DealFish

PLEASE NOTE: DealFish changed their name to Kalahari Ads – http://www.kalahariads.net/

I recently had the opportunity to promote a new free classifieds web site as an affiliate. I must say that before the affiliate campaign was launched I did not even know about DealFish (the new site)

I nether understood why people rave about Gumtree and why Gumtree was the third busiest web site in South Africa.  But they must be doing something right because everybody use them. Personally I do not like it at all.

So I am very happy that there is an alternative to Gumtree.

Both sites are rather easy to use and it is easy to register and place an ad.

On the searching and browsing  side I prefer DealFish purely because they do not have all the Google Adsense ads between the real ads. I find the Google ads on Gumtree very confusing and I guess they do not mind that their users confuse the adsense ads with the actual listed ads. Each time when a user accidentally click on the Google ad instead of the real ad they get paid for it, so would it bother them?  Read more »

Free Classifieds

DealFish changed their name to Kalahari Ads – http://www.kalahariads.net/

This is just a short note to let regular readers know that there is a new Free Classifieds web site where you can place ads.

The web site is called DealFish and you will find it at http://www.dealfish.co.za

I gave it a try, it is easy to use and I think it will be great competition for Gumtree.

If you are running your company’s online marketing campaigns you should read this.

I know a lot of media companies charge hefty fees for running your banner ad campaigns.

Is it really worth the money you pay for it?

In my opinion Banner Ads SUCKS and if you have to pay to put your banner ad on a web site you must be very careful.

Here are my reasons for above comment:

Read more »

How effective is the use of videos as marketing tool on a web site or blog really?

I see some of the Internet Marketing gurus are making a huge fuss about using video on your web site or blog.

I do not know about you, but I just hate it if I open a web site and a video starts to play automatically without giving me the choice whether I would like to watch it or not.

I many cases I closed the web site if I could not find a place to stop the video.

Although many of the guys think this is the next best thing in marketing, me personally thinks it sucks.

My view was confirmed today when I received a newsletter from one of the big online MLM businesses I am involved in.
They said:

After removing the introduction video from the home page and making the video available in the member’s area only, we have seen a 20% increase in conversion rate from new visitor to Trial Member.

Now that proves my point exactly.

Read more »

Question – Is it important to add new articles to your web site for SEO

Answer – Yes, it is. Search engines like up to date web site with new up to the date information

Question – Is it better to write your own content?

Answer – Yes it is better to write your own content. If you can get somebody to write some unique content for your site it will be just as good. PLR articles work but might not be as effective because it is duplicate content and some search engines penalize your site for duplicate content.

Question – I am playing around with WordPress, any idea where I can get help to get started?

Answer – Yes. In order to get started you must first install the correct plugins for SEO, security, sitemaps, navigation, etc. Then you have to choose a suitable theme and only then do you start adding content to your site. You can buy my DVD at http://www.createyourownwebsite.co.za where I show you step by step how to do that.

Here is another question and answer I received from one of my readers:

Question:

2. OfferForge and TrafficSynergy have not earned me anything yet. When I asked them about this it was suggested to me that I write articles to fit in with their adverts. While I see the logic behind this I cannot see myself doing it on this website. I think it is an issue for another website which will tax my ingenuity and literary skills. I must say I am intrigued by the idea and look at it as a challenge. The Google Adds are earning me some money. I am considering removing all the TrafficSynergy adverts from my website.

Answer:

Read more »

Google released its popular search terms for 2009.

For South African searches we see that keywords like Facebook, efiling, twitter, etc were very popular keywords in 2009.

In the sports field Super 14, Cape Argus and comrades were among the top searches.

You can get the full list at
http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/press/zeitgeist2009/regional.html#south-africa

What is the latest business opportunity on the Internet? The best way to make money online? The latest craze?

At the moment new online business opportunities appear on a daily basis. It is crazy to see how many new opportunities become available.Some of them are good but most of them are real hype where people get caught just to loose their last hard earned money.

It amazes me how infatuated people get about being part of  “the latest thing”.  During the past year that I have been selling my eBook I received some funny comments about it. The one lady told her friend

” seems like he covers adsense, affiliate marketing and online sale in his eBook. That is old news”.

Another wise crack sent me an email in response to my follow up emails saying

“Don’t worry, I think I know what it is about, it is eBooks, contact me again when you found something new”

That might be true, some of the topics in my eBook might be old news but old news are still working for me.  Funny enough not one of the people who left above mentioned remarks are financially free yet. They are both still working for a boss and as usual it is these type of people who always knows best.

Old news or old concepts are not bad. We all are still driving our cars. Although a car is OLD news, more than a hundred years old but we still use the concept. It might have been improved by now, but the basic concept remains more than a hundred years old. Perhaps I should tell the car salesman

“Hey, I know what you are trying to do, you are trying to sell me an automobile. That is old news, contact me if you found something new.”

Read more »

Over the past three years the Internet has shown tremendous growth.

The Internet became the primary source of information for clients who are looking for products, services or even homes and cars.

A web site for your business changed from a “nice to have” to a “must have” tool for your business. Whether you run a small business, big corporation or even if you are just trying to make a couple of dollars online, you MUST HAVE your own web site.

If your business does not have a web site yet you are loosing out big time on free visitors. If you have a proper web site clients will find you and you would have to go out in search for new clients all the time. Why? – If you have your own web site it will get listed by the major search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo. Most people who are looking for a product or service most of the time use a search engine to look for those goods. If you have a proper web site your web site might end up in their search results and the client will visit your web site. This way you will enjoy loads of free traffic.

A web site is also an easy and effective way to keep your business details updated. Unlike journals or brochures your web site’s details can be edited within a matter of seconds.  No need to re-print thousands of brochures when you change your product line.

Read more »

Over the years I have learned that being consistent in what you do really pays off.

Because I am involved with various online businesses I also own various web sites promoting those businesses. On most of these websites visitors have to enter their details in order to get the information they need. So I can see how some people jump from the one program to the other in their search to find something which they can use to make money online. Some of them are just collecting information but then there are those who join a program and two weeks later they join the next one, and the next and the next. The funny thing is that all the sites they visit are promoting some kind of online business with which I am actively making money at the moment.

There are nothing wrong with trying out different businesses, I do that as well. The problem is that some people are forever trying and not sticking to anything. They try something and if they did not make money within a week they tell everybody it is a scam and try the next one.

There are two businesses I would like to use as examples.

Read more »

Somebody asked me the following question today:

Hi Pieter

Any advice on promoting your website?

I see a lot of things on the internet about posting in forums.

Any forums that you can recommend?

Thanks and have a great day.

My answer to him was:

Hi Johnathan

Posting on forums helps a lot but then you must only post on forums related to what you are promoted. If you promote gaming on a car web site the people will get cheezed off with you and probably block your account.

Also on a forum do not just promote your product or service. Put your web address in your signature and then participate in the forum, adding value. Give people advice, help them out and make friends. Your signature will do most of the work. If you are a regular contributor and somebody do ask a question specific to your product or service you can refer them to your site and most probably nobody will complain about it. But if you do not participate and post a link you will most probably be branded as spammer.