Saturday, November 8, 2008

Google Adsense Marketing - The Good And The Bad

By Amanda Isbitt

You have built a website, made it live and it is getting a lot of web traffic each day. Now, you are wondering if using AdSense advertising will lead to some income generation from the site. To help you decide, here are some advantages and disadvantages of this method of advertising on net.

Most people view AdSense as some form of miracle from another world and think of it as some quick cure. However AdSense has some disadvantages and you can consider some other options as well.

AdSense is quite beneficial for the webmasters. Many webmasters keep worrying about how to generate revenue for their sites and increase its profitability. AdSense just dispels those worries and helps the webmasters to focus on making great content for their sites. As a matter of fact if you concentrate on the creation of superior content with great paying keywords, it is bound to get quality traffic to your website

AdSense is quite user friendly in the context of customization of position, size and colours. It is also quite compatible with websites and easy to use. All this means that you can really experiment with AdSense to generate the maximum income possible.

Another huge benefit of AdSense is that it can generate a consistent income on your website. All that is required is the creation of good quality content and regular updating of the website. Many people just earn their living through AdSense only and are making it a big business. AdSense does not need multiple accounts for different pages and a single account is sufficient for all the pages. This is very beneficial for website owners since they do not need to open different accounts.

However, AdSense is not all hunky dory and has some flaws as well. Here are some disadvantages of AdSense.

The most obvious disadvantage is that Google can just disable your account if it feels that your site has "click fraud". Click Fraud simply means that some one is just making artificial clicks on your page. Although to my knowledge this is quite rate.

This can turn quite bad because it may not be you who is doing it. It may be your competitors who just want to close your account up or a competitor of your advertiser who wants to increase their own marketing costs.

Another disadvantage is that AdSense earnings are not constant or consistent. In fact many a times a mistake may turn really costly. People with AdSense account are often under a great deal of negative pressure due to this reason.

Firstly, you also need to take care that your website is in the search engine spotlight. In other words, your website should be at a prominent place in the search engines when people search for the products you have.

If this does not happen, then you will not have any traffic and which in turn will not create any revenue with AdSense. This in fact is quite a normal drawback of Internet advertising.

Moreover, the constant updating of your website is important since content makes all the difference. Some sites are naturally apt at this but for other's this may be a bit difficult depending on the type of content required. Many website owners hire copy writers to generate good content for their website.

First of all, you continually need to make sure your site is in the spotlight of search engines when people are searching for whatever it is your site is about.

A website owner can write original content by researching a topic in detail and then writing in their own words. Here they can also give their own opinion as well. Hence these are the advantages and disadvantages of using an Adsense Marketing network for internet advertising. You need to now decide if this is the way forward. - 15790

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Tutorial on Unsecured Personal Loans

By Joseph Ryan

Unsecured loans are costly. The interest on an unsecured personal loan is currently over 15% per year, says BankRate.com, assuming you can get any loan at all in today's credit-starved environment. And that's about your best such rate. Attempt to borrow against a credit card, for example, and it could be a good deal more. It's obvious that personal loans can get very expensive nowadays.

In emergency situations, though, a personal loan is just about unavoidable for many of us. What if the car won't start and you need an expensive engine repair to get it up and running again? Or your daughter needs braces? Or the washing machine breaks down?

When situations like these occur, many Americans resort to personal loans, including high-cost payday loans. Such loans now make up over 22% of the total non-mortgage installment loans at U.S. banks, up from only 11% in 1998.

But before you sign up for your next personal loan, consider the following alternative possibilities --

- Try borrowing against your retirement account. Check with your employer's benefits department to see if this option is available. If so, it's another low-interest alternative.

- Selling stocks, Treasury bonds, etc., can be a fast way to drum up some hard cash - just be sure you understand you'll have to pay taxes on any gains or interest.

- Try borrowing against your retirement account. Ask your employer's benefits department if this option is available. If so, it's another low-interest alternative.

- Consider a home equity loan. If you own a house with equity in it, you can probably borrow against the equity at a fairly low interest rate and at the same time get a tax deduction. Check out LendingTree.com for a list of lenders.

- Family or friends. Maybe your dad can fork over some cash. Just make sure you pay him back.

- Ask your creditors - particularly local merchants who may be more flexible - if they're willing to extend your payments a month. If they are, make sure you're not getting charged extra for the privilege of paying your bill late - or if you do get charged, determine how much.

- Consider asking your employer for a pay advance - assuming of course you have an understanding employer.

Good vs Bad Debt

At the outset you need to recognize a simple fact about personal finance: Never borrow money just to spend it, i.e., for consumption. That's bad debt. Only borrow for investments that will increase in value (and increase by more than the cost of the loan). Borrowing money just in order to spend it is a terrible idea, a royal road to bankruptcy or other financial land mines. As Eric Tyson says in his book, PERSONAL FINANCE FOR DUMMIES:

If you spend, say $2,000 [which you've borrowed] on a Caribbean vacation, the money is gone. Poof! You may have fond memories and even some Kodak moments, but you'll have no financial value to show for it... I'm not saying don't take a vacation. Definitely, take one, two, three, or as many as you can afford yearly. But that's the point - what you can afford. If you need to borrow money... [then you can't afford the vacation]...

And precisely the same advice applies to almost any consumer purchase: home computers, expensive meals, clothes,, yes, even a new car - anything that decreases in value and eventually becomes financially worthless. If you have to borrow to buy it, you probably can't afford it. According to Tyson "The financially correct amount of bad debt [you should have] is zero."

This does not apply, however, to things that "retain and hopefully increase in value over the long term, such as an real estate, education or your own business." For these uses, debt is acceptable, up to a limit - the limit being the point at which making payments causes you to be no longer able to save sufficiently to accomplish your financial goals.

All that is good advice, but let's face it: At times, you simply may not be able to avoid adding to your debt load - an emergency or other urgent situation forces you to seek a personal loan. In those kinds of situations, what are your best options?

Basics of Personal Loans

Here are a few basics to keep in mind whenever shopping for an unsecured personal loan:

First, never borrow more money than you absolutely have to. Given the high interest rates in today's credit environment, you'll want to keep the amount to an absolute minimum.

Second, compare terms from several lenders. Never look at just the monthly payments - consider the total cost of the loan, including any hidden charges like credit insurance or other fees. Don't skip the small print on the loan agreement. Don't assume what you're being told by a loan officer is binding. It's what's in writing in the contract that counts.

Third, start by trying your credit union before a bank. Credit unions usually have more favorable terms than banks and are often willing to make small unsecured personal loans to their members.

Fourth, don't pledge valuable personal assets when you take out a small loan - it's almost never worth the risk. And avoid using credit cards or payday loans if at all possible - the interest rates, especially on the latter, can be prohibitive.

Fifth, be aware that the interest you pay on unsecured personal loans is not tax deductible.

Understanding Subprime Loans

If you are caught in the subprime lending category, things get even more complicated. As you no doubt know, subprime lending has tightened up tremendously over the past year (and is now almost nonexistent in the mortgage market). However, if you've got a job, you can probably still find cash in an emergency - you just have to be prepared to pay a steep interest rate for it.

But what exactly does the term "subprime" mean? The definition varies by lender, but in general subprime means a FICO score of 650 or below. Among the other criteria commonly used are: a bankruptcy within the past five years, a foreclosure within the past 24 months, or a debt-to-income ratio of 50% or higher. Some ultra-conservative lenders will even brand you as subprime if you've been late on one or one or two credit card payments over the past 12 months.

There are a couple very important factors to bear in mind if you find yourself considered subprime and yet need to take out an emergency personal loan. One is to recognize that you'll be viewed differently by different lenders - you don't have to jump at the first offer you receive. Shop around. As said, be sure to try your credit union first - and also one or more banks that have departments providing subprime lending. Try using one of the online services that allow you to apply at several lenders simultaneously, like Lending Tree

Here are some important points for subprime borrowers to keep in mind:

Never put valuable assets at risk in order to make a small loan.

Don't risk valuable assets in order to make a small loan.

Painful though it may be, be sure to read the fine print. Be sure you understand the terms of the loan clearly. You will be held to what is in the contract, no matter how much eye-strain it takes to read it.

Don't permit several lenders to access your credit report at the same time. Getting several inquiries on your credit report within a short period can further lower your credit score.

If possible avoid payday loans, also called cash-advance loans, altogether except as an absolute last resort, and even then only use them on rare occasions - never more than once a year. They entail phenomenal interest rates. Payday loans have burgeoned into a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. but they can be disastrous to your financial health. - 15790

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Ink cartridges: How do they work ?

By Andrew James

Ink cartridges are replaceable components found in inkjet printers, containing the ink used for printing. Sometimes, the ink cartridges can contain the printer's print head. An ink cartridge contains one or more partitioned ink reservoirs and, additionally, electronic contacts and a chip to communicate with the printer (only some producers insert these in the cartridge).

Whenever you try to print something, make sure that your ink level is not to low. If it is low, the ink begins to dry on the print head and printing can be hindered. A smooth flow of ink means a high quality print. If dry ink is found on the cartridge print head, gently rubbing with isopropyl alcohol on a swab or paper towel is enough to fix the problem.

In most cases, ink cartridges are very expensive. Many people prefer to use compatible ink cartridges, made by a company other than the printer manufacturer. These cartridges can sometimes match the quality, but with possible savings. Another alternative involves some modifications to allow the use of continuous ink systems that use external ink tanks. Some people even choose to use aftermarket inks. They can refill their own ink cartridge, buy aftermarket remanufactured brands, or even take them to a local refiller to refill them.

The costs of replacing ink cartridges, compared to the price of a brand new printer, amaze many of the customers. Leading printer manufacturers like Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Dell, Canon, Epson and Brother often loose money by selling cheap printers. They must recover these losses and make a profit by selling very expensive cartridges over the life span of the printer. Because companies producing aftermarket ink cartridges take away a part of their profit, major printer manufacturers have taken action against them. Some manufacturers even took legal action.

Many consumers opt to have their cartridges refilled or purchased remanufactured cartridges from third parties to save money over buying new cartridges. This is much cheaper (as you need only buy the ink and some other small raw materials), and a whole industry has grown up around this idea. There are several qualities and types of refilling, some of them being safe and successful, while other types can ruin the printer and/or give bad quality prints. Options include taking empty cartridges to "refillers" or "remanufacturers" who pump in new ink, and buying store-branded ink.

The cheapest way to get a filled cartridge is to refill it yourself. Almost all cartridges have instructions on how to use and refill them available on the Internet. The Internet can also provide a list of bulk ink sellers that offer pints, quarts, and even gallons of ink. A pint (473 ml) can fill up to 17 large ink cartridges of 27 ml capacity.

Generally speaking, Brother, Canon, Dell, HP, and Lexmark cartridges are not difficult to refill (sometimes a syringe and ink are enough), while Epson cartridges usually require the additional purchase of a chip resetter to reset the counter chip inherent in the Epson cartridges. However, since it involves handling ink, the refill process can be inherently messy until some experience has been acquired.

Laser/toner cartridges found as "compatible" are, in most of the cases, refilled cartridges. However, you can find many third-party newly manufactured cartridges. On the other hand, inkjet cartridges sold as "compatible" are newly produced. "Remanufactured" inkjet cartridges have been used by consumers and then refilled by a third party. Be very careful what you buy. Used cartridges may not work as newly manufactured ones. - 15790

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The Benefits Of Blogs: Monitoring Website Traffic

By Don Bethune

Blog, blogging, blogger these are the terms that you find often when you browse the net. Those who are naive regarding the matter simply ignore the section and wouldn't take the effort to view them. There is a lot you can explore from a blog.

Blogs can prove to be quite fascinating if you become a regular visitor of them. What exactly is a blog? Itas a log on the web or aweb loga that consists of a series of posts written by one or more people and presented as a chronological list. Recent entries begin at the top of the page and gradually descend down the page as they become old relative to even newer entries.

Many different kinds of blogs exist depending on the content of the posts. Blogs can be focused on images, photos, music, or personal information. These are just a few examples of what blogs can be about. There are in fact a countless number of blogs all over the web on just about any topic you might be interested in.

There are various terms that you encounter on the web such as blogger, a blogger is one who keeps a blog, the process of entering a blog is called blogging, comments are the feedback that people viewing the blog can make.

A blog is usually created for the purpose of presenting your ideas and opinions on a subject or area of interest. Since blogs can be read by the public, they also provide an opportunity for bloggers to socialize and make new contacts.

Some blogs can be referred to as personal blogs. These blogs are like traditional journals where the author can reflect on personal issues and areas of interest. Other blogs are meant to be informative or to present a point of view. There are also some blogs that are just meant to be fun and entertaining.

Blogs are sometimes used to market a particular website or its products or services. They provide a link to a particular website making the viewer click on it. As a result the website traffic can be increased. Hence providing a link of a website on a frequent basis on the blog would increase traffic and help in website traffic monitoring. Consequently website traffic monitoring will improve your business. Hence frequent updating of blog helps in website traffic monitoring which is one of the most preferred and cheap source of advertising.

When it comes to improving website traffic canadian online business also promotes blog in order to promote various businesses. To get website traffic canadian can opt for this site to make blog entries periodically and update them and providing the link for their website. A blog can help us in a lot of way. If you haven't tried one then start blogging now. - 15790

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Heart Diamond Engagement Ring - How Romantic

By Alice Sy

Why are diamonds unique?

Diamonds are very much influenced by the wealthy and well-known. They are expensive and really symbolical. Many celebrities, famous people are into diamonds thats why the public follow the trend.

The word "diamond itself says a lot, rare, beautiful, expensive, precious, genuine, desirable and brilliant. There are many types of diamond rings. They come in different shapes, styles and colors. What is so special about heart diamond engagement rings? If you are to choose a diamond engagement ring, would you like this type?

Heart diamond engagement rings are very popular type of diamond engagement rings. Not only that it is a sign of engagement, the heart-shape itself symbolizes love. It can be considered as the most sentimental and romantic. That is why it is very meaningful to those who are given this type of engagement ring.

So, it is not unbelievable that many couples choose this type as the symbol of their love. But couples should decide carefully in choosing this shape because it could be so common or too bold.

Heart diamond engagement rings are beautiful and are more unique than standard diamond shapes. It can be very timeless and elegant. They can be very expensive but there are also many less expensive ones which are available in the market.

Many couples consider and purchase this type and shape because it says a lot and is a direct and clear representation of their unity and commitment to each other.

There are jewelers who can cut diamonds into any shape that you like. There are even available diamonds which are already cut into a heart-shape. Heart diamond engagement rings can either be flat or elongated.

Thats why you can customize and personalize your own diamond engagement ring. This makes the engagement more personal and meaningful. So by the time you have the chance to choose an engagement ring, you might want to consider this style. - 15790

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