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The Newsletter That Helps You Be Successful

(& Have Fun With The Process)

Dateline:  5/26/2010

Contents:

1.  The Google Slap And Ban

2.  Negative Thoughts And Their Powerful Impact On Us

3.  Special offer               4.  Archives    

5.  About the Editor       6.  Member's Area (subscribers only)

Previous Issues: 

The Google Slap And Ban:

Six Strategies To Keep Your Accounts In Good Standing

By Dave Cleinman

Recently a slew of Google accounts were disabled, and thousands of accounts were banned.  Google has developed a bit of a bad reputation because of this, but for no good reason.  Most banned accounts and slaps occur because the advertisers are not behaving in ways that are consistent with proper marketing methods, and therefore are doing things that no marketer should do.  Even if a first time advertiser on Google gets slapped, or banned, they cannot plead ignorance, since Google provides an entire tutorial on how to use their system and avoid these occurrences. 

Here is an overview of Google’s demands.  The good news is that their demands match a properly organized and executed campaign that follows the best marketing procedures and business practices.  The bad news is that it requires effort, conscientious application of correct marketing practices, and diligence to check on things on a regular basis.  In reality this is bad news only if one intends to be careless and sloppy when advertising on Google, or running their business in general. 

1.  Quality Score:  This is at its highest when keywords in the ad match keywords on the landing page, and they BOTH match the offer.  The worst practice is using unrelated keywords that get a high response to advertise an unrelated offer.  Not only will Google ban this type of advertiser, this type of practice is unethical and deceitful and has no place in a legitimate business.

2.  A landing page needs to be well developed, load quickly, and get a decent click-through rate.  Poor performing ads are slapped with higher prices for the same keywords and, if this continues, eventually a banning may occur.  Professional pages that look good, convey a message that gets a good response, and match keywords to offer are very easy to create.  There is no excuse not to have this in place before beginning a PPC campaign.

3.  Avoid the tendency of many marketers to place multiple ads on a single page. When we get spam we can see this practice in action.  Some marketers fill an e-mail with numerous links hoping we will be generous and either pick one that sounds good or be kind and click all of them.  In reality, almost no one ever clicks any of them.  This is true of landing pages.  One simple rule applies:  One offer per page that matches the keywords in the ad.

4.  Never use a bait and switch tactic!  This will result in a ban faster than anything else.  Google (and almost every buyer) frowns on this practice and for good reason.  It is blatantly deceptive, similar to using unrelated keywords to drive traffic, and extremely frustrating to a person who clicks on an ad looking for one thing but ends up somewhere unrelated.  This angers a buyer, often severely, and the results of this are invariably undesirable.  Not only will this get an advertiser banned, it can ruin their reputation permanently.

5.  The landing page needs to have original content that matches keywords and offer.  Included should also be a privacy disclaimer, information about the website owner, and a level of transparency regarding how we conduct business.  We want to avoid acting like a thief in the night.  We want a website that is professional, business-like, and trustworthy.  PPC requires KLT (know-like-trust) just as any other form of marketing does.

6.  When in doubt read and follow all of Google’s guidelines.  We must make sure to check our ad performance on a regular basis, make sure our payment information is always up to date, and ensure that our ads are converting well.  If not, we need to take the time to tweak them and improve their performance, otherwise we will get slapped and eventually banned.

If we follow Google’s rules, and conduct ourselves ethically and professionally, marketing in ways that are above board and acceptable by everyone, we will have no trouble with Google, or any other PPC advertising system.  And, if something does happen, behaving this way will make the resolution much faster and easier.  If in doubt, as always, research the best methods of marketing through the resources available on Google’s Adwords website. ◄

 Visit my blog:  Steps to Success

Negative Thoughts And Their Powerful Impact On Us 

– And what We Can Do About It!

by Dave Cleinman

It is not surprising that most people do not think positively most of the time.  With a shrinking budget, overwork and underpay, and ever increasing stress and anxiety, thoughts tend to focus on our worries and concerns.  As wealth is ever more skewed to a small minority and the vast majority struggle to get by, money worries are at an all time high for almost everyone.  Thinking in terms of getting by only causes more concern and stress.  What most people truly desire is enough wealth to eliminate financial worries and to be able to live a decent life without fretting over spending a few extra dollars here and there.

The reasons for negative thoughts are not only generated by difficult situations, the media that we are exposed to tends to have an overabundance of negativity.  News tends to focus on death, disaster, mayhem, and problems.  Video games tend to be entirely violence-based, our nation (the USA) has been at war for half of the last two decades, and television shows and commercials are filled with rancor, nastiness, one-upsmanship, and general negativity.  When added to the daily stress of everyday life these factors only increase the tendency for people to have more unpleasant and negative thoughts than positive, productive, and healing thoughts.

When trying to build a business, or carve a path to financial freedom, our energy level must be consistently high and strong.  Positive thoughts need to be in charge of our mind, and for many people that simply is not the case.  Everyday burdens overwhelm them and their energy tends to be low and unfocused.  This is one of the main reasons why so few people make it in the business world, online or off.  Business is stressful by nature.  So when added to daily stresses that are already present, it can become overwhelming very quickly.  Some strategies here will help change this and make building that business easier and more fun.

* Divide and conquer:  Make a list of your challenges and eliminate any that you have control over:  negative friends, negative influences (TV shows for example), excessive spending, and so on.  This single step can give you back a massive amount of personal control.

* Focus on the end result of what you want to accomplish.  Then break it down into manageable steps.  Make time to research what you need to be successful: information, strategies, mentoring, and so on.  Then establish your plan and get to work.

* Once you have your plan take Daily Action.  This will keep you moving and not let you get bogged down by excessive thinking.  The action itself will propel you forward even when your spirits may be down. 

* Find like-minded individuals and spend time with them.  See what they are doing to have success and share your concerns and desires.  As you gain experience and have success share that and build on it.  Others will be able to learn from you as well.

* don’t let fear stand in your way.  This may be the biggest issue for most people, especially when beginning a new venture.  Fear of the unknown, fear or new things, even fears of success or failure.  Focus on what you desire and keep going and these fears will subside in time.

Our thoughts control our behaviors, but we can also control our thoughts!  By avoiding negative influences, solving immediate challenges, and focusing on positive action, we can create a different reality for ourselves.  This is why you often read about success stories that began with severely negative situations that were conquered to produce amazing and life-changing results.  These individuals are just like you and me.  They took the bull by the horns, wrestled it to the ground, got on top, and never stepped off.  Hard work, both mental and physical, produced the results they desired and dreamed about.  But never once did they give up or let negativity stop them.  And that is the key.  Persevere, take action, celebrate victories, and you will conquer every single bit of fear. ◄