When it comes to affiliate programs and which ones you should consider, not all are created equal or not all are worth the effort of implementing their code into your sites. For those interested, here is my breakdown or review of the affiliate programs worthy of pursuing:
Adbrite – this is the poor cousin to Adsense and Yahoo and their payouts reflect the fact they do not entice or enjoy having the best advertisers willing to pay higher dollars to utilize their distribution network. Minimum payout $5.00
Continue Reading »
Affiliate Programs – a user review
Now don’t get me wrong … I am a GoDaddy Customer so not trying to bash them too hard here, however, being that I am a long term customer why is it I have to go looking for promo codes on third party websites to ensure I register or renew my domains for the lowest possible price?
This is a complete waste of time and the time of many other domainers. GoDaddy should wake up and automatically provide the lowest possible price in the shopping cart at time of renewal or at the very least provide a link from their user interface or dashboard to these promo codes and the discounted rates that relate to the domain extension requiring renewal.
Why should we have to surf the net to discover that special price, coupon or promo code discount on an unrelated website and then test it to see if it actually works? Talk about Goofy, did not realize GoDaddy was owned by Disneyland!
What would really peeve me off is if I was a new customer, regged a bunch of names with GoDaddy, only to later discover I paid more than I should have because I was not aware of the coupon scheme.
Marketing people sniff too much glue or they drink too much Red Bull. GoDaddy do us regular, long standing, loyal customers a favor and save us the hassle. Again, let me reiterate, I think GoDaddy is a leader in domain registration services, and I use them almost exclusively, just feel this is one area they need to revisit.
GoDaddy Promo Codes
CJC749DOM – – Save $3 on .com domains.
You pay $7.49 for registrations, transfers and renewals
OYH7 – $7.49 any .COM (renewals)
BTPS7 – 20% any order of $50 or more
OYH5 – 10% off whatever
OYH6 – $5 off a $30 purchase
BTPS4 – 10% off anything
chill5 – 10% off
chill6 – $5 off $30
chill7 – $7.49 .coms
hash5 – 10% off
hash6 – $5 off $30
hash7 – $7.49 .com registration
gdd1101c – 10% off any order of $40 or more
Try any of the above and hopefully one will work and save you some dough.
For Wordpress users, Version 2.8 was released on June 10th, 2009.
There are not many changes in the layout and design but WP 2.8 fixed over 700 bugs and improved themes, widgets, taxonomies, and its overall speed by using script compression and concatenation.
Notable improvements:
- Browse the entire theme directory and install theme with one click
- CodePress editor – for people who likes to tweaks themes or plugins as it provides syntax highlighting
- Widgets interface redesigned – edit widget on the fly, drag & drop widget, duplicate widgets, etc.
- New Screen Options on every page in Dashboard – better customization by allowing you flexibility to arrange items showing on each page
- Improvements to the script loader: allows plugins to queue scripts for the front end head and footer, adds hooks for server side caching of compressed scripts, adds support for ENFORCE_GZIP constant (deflate is used by default since it’s faster)
Further details on all the new features available on Wordpress 2.8 can be viewed here.
Remember to consider backing up anytime you perform a major modification to your blog 
Not sure how many of you domainers know about the Free Google Monitor but I have been using it for a few years and it is without a doubt one of the best free internet tools on the market. This SEO tool allows you to find out the rank of your website in Google for popular or targeted keywords. Here is the link for those of you that are interested. No, it is not an affiliate link, it is just another internet tip or website tool we wanted to share with our readers.
Free search engine position software
Looking for a new way to market your wares, suggest you check out this clever marketing campaign generated by CleverStat. The better the link you as a webmaster provide them, the better the discount and or free license for one of their products you receive. More details can be found here
Why and how to acquire links for your website is controversial. Some bloggers recommend one-way, others suggest two-way or even three-way links.
I recommend you get relevant links and if the other party wants a reciprocal link go for it. Select a couple of different anchor text phrases that you wish to rank well for and alternate your link text between them.
Some further useful details when trying to determine phrases or for picking the right keywords:
Choosing the correct keywords for link building will determine how successful your link building campaign will be.
Keywords are used in link exchange categories, in fields for automatic news search, as Category Text and as meta data for each category and more.
How to find keywords:
First of all it is not easy, so do not attempt to shortcut the process. If you have keywords that get decent traffic – this is a great start but only part of the overall task. How relevant to your web sites are these keywords for link building? This is where you need to focus your efforts.
#1. To determine how many web sites are linked with your anchor USE:
Continue Reading »
Link Building for your Website
By Ron Jackson
German domainer Markus Schnermann is the picture of good health. By any measure – physical, mental, financial, you name it – he is at the top of his game. Schnermann founded a very successful business at KeywordDomains.com, is a partner in another (Domain Invest S.A.) and co-founded the biggest German language domain forum at ConsultDomain.de. After watching him soar to the top of the industry, domainers in his homeland often refer to Schnermann as a “superstar.” Heady stuff – especially for someone whose parents were once told they would have to care for him for the rest of his life.
Schnermann spent most of his youth battling spastic cerebral palsy, a condition caused by a shortage of oxygen at birth. It triggered an average of 30 convulsions a day and left him in need of constant therapy. “As a little kid it took much longer to learn to speak or walk,” Schnermann said, adding that his medical issues led people to reach the wrong conclusions about him.
“When I entered a standard school the teachers told my mother that they were sorry but her son would just be dumb,” Schermann recalled.
Continue Reading »
Teachers & Doctors Said Markus Schnermann Had No Future: How He Demolished Their Diagnosis and Gained International Domain Fame
Unless you blog with wordpress you will need a template to help you launch your site. Many developers use canned templates and modify them for their existing needs.
Here are a few sites that offer templates at a reasonable price to help you off-set start-up costs:
Many offer FREE templates as well. Good luck with your project.
If you are a website owner looking for someone to write some code or if you are a programmer looking for some work, you might want to take a look at Rent a Coder. At any one time there is 2000 – 3000 bid requests or open files of jobs or potential work for programmers.
The Colombian Ministry of Telecommunications has just published their final tender for bids for the operation of the .CO ccTLD yesterday. There will also be a session for comments and questions held today at 2:30pm in Bogota. Applications are due by June 16th 2009.
[via ccTLDs Forum]
Dark Blue Sea / Fabulous.com who started listing their own expired domains from the company’s portfolio at Namejet back in August of 2008 has now expanded this service in a beta version to it’s other registrar clients. For the participants of the service, the domains will be offered on the Namejet auction site as of the date of expiry of the name. If there are no bids received, the domain will follow its normal deletion, redemption and release process. Should a domain name sell, the account owner will receive 65% of the sales price minus the renewal fee.
In order to prevent abuse, the beta trial adopts a strict “three strikes and you are out” policy for domain owners who renew their name after it has received bids on Namejet. Names that were on a executive lock or are marked to never be sold will not be listed with Namejet.
If you are interested in participating in the beta trial, contact your account manager at the company.
(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com
As announced in corresponding press releases, .TEL has just passed the 200,000 domains registered mark. The .ME registry just passed their 250,000 domains milestone.
(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com
In a proposal just published on the ICANN site, Tralliance, the operator of the .TRAVEL registry has proposed a plan to release single and two character domain names under the .TRAVEL TLD, partially via auction. Details of the proposed groups of domains and their release after the jump.
- The registry itself can pick up to 10 names that it would use for promotion and operation of the TLD.
- A list of of names will be auctioned through a third party auction provider, potentially with a reserve price. Bids are to be placed through all accredited registrars for .travel.
- Allocation of names via RFP.
- Additional auction for all names not allocated above in the same manner as in 2).
- Registration of the remainder of names on a first come, first serve basis
In addition the registry is taking steps in order to allow ccTLD operators to register their ccTLD under the .travel domain at normal registration cost with the commitment to use the name.
The full details of the proposal are available on the ICANN site (PDF). Similar proposals have been submitted by .BIZ, .COOP, .JOBS, .MOBI, .NAME and .PRO.
(c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com
Seereise.de (”Cruise” in German) sold for more than $80,000 USD (€59,500) and .ME grabbed the spotlight as Sedo closed more than $500,000 worth of domain sales in the past week.
Seereise.de was the top sale of the week and appears to have been purchased by AllTours Reisecenter, a German travel company. The .ME sales included Rock.me for $12,000, Join.me for $10,099, Pick.me for $10,099, Remember.me for $7,600, and Power.me for $2,950.
Other notable domain sales
Continue Reading »
Seereise.de Leads the Way in Sedo’s Weekly Sales Up To May 18
Running out of options, General Motors has registered the domain name GMRestructuring.com with less than two weeks to go until the June 1 US Government imposed deadline to avoid bankruptcy.
The website is currently empty, but it seems fair to assume that GM intends to use the domain name in a similar way to what Chrysler did with ChryslerRestructuring.com – publishing court documents and announcements regarding its bankruptcy proceedings.
[via Wall Street Journal]
Nicholas Bolton, an IT entrepreneur who was recently awarded $4.5 million because of a “secret deal“, will now be taking the .AU Domain Administration (auDA) to court after it stripped one of his company’s accreditation rights to register domain names.
The auDA banned Australian Style, owned by Bolton, from acting as a registrar in February 2009 – one of the bigger events in a series of skirmishes between Bolton and auDA’s CEO Chris Disspain. After the ban, Bolton transferred the 15,000 customers from Australian Style to another registrar owned by him, Bottle Domains. The auDA responded by reversing all the transfers and changing the passwords of Bolton’s customers before locking the domain names in question to stop them from being transferred without auDA’s consent.
The case is set to begin in the Supreme Court on June 22 – although Bolton is publicly urging the Federal Government and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to step in and take control of the situation right away.
[via TheAge.com.au]
Domain.com is giving away free domains on Twitter, but you need to “crack the code” to win.
Domain.com will be posting a number of coded messages on Twitter every day until June 1. If you’re one of the first twenty people to decode the message, you’ll be eligible to win a free domain as well as the grand prize $500 Apple Gift Card.
How to Play:
- Join Twitter and become a follower of @domaindotcom. Stay tuned for decoder posts.
- Once a new code has been posted, you have one hour to crack the code and submit your decryption in a reply to @domaindotcom including the hashtag “#Decod3r” in your reply.
- Be one of the first twenty followers to crack the code and you’ll be eligible for a free domain. Two of the twenty code-breakers will be randomly selected to receive the prize.
- Play as many of the games as you’d like. The more codes you crack, the better your chance will be to win a free domain name or the $500 Apple Gift Card.
Sample Code:
Coded Message: laPy uro cdeeord mgea ot nwi efre oaindsm dna na pApel tgif racd!
Decoded Message:@Domaindotcom Play our decoder game to win free domains and an Apple gift card! #Decod3
The contest will be held on weekdays from May 18, 2009 until June 1, 2009 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. Each free domain winner will receive his or her choice of a single, 1 year .com, .org, .info, .net, .biz, or .us registration. Click here for full contest rules.
[via Domain.com]
If you do not sell domain names everyday and happen to use several different registrars, it can be a bit hectic when you sell a domain and have to transfer the domain to the new buyer. Here are some great instructions on a transfer or PUSH to another GoDaddy account holder.
As of late April, GoDaddy has changed their domain transfer procedure. It is now much easier to “PUSH” a domain name from one member to another when transferring a domain name within the GoDaddy system.
With the changes, the receiving registrant need not disclose their full information to a seller when initiating transfer now. BUT please remember, if you are the recipient, you MUST provide some vital information, otherwise the quick push cannot be initiated.
The information REQUIRED is:
1) Your e-mail address that you have on file with GoDaddy
PLUS
2) Either your GoDaddy Customer Number or User-name.
Provide this information to the Seller.
Seller
- check off the domain you have sold or about to transfer.
- unlock the domain name
- next from the toolbar select “Account Change”.
- enter the new owners Customer or Login Name.
- select the option “use details from specified customer account”
- Add their e-mail in both fields
Complete remaining steps, agreements and as the Seller you are basically done.
Receiving a domain name just got quicker…and easier!
With the new “quick push”, the domain name will be in the receiving account automatically.
No need to go through the process of typing in the codes!
The recipient will not receive an e-mail with any codes…only one reminding you to accept the transfer.
All the recipient needs to do is:
1) log in to their account and Click on “Pending Account Changes” (located in the drop down menu on the left side).
2) Place a Check next to the domain name and click “quick accept” (right above the domains)
3) Check the user agreement.
Safenames, a registrar that also specializes in brand protection services, has successfully recovered multiple domain names for five of the top soccer clubs in the English Premier League.
By working with representatives of the EPL head office along with officials from Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham, and West Ham soccer clubs, Safenames was able to establish a common link between the otherwise separate trademark infringement cases and file a successful complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center using the Uniform Resolution Policy (UDRP).
The WIPO Panel ruled in favor of the EPL clubs after finding that the use of the domain names – including official-manchester-tickets.com, official-liverpool-tickets.com, official-tottenham-tickets.com, official-fulham-tickets.com, and official-westham-tickets.com – were either identical or confusingly similar to that of the trademark holders and have been awarded to their respective clubs.
“We are delighted at the arbitration panel’s decision to award the domains to their rightful trademark holders,” explained Prudence Malinki, the Head Counsel for Safenames. “Unauthorised use of trademarks in the form of domain names is quite a common problem and one that continues to grow as Internet usage grows. There is no industry immune from this damaging issue and we were very happy to assist some of the world’s leading brands in professional sport with fighting this battle.”
Safenames has recently launched a Mark Protect service which helps companies identify and prioritize the recovery of domains which are infringing on their brands. Mark Protect was instrumental in gathering the facts used to build this particular case.
[via Safenames]
Snapnames has announced a number of improvements to its website, improving the overall search experience so domainers can have an easier time finding valuable soon-to-be-available domain names.
The full list of improvements are published after the jump…
New Search Criteria
- Limit your search by numbers of dictionary words a domain name contains
- Exclude IDNs
Improved Saved Search Functionality
- Save up to 100 searches (increased from 50)
- Saved search names can now contain up to 20 characters (increased from 16)
- Non-alphanumeric characters (i.e., dashes, underscores, and number signs) now permitted in saved search names
- Better saved search email alerts – more domains listed, longer domain names displayed before truncation
More Flexibility
- Checkboxes to include or exclude Deleting, Expiring, and Private Seller names
- Search one or more listing type (In Auction, Available Soon, or Buy It Now)
- More TLDs, including a wide range of ccTLDs
- Select from multiple special events
- More options under “Order By” date
Easier to Use
- Popular settings are now default (i.e., “contains keyword”, display of 100 results per page)
- Maximum search results per page increased from 100 to 500
- Default sort order for search results is now number of bidders
- More intuitive sorting on first click (from most bidders to least, from highest minimum bid to lowest, and from ending soonest to ending latest)
- Contextual pop-up help topics
Other Changes
- Restored ability to select all domains on a page to add to cart
- Download search results to a CSV file
- Top navigation now uses dropdown menus, allowing you to click directly to the page you want
- The ‘whois’ link next to domain names appearing in search results has been moved to the domain details page – click on a domain name to see the name’s current status, link to whois information, and quickly purchase or place a bid
Snapnames will be launching all of these new features and changes within the next week.
[via Snapnames]
Strata Services, a leading domain management and optimization organization, has purchased PPX for an undisclosed sum. PPX is a domain development and monetization company that has recently developed a technology platform which allows its partners to access premium cost-per-action (CPA) advertisements in combination with other forms of monetization on the same platform.
“The PPX acquisition is fantastic for current and future Strata Services clients,” said Sam Dennis, the Founder and CEO of PPX, who will remain with PPX and continue developing the technology. “Backed by the financial strength of the Strata Services Group, PPX technology will grow rapidly and become a major player in the domain monetization space. Our media buying division will also benefit tremendously from the new potential traffic sources and partnerships exposed to us through Strata Services. I am extremely excited and confident with the future of PPX.”
Aside from the new cost-per-action revenue alternatives, Strata Services clients will also receive automated implementation of CPA templates in high margin verticals, the ability to generate revenue from both CPA and PPC sources from the same domain, free website development for high volume generic domains, and a significant increase in domain revenue and resale value.
[via PPX]
When launching a new site here are some Wordpress plugins we automatically add to our blogs:
WordPress Plugin
A plugin is something that you download, unzip and place in the WordPress plugin directory. Once activated, the odd tweak and you usually can put it to work to help enhance your website or blog.
All in One SEO Pack
Google Sitemap Generator
WordBay Advertising plugin for eBay
Redirection
cPanel Reseller Hosting
What is affiliate marketing you ask? It is when webmasters (some prefer webninja’s) sign up for a program like Commission Junction (CJ) to help with their product sales.
By paying others a commission to market your wares is a great way to encourage webmasters with high traffic sites to add your banner and send you some business. The banner below is not tied to an affiliate program as I did not register with CJ as an affiliate but wanted to touch on how to use affiliate marketing to help promote your website. This particular program pays 15% commission for sales.
This is one of the better marketing banners I have seen in the online marketplace. To be successful in online sales you need traffic, exposure, affiliates and a good marketing plan. No traffic, No mola (profit).
Sometimes the website or domain you are purchasing has significant value and may require more documentation then a simple e-mail.
Here is a sample website sales agreement or can also be used as a domain name sales or purchase agreement.
Download free sample website purchase agreement in Microsoft word:
lou-for-acquisition-of-website
LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING for acquisition of www.domainprotege.com
June 22, 2007
(name)
(street address)
(city, state and zip)
Dear_____________________:
This letter summarizes the understanding we have reached regarding the terms and conditions of sale of the website ________________ To be certain this letter accurately reflects our understanding, please review the items below and indicate your understanding and agreement by signing on the signature line below.
Terms and Conditions of Sale
A. The agreement covers the outright sale of the domain and website content http://www.________________ for the price of U$__________. Sale price was based on revenue of approximately $100.00 per calendar month. Price includes free push at _____________ and all paid up domain registration fees.
B. Payment terms: Payment will be made by way of or using _________________. Add paypal or escrow info.
Just delete section C if not applicable but gives you an idea of how to structure something in the event seller makes certain promises regarding revenue.
C. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This component of the agreement will commence July 1, 2007 and will continue until cancelled in writing by either party. The seller and buyer agree to engage in further work such as SEO where the buyer agrees to pay the seller a 50% performance bonus of all additional revenues generated as a result of these optimizations. This bonus would be payable for all additional revenue over and above the last three month average.
Example of Bonus Calculation: Year 2007
April $100, May $100, June $160 Total $360 (3 month average = $120.00)
If July revenue = $200. Seller would receive $40.00 for that month (Split $80.00).
If August revenue = $400. Seller would receive $140.00 for that month (Split $280.00)
Signed this 22 day of June, 2007
Print name
________________________________ _________________________________
Buyer Signature
I acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions set forth above.
Print name
___________________________________ _________________________________
Seller of Domain / Website Signature
In addition, always remember to use escrow as opposed to paypal for the larger valued transactions.
Dear Webmaster,
My name is ____________ and would like to propose a link exchange for our site http://www.__________.com/ with your website http://www.autoinsurancevancouver.com. We have already placed a link to your site on the following webpage http://www.______________.com
Your Link details are As Follows:
<a href=”http://www.autoinsurancevancouver.com/” target=”_blank”>Auto Insurance Vancouver</a> - Auto Insurance Vancouver delivers all the information consumers require to make an informed decision on all your Vancouver insurance needs. We cover auto, motorcycle, boat, recreational, RV, home insurance and even help on how to import an automobile.
Kindly link back to our site with the following details:
Title : Motor Insurance
Desc : Immediate Quote Online for Motor Insurance at XYZ Insurance.
Url : http://www._________.com
Our link code is :
<a href=”http://www.__________.com/” target=”_blank”>Motor Insurance</a> – Immediate Quote Online for Motor Insurance at XYZ Insurance.
If you wish to have your link details on our webpage changed, please advise your requirements and we will quickly incorporate them.
—
Thanks
Best Regards
Your Name
This is a great approach to securing good quality links.
Pages
Admin
- July 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (3)
- May 2009 (12)
- April 2009 (1)
- March 2009 (1)
- February 2009 (1)
- January 2009 (1)
- November 2008 (1)
- June 2008 (1)
- May 2008 (4)
- April 2008 (9)
- March 2008 (4)
