tool.

“Come to my desk for the meeting, i’ve got BonBons!”

Unfortunately, the sweets are usually from abroad and taste like burnt cat treats. Unless you can read the name on the packet in your own language - avoid them.

6. Emergency!
“In case of emergency - smash glass!”

The little red box with the clear glass front will often be emblazoned with the name of a critical system that is run and supported by your iT department. Inside the box will be either a cigarette or a small bottle of something alcoholic. The same people who have this might also have “panic” buttons glued to their computer keyboards.

7. Pin Ups
Your female work colleagues are able to have pictures of Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell stuck up around their workstation with no fear of reprisal. As soon as you pin up a picture of Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz in their surfing gear from Charlies Angels 2 - you get daggers from the women, lots of male colleagues accumulating around your desk and eventually a disciplinary offense by HR. What gives?

8. The Tool Man
A photocopier or fax engineer will always be present in the office somewhere. The machines always go wrong and get microscopic traces of paper stuck inside that will force someone to come out and take half the thing apart to find it. Either that or someone has (again) put the wrong acetates in the feeder and has gummed up the works after they melted. Even better though, as they were pictures of Orlando Bloom! You know exactly who to blame!

9. Squeeze My Balls!
Juggling balls, paper weights, squashy stress balls, magnet things, folding blocks, dripping liquid things. Yeah. We know you got sent one free from a supplier who was hoping you would spend some money with them - but do you need 10 of them? People get really annoyed when they get stolen too!

10. Life! But not as we know it…
Some people bring pot plants to the office (not the smoking kind!) to brighten up the place. Others just leave their coffee cups to fester in a corner until they resemble something from Jack and the Beanstalk! Take a close look behind your PC. I bet there is one there! Either that or one of those stress toys that you forgot about, an old pen or wall calendar from 2001.

This has been inspired (in part) by the Lists Group Writing Project over at Problogger.net. Darren does a great job inspiring me to blog more and to be more serious about it. He gives us hope that even we, can make money whilst sleeping, drinking coffee and mowing the lawn. I am still yet to earn enough from advertising based income to buy that coffee - but I will let you know as soon as I do!

Technorati Tags: list, office, problogger

1. The Jolly Fat Woman
   By law, one has to exist in every office building in the UK. Within hours of starting work there you know them by name already and alot about what they do at the weekends. Over friendly and over confident, very loud and laughs at her own jokes. Most likely to be married to another jolly, fat man who used to work in the office or a lorry driver.
2. The Office Gay
   Someone who not actually gay, but gets the brunt of all the gay jokes. He has a wife or girlfriend, but no-one has ever seen her. Plays up to the gay taunts and ends up being more gay as a result. A vicious never ending circle of abuse throughout his career. Often to be found with a hosepipe stuck on the exhaust of his car in the car park.
3. The Anal Manager
   The bloke who is so caught up in his procedures and processes that he even pisses at pre-determined intervals scheduled and managed by change control documents. Sticks to the rules no matter what. Buzzwords are his language and teamworking, networking and brainstorming are his favorite hobbies. Wanker.
4. The iPod Guy
   Someone you strive to be like. He sits at his desk and listens to his iPod all day long. Obviously lucky enough to have a job where you don’t have to use the telephone, he lacks social skills but makes up for it by having a great MP3 collection on his hard disk which he shares with you all. Most likely to be found drumming on his knees in the toilets for 20 minutes at a time.
5. The Clock Watcher
   He’s there at 9am and leaves dead on 5:30pm. Not a minute early, not a minute late. You can set your watch by that guy. He also makes sure he takes as many 15 minute breaks as the smokers in the office too - just so he does’nt work 1 minute longer than he should. Possibly ex-army or police force. Most likey owns a caravan.
6. The “Unlucky In Love” Woman
   Aged between 30 and 40, she has had quite a few failed relationships - possibly with co-workers. She is quite bitter and can often be heard snivelling in the toilet or slagging someone off to her other “unlucky in love” friends. Most likely to be crying into a bar of chocolate of an evening, binge dieting and reading OK Magazine.Not to be confused with “The Dog Lady” who is just as pathetic but who’s life revolves around her pets and brings in photos of them to show everyone. She had a shower this morning, but she still just smells of dog.
7. The Twat
   No-one likes him but he thinks he is sucessful and popular. In fact, his manager tries to find ways for him to cock up so that he can get him sacked. His mere presence fills you with unusual anger and your tounge becomes tainted with severe sarcasm. You take the opposite opinion to everything he says. Not taken seriously by anyone in the office, he will get promoted slower than that pot plant you brought to the office to make it look nicer.
8. The Unobtainable Woman
   She’s gorgeous! She is very sexy but knows it. Her most powerful business tool is sex and she knows how to use it. She can often be confused with the Unlucky In Love Woman as she is most likely to be married to a total tosser who treats her like shit. Make friends with her though as you might be able to go for the sympathy shag after the Christmas do when she is feeling down about her relationship.
9. The Winger
   In every meeting where a new process has to be announced or some changes are to be made, The Winger will be there ready to pipe up with some unforeseen issues and complications. Sees the bad in all situations. Most likely to say things like “well… thats not on my job description” or “when i am paid enough to do that role, then I will…”. Can often be found being promoted quickly - just to keep them quiet.
10. The Geezer
    A smoker, a drinker and an all round good bloke! A real charmer with the women and someone who you would want to go out to the pub with after work. He has a fast car and lots of disposable income as he is not married and ditched his last “bird” as she was shit in bed. But really, she dumped him for having an errection problem. Often to be found living at home with his parents and crying himself to sleep alone in his bedroom as it’s all a front for his deep rooted depression.

Which one are you?

Don’t forget to also check out my “10 Things found in every office” post.

Work in a large open plan office?

Hounded by your boss/manager/supervisor when you want to be surfing the internet instead of working?

This site, Work Friendly, allows you to surf inside a pretend Micrsoft Office window. There is also a “boss key” that when you move over it with your mouse, it changes the web page to a proper word document!

Clever.

Now wrap it all up in a proxy annonymiser and we have got a deal!

I have just finished spending the last two nights cleaning down my sister-in-laws Windows XP machine of all its spyware and viruses.

In fact, its still grinding away in the corner of the room as I type this. I still have to defrag it after it has done an extensive anti virus scan of the hard disk and when I give it back I will have to explain the wonders of ZoneAlarm to her too!

I had to use several utilities to get the PC clean including StartupList,, KazaaBegone, BHOCop, ToolbarCOP and CWShredder.

My Macbook on the other hand…. well… it just hammers it home how good they are. Not to be worried by any of this crap maks me feel justified that I bought it. I can flip open the lid and surf and not worry that some pesky DLL is going to get in an crap all over my system. Perfect. I can see now why they recommend them for grannies!

I even used the MacBook to share my internet connection with the aforementioned pooly PC as my router is on one side of the room and the PC on the other. I have had dealings with Internet Connection Sharing on XP before and it has never been easy. On my MacBook however, I went to System Preferences, clicked Sharing, highlighted the Internet option, ticked the Built In Ethernet option and then clicked Start. About 25 seconds work i’d say.

All I did then was to plug the PC into the MacBook using a cross over RJ45 cable and off it went!

I am loving this little beauty more and more each day!
Hmmm lets see what that PC is doing..

aprox 65,000 files scanned so far
0:12:15 mins scan time
80 viruses found so far

UPDATE: I have just found an article from ZDNet that describes how the leading antivirus softwares missed virus and malware infection with an 80% miss rate! The software was not named (and shamed) but Symantec and McAfee account for most i expect.