After checking my Adsense account today, I noticed that my income for the European cruise blog is already up around $40 today. Obviously I needed to know why the sudden increase in income and I can attribute it to a few things..

1. I have had a number of clicks over the $2 mark today, which is quite exeptional. There must be some big advertisers who are doing placements on my blog now.
2. A big increase in traffic due to reaching page 1 of Google for the keyword phrase European Cruises in the USA and the top of the 2nd page in the UK.
3. Other keywords from various other articles on the blog are rising to the top of Google at last.

Will my blog stay up on page 1 for that phrase now? I really, really don’t know. Earlier this week, it dropped down to page 7 on Google for that phrase so I never take anything for granted with Google. I am sure eventually it will settle onto page 1..

Anyway, watch this space!

EDIT: I just noticed a lot of traffic coming from Germany and checked on German Google and noticed it is in the top 5!

Just an update for all of you on my European cruises blog.. I am now starting to see an increase in traffic for my main target keywords and more importantly for my number 1 target phrase “European Cruises” and also “European Cruise”..

When I checked on Google, I have noticed that the blog has risen from the depths up to the top 30 which is great. I am hoping and expecting that I will see it on page 1 soon and start to hit the sort of income I was hoping for initially when I began this challenge. The blog isnt on page 1 yet, but the traffic coming from those keywords is not bad considering, which is quite exciting. Here is a screenshot of my analytics for just the keyword phrase “European Cruises” on Google alone.

As you can see, it is not earth shattering yet but when I get to page 1, I should see traffic of around 65 visits per day for that exact phrase alone. Please remember that this is my stat purely for the exact keyword phrase “European Cruises” and doesn’t include any of the broader phrases that also contain the same keywords like “cheap european cruises” etc…

Keyword research is one of those phrases that is banded around by the Internet marketing fraternity on a very regular basis. A lot is written and a lot is preached about keyword research. Tools and even monthly memberships are sold in a bid to feed our monstrous cravings for those precious keywords.

But truthfully how much do you really know about keyword research and what exactly are keywords? It is time to cut through the bull and give you some insight into not only how to conduct keyword research effectively but also show you the difference between keyword analysis for various marketing activities from Adsense publishing to affiliate marketing.

What is a keyword?

A traditional information retrieval system uses a keyword to index the essence of what a document is about. For example, a document who’s theme is about poodle training will use the keyword phrase “poodle training” as a reference or index term to the document for easy retrieval. Search engines are basically an information retrieval system for web documents and they also use index terms to capture the essence of what a web document is about. To put it simply, a keyword is used by google to index a web page who’s subject matter is about that particular keyword.

For example, Joe Bloggs has a website all about how to train a poodle. He has 5 articles published on the website and each one is about one aspect of how to train a poodle. Google will send a spider to his site and see that it is all about poodle training and will assess each article and work out what the main theme of each article is and index each article for a relevant keyword(s). Of course Joe paid close attention to his on page SEO and off page SEO and knows what keywords he wanted to go for and he hopes Google will see that. Of course Google then weighs up how relevant Joe’s articles are to the keyword(s) they are indexed for and will index his articles in a position that is deemed appropriate by the powers at Google in relation to other web pages on Google. Who wins this battle for position on Google is the holy grail of website publishers everywhere and is the subject for another post, another time!

Internet Marketing Strategies and Keywords

This is an important point and one that is often overlooked by various Internet marketers.. Keyword research for affiliate marketers is different to research done by Adsense publishers.

Adsense Publishers Keyword Research Strategy

• Find keywords that have a high advertiser spend (high Adwords bids)
• Find keywords that have low(ish) competition from other websites
• Find keywords that have a high amount of searches conducted

That is basically the fundamentals of keyword research for Adsense publishers.

Affiliate Marketers Keyword Research Strategy

For affiliate marketers and indeed information product creators the strategy for keyword research is very different and involves a lot more market research before any keyword research is done. Taking the example of Joe Bloggs and his poodle training website, he has decided that he wants to use the site to promote an ebook called “Poodle Training For Idiots”. He decides that he will write a review of the ebook. Joe needs to work out what the market is like for poodle training guides, who his target market consistes of and where they hang out online, forums etc.. Joe makes a list of the various questions people ask, problems they have and any other relevant stuff that people need to know about poodle training.

Armed with his list of questions, problems and discussions about poodle training he is now in a position to work out what keywords would bring his target market to his review of the ebook via google. In other words, Joe needs to work out what he wants to get his review page indexed for in Google to bring in a lot of potential customers.

His market research told him that a lot of people want to know how to potty train a poodle, so he starts brainstorming around the keyword phrase “potty training a poodle” through his keyword tool.

• He is not so concerned with search count, although it is good if it gets some searches
• He looks for keywords with a high advertiser spend
• He looks for keywords with average competition because a competitive keyword phrase is generally a profitable one in affiliate marketing

Do you see the fundamental differences between Adsense keywords and affiliate marketing keywords?

Affiliate Marketing Keywords and Buyers..

It is important to understand for affiliate marketers that they are solely concerned with finding keywords that would be used by buyers for the product they are promoting and then to actively get indexed and ranked highly on Google for those particular keywords. I ask you, who is the more probable buyer?

1. Someone who searches on Google with the keyword phrase “poodle training”
2. Someone who searches on Google with the keyword phrase “potty train poodle guide”

It is probably person number 2.. However, “poodle training” gets 50 times the amount of searches that “potty train poodle guide” gets but will only convert 1 out of every 100 people. However, “potty train poodle guide” converts 1 out of every 5 customers.. Do you see why search count isn’t so important as it is in Adsense publishing? With Adsense it is all about getting people onto your site in large quantities and then hoping they click an ad. Affiliate marketing is concerned with getting buyers for a product you are selling onto your site and not just tyre kickers.

Just a quick update on the first Adsense Bootcamp membership that I will be starting..

I am currently working on the Adsense bootcamp materials which will take all members by the hand from start to completion of building a profitable WordPress blog using Adsense. The work is progressing nicely but I want this to be the best membership I can possibly offer and not some half baked scheme to make a few bucks from members. I will announce the opening date only when I have all the materials finished and a few selected beta testers have had a chance to test things out. I also have a number of other projects and issues that need sorting out before I open the doors so that I can give you my undivided attention.

Soon, I aim to have a page online that will have a VIP optin box for you to record your interest in the bootcamps. As places will be initially limited, the VIP list will ensure that you get the first opportunity to sign up. More details will follow soon…

For all my loyal customers of the Cash Cow Guide To Adsense Wealth I have now completed the $100 a day challenge report. This is the report behind the challenge and in it I reveal my thoughts, the processes I took and why I took them plus I reveal the URL of the european cruise blog.

If you are a customer then you should have received an email with details of where to download the report. If you have not received the email and you are a customer then please contact me through support AT cashcowguidetoadsense.com and give me your email address used at purchase and the date of purchase also and I will email you the report.

As a precursor to my Adsense bootcamps, I thought it might be a good idea and also a bit of fun to challenge you to take up your own challenge to create a brand new site and get it up to $10 a day within 2 months. You can follow my methods or use your own, you have free reign over what you do and the challenges are ongoing. What I mean by that is that there is no stipulated start and end time, you decide when you want to start it but when you do, you have 2 months to get the site earning $10 a day from adsense.

Even though the challenge is to get a site from zero to $10 a day in 2 months, winners of the free lifetime bootcamp membership will be judged on how impressed I am by their efforts. I will pick 5 winners altogether and they will be chosen at various times over the coming year.

Right, It’s your turn now to take up the gauntlet and challenge yourself! I am starting a section on my 100 bucks challenge forum called “The Adsense Mini Challenge” in there I would like you to post progress of your own Adsense mini challenge. Just start a new thread with “Your Name – Your Chosen Niche” in the subject line, in my case I would have written “Stephen Crooks – European Cruises”.

It is very important that you read and follow the rules I have posted in the mini challenge forum post and any posting of adsense stats that are not allowed will be removed for your own safety really. However, you are ultimately responsible for what you post and I strongly urge you to read Adsense TOS again to be really familiar with what you are allowed to report. Also, try not to share URLS of your sites with each other for your own safety again.

When you report on your mini challenge in the forum, you have free reign to post as often and as much as you like but always remember I can spot bulls**t a mile off and I will only be awarding membership places to people I feel are putting in the most effort and reporting that as clearly and eloquently as possible. If you can demonstrate in words how much effort you are putting in and offer proof if possible then you stand a chance of winning.

Above all though, I want you to have a lot of fun with this and also start earning some bucks!

Okay, I will cut to the chase my challenge to make $100 a day from Adsense from just 1 blog is about to end on March 31st and I am sorry to say I have failed to reach the $100 a day I had set out to reach when I began the challenge.

So how much am I earning in Adsense of the back of my European cruise blog? Well, it is now averaging $20 a day which is well short of my target for the 3 months. I am experiencing some very mixed feelings regarding this challenge, on the one hand I am feeling slightly angry and sad that I never reached the target but on the other hand I feel greatly appreciative to everyone of you that has shown me how inspired you have been from following my challenge. I can’t begin to express how humble I feel to you all for all the great support and interest you have shown.

When I began the challenge, I thought it might get a bit of interest and a few people following it but I am completely and utterly staggered at how popular it all became. A lot of you have asked what is going to happen when the challenge finally finishes? Rest assured, the challenge may be over but my quest to reach $100 a day from this 1 blog continues until I get there. I will pursue it in a much more relaxed fashion of course and it now gives me a chance to catch up on all the other projects that I have placed on the backburner.

For all those people that have purchased my “Cash Cow Guide to Adsense Wealth” and all future customers of the guide, I will shortly write an additional report that details the challenge and where it went well and where it failed. Also all customers will receive updates to the cash cow guide when I write it.

So the challenge failed to reach $100 a day in 3 months which like I say, is hugely disappointing but it is averaging $20 a day virtually on auto pilot now. That is $608 a month or $7300 a year, that is money that I wasn’t earning before the challenge began. The income from this 1 blog currently would pay for an average mortgage.. I just want to point out the power of building sites in the manner that I have described. YOU have the power to achieve this and more, trust me, you CAN do it and you WILL.

Adsense Bootcamp Membership

Membership Goal

To get all members to set an income goal from Adsense and give them all the resources, information and tools needed to get there.

Membership Framework

The membership will be split between 3 modules.

Module 1 – Newbies
Module 2 – Intermediate
Module 3 – Advanced

Members can sign up to whatever level they feel comfortable with and I will detail what each module will be about so you can be assured that you sign up at the correct level for your current level. To give you an idea, the newbies module will be for people who are fresh to Internet Marketing and have heard about Adsense but know nothing about it or any other marketing topics. The Intermediate module will be for people who know about Adsense and maybe have a few sites up but are earning next to nothing from it. The Advanced level is for people who have a good grounding in Internet Marketing already but would like to vastly improve their Adsense income.

Whatever module you choose the core principles will be the same. This will not be like the usual memberships which provide a bunch of learning materials and just let you get on with it. This membership will require that you complete a set of monthly tasks aimed to get you directly toward your income goals as soon as possible. In fact it will be almost mandatory that you complete the tasks to remain a member. Your success is the core reason I want this to work because, your success will mean the membership is working which means I can roll it out to more and more people on the back of that success.

Each module will include PDF’s, videos and a private forum. Each month, I will provide new wordpress themes and HTML templates, PLR content, niche research and keywords that will make for great Adsense sites plus more stuff yet to be disclosed.

The pricing structure for the membership will be very affordable, and will vary according to the module, Newbies will be cheaper than advanced obviously. I hope to open the doors toward the end of April.

I have recieved many emails and comments from various people asking me if there were any good alternatives to Adsense. A lot of the people asking have either had their adsense accounts banned for whatever reason or their applications turned down.

I am not talking about affiliate marketing or any other Internet marketing strategies in this case. I am discussing advertiser networks that offer similar services to Adsense.

Thankfully there are quite a few good alternatives to Adsense and in this first post in the series I offer a review of Adbrite’s publisher service.

Adbrite

I like adbrite very much, their service is a bit more relaxed with regard to their terms and conditions than Adsense. For example you can place ads on sites about gambling as well as the normal stuff. However, they don’t accept sites related to adult themes. Just like adsense they do not tolerate sites that are made for ads or any type of gimmicks and incentivising.

Adbrite pays their publishers after 60 days have passed since the click on the ad. They then will payout on the 10th of every month. Basically this means you have to wait initially for 60 days from the first click before you get paid and only if it meets your minimum check amount. Unlike Adsense they also only offer payment by check currently.

Adbrite works by setting up zones on your site which will be filled by ads. Adbrite can either place these ads automatically, or you the publisher can approve or reject ads accordingley. This is the major difference between Adbrite and Adsense, with Adsense you cannot approve the ads on your site, although to fair you can reject certain URLS from publishing ads on your site. They also offer some pretty neat “in-context” ads that generate ads when you hover your mouse over certain keywords.

Earnings from Adbrite are pretty comparable to Adsense generally speaking and I also see similar click through rates also.

Signing up for a publisher account is fairly painless and is usually set up for you very quickly.

So it’s day 77 of the challenge and whilst I am resigned now to the fact I won’t reach my $100 a day from the European cruise blog by March 31st I am seeing small increases overall in income every day. This is partly due to the small increases in traffic every day but largely due to some ever improving CPC stats.. I would love to be able to see if this is due to advertisers doing placements or whether it some sort of trust issue from google.

I am speculating but it is something I notice with all my adsense sites, the CPC usually starts lower than what I would hope to expect for the niche but gradually improves as the site begins to age. It could be that smart pricing applies to all new sites and they have to earn the trust from google by converting regularly for the advertisers before they start giving you the better paying ads.. Anyway, I am now seeing above average CPC which is having a positive effect on my adsense income, I am now regularly hitting 20% of my target. Here are my latest AWstats for the blog, the slight downturn in traffic for the 13th and 14th was due to some server problems again..

The promotion keeps going and it is starting to show in the rankings for my main keywords.. Interestingly my main keyword phrase “European Cruises” is seeing my blog indexed around position 60 now in the US listings which is a big rise in rankings from below 300 a couple of weeks ago. It is still to low in the rankings to see any real traffic yet but at least it is going in the right direction and I am hopeful it will make the first page soon. However, in the UK listings it is still indexed between 350 and 400 for some reason.

I am also starting to get some link requests which is always a sure sign that other webmasters are starting to view my blog as a bit of an authority and I am not talking about the normal spammy type requests but genuine requests from relevant sites, one of which even offered money to place a context link in one of my articles back to their site.