Using Contextual Targeting in Affiliate Marketing
Filed under: Affiliate marketing by Sasha on August 4, 2008
This is a guest post from AffiliateTips.com - a site where you can find and compare affiliate programs.
New technology has allowed for new advertising methods. An effective evolution in advertising is one that allows marketers not only to reach more people faster, but also to get their information to the right people faster. Contextual targeting does just that.
If you want to succeed in the world of affiliate marketing it’s not only important that you get your message out to the crowd – it should also be the right crowd that you get it out to. If you succeed in this chances are much bigger that you’ll actually make some money of your efforts in this competitive industry. Learn more about this way of working with affiliate marketing through this article.
What Contextual Targeting Is
Contextual marketing works on the principle that the most effective advertising is to people who are already interested in the product. Contextual targeters put code on their site that examines the webpage content, and then pulls an ad from the marketing company that is specifically relevant to that content.
The way you as an affiliate marketer could work with this marketing method is to adjust the ads and merchants you wish to promote to the content of your site or blog. If you for example have a site discussing books then you should only promote merchants selling books. This will mean higher conversion ratios and more money for you.
Why Contextual Targeting is Better than Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing often takes a carpet-bombing approach, trying to reach as many people as possible to make sales through sheer volume. The problem with this is a lot of time and resources are wasted marketing things to people who can never use them, like seniors’ vitamins to teenagers or feminine hygiene products to men.
With contextual targeting, the chances that the person viewing the ad not only can use your product, but is actually motivated to use your product are much greater. Thanks to the power of the Internet, you can still advertise in volume, but now your volume will have precision as well.
The Effectiveness of Contextual Marketing
Major Search Engines have used contextual marketing to great effect, as they have tremendous resources to locate keywords and find just the ads that are relevant to the contest. As the Internet continues to grow as a means of reaching consumers, the value and power of contextual marketing will grow as well.
So, find out who your readers/visitors are and what they like (if you have a very niched site this is easy to find out – obviously they are interested in the small niche you’re writing about) and partner up with some affiliate programs that are related to their likings and your content. Actually, this is not a difficult way of working and it only takes a little time and a minimum amount of effort. Simply analyze your visitors and give them what they are looking for. This if any is a win-win situation!
Vista style for xp, Mac Dock and Yahoo widgets
Filed under: Fun by Sasha on July 25, 2008
I’m must say that I was never a fan of desktop modifications because, well, I think that by modifying your desktop you become more geekerish (this is not a word, is it? 
).
So why did I modify my Windows XP to vista looking style? Vista style looks cool to me and I wanted a little different desktop than usual. Here is the screen shot of my latest desktop modification:
Just click this small image of my new Vista style for xp to enjoy it :).
If you want to create desktop looking like that you need:
Vista Inspirat 2 which contains Mac looking dock (that thing on the top, very useful by the way )
and Yahoo widgets
From Yahoo widgets website you will have to download these widgets:
JC Sticky Deluxe - you just need to have a post it on your desktop
Adsensor - no more www.google.com/adsense this widgets updates itself
Battery if you have a laptop
These all modification will “cost” you about 50MB of RAM memory which is not much and your desktop looks very clean and functional.
I almost forgot, you’ll need to use some tool to remove your Recycle Bin and Internet Explorer icons from desktop. Also I have one secret to tell you, I had a messy desktop, now all my icons are placed in one folder, can you find that folder on the screen shot? 
Sasha
SEOmag - Who is SEOmag in Croatia?
Filed under: SEOmag by Sasha on June 10, 2008
SEOmag is the title of a mini SEO competiton started at one croatian forum. The competition is pretty simple: we are challenged to be number one for a keyword SEOmag on google.com at 1.10.2008. The winner gets a domain name that actually has SEOmag keyword in it (hint hint )
I never liked seo competitions because seo companies always invest a lot of money to promote themselves but SEOmag competition is really fun because it doesn’t have any huge prizes, only one pretty cute domain name.
Being two years old this site will surely give this article a little bit of boost and I will not be surprised to get in to top 10 at google for SEOmag soon but I want to make it more difficult to me so I will try to get couple of other domain names up there to prove that I am the SEOmag in Croatia
Google luck to everybody in SEOmag competition.
Managing multiple projects, websites and your final paper
Filed under: Marketing blog news by Sasha on June 2, 2008
When I was younger (not that I’m old today) I was bad at organizing my schoolwork and my personal life. I would always do thing in the last possible minute. It was a kind of thrill to be rushing to finishing a project but it is not productive as one might imagine. Even though I was great under pressure and I have produced some great results I felt that it could be done differently.
I also had one big problem that I’m still dealing with and that is not finishing what I have started.
Today I’m working on two projects, my final paper for college and currently I’m writing this blog post which is not the state of art copy but it still requires time to be written. So how did I achieve the ability to manage multiple things at the same time? Actually, I could also do it but I was to lazy to do it.
Planning is the key to success
When starting multiple projects or adding new projects to your current one it is important to plan your time. One should use to-do lists, calendars and every others means of technology that can make his or hers life more organized.
Plan your day ahead of time. Instead of watching comedy shows before sleep take 15 minutes to organize your next work day and believe me, when you have multiple projects every day is a work day.
Have a milestone
Divide your projects into categories or put milestones in front of you. You must know what is the end result of your project and the road to your result should platted with milestones. Remember, even the longest journey starts with a single step so step into you projects and deal with them.
Will I succeed in all my projects? Certainly. One will be a success, other not so much but they will be finished and this is the key component that motivates me these days.
What’s your opinion on multiple projects and time management?
Applying for job at Google
Filed under: Marketing blog news by Sasha on May 25, 2008
While browsing through one of the biggest job sites in Croatia I have noticed a job offer from Google Inc. Being so involved in seo and Google itself I just had to apply for that job.
So what are they looking for? Google need Online sales and Operations account manager for their EU headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Even though Dublin is pretty far away from Croatia I wouldn’t think a second about moving to Ireland if I get an opportunity to work for Google.
Some of may say that this job is stressful and maybe not the best job in the world but since I have two years of experience in two different call centers my belief is that I’m capable of doing it right. Currently I’m considering about starting a call center consulting business and if I don’t get that job in Google my consultation idea may become real company.
Looking forward to see what will Google say, wish me good luck.
