N00b Arbitrage Tutorial

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Speaking of AdSense, has anyone else had problems of late with AdSense not picking up color changes to borders, URL, etc?

Even when I change the code manually, the colors aren't being displayed. As you might imagine, this precludes proper site integration. The odd thing is that with 2 ad blocks and 1 link block, only the link block and 1 of the ad blocks display this behaviour. The other ad block works fine. Any thoughts?
 


Here's an update on my first arbitrage page and how I made 2.4:1 using WordTracker, Overture, AdSense, AdWords, and Movable Type (MT).

Step 1: I created a solid, compliant, simple, SEO-friendly template in MT
Step 2: I subscribed to the WordTracker email list of the Top 200 keywords being searched for
Step 3: I went down the list inputting the keywords into Overture Bid Tool and Keyword Tools until I found a good match for large spread of bids (and many higher bids than $0.15) as well as good volume.
Step 4: I created a keyword-targeted entry in MT with about 100 or so words seperated by an adblock
Step 5: I created a AdWords campaign based on that keyword being careful to write good ad copy and spending only $0.15 (or less). I also used AdWords to suggest verticals and made sure to cap my spending for the time being until the cheques start rolling in. This way, I won't be in a negative cash flow position while I generate some profit.
Step 6: I created a channel in AdSense and inserted the proper code for tracking purposes.
Step 7: I watched the stats to ensure I was getting at least 2:1 ROI

That's it. The hardest part was finding the keyword combo that works. I could probably optimize further by using SearchFeed or 7Search combined with AdBrite or AdEngage or something, but this is working for now.
 
Not sure if I should ask this in this thread or not but since it is the noob arbitrage post, I guess I will.

1)First, is there a way to estimate how many average daily clicks you may get based on your ad position? OR maybe a general trend on which ads get a certain percent of clicks.

2)If I use a 3rd tier ppc campaign, where and how exactly are my ads showing? I mean, I've never seen an ad saying "Ads by 7search".

3)You guys always mention duplicating something once you find a good keyword program that works. Do you mean duplicate the process or duplicate the content using the same keywords on another page/site? Basically making my own competition?

4)WIth a very limited budget, is it best to use your cpc budget all on one word or less clicks using multiple keywords? For example, I have $100 to spend and my bid is .10 per keyword. Is it better to spend the whole $100 on Honda Civic or maybe $25 spread between Honda Civic, Civic Modifications, Civic, and Civic Parts.

Thanks.

Forgot to mention to BNW, checked out your finance christmas arbi site. You have arrows in your images next to the google ads. Or at least they are arrow-like. Isnt that a problem?
 
Not sure if I should ask this in this thread or not but since it is the noob arbitrage post, I guess I will.

1)First, is there a way to estimate how many average daily clicks you may get based on your ad position? OR maybe a general trend on which ads get a certain percent of clicks.

2)If I use a 3rd tier ppc campaign, where and how exactly are my ads showing? I mean, I've never seen an ad saying "Ads by 7search".

3)You guys always mention duplicating something once you find a good keyword program that works. Do you mean duplicate the process or duplicate the content using the same keywords on another page/site? Basically making my own competition?

4)WIth a very limited budget, is it best to use your cpc budget all on one word or less clicks using multiple keywords? For example, I have $100 to spend and my bid is .10 per keyword. Is it better to spend the whole $100 on Honda Civic or maybe $25 spread between Honda Civic, Civic Modifications, Civic, and Civic Parts.

Thanks.

Forgot to mention to BNW, checked out your finance christmas arbi site. You have arrows in your images next to the google ads. Or at least they are arrow-like. Isnt that a problem?

1. Most ad publisher programs offer estimates (they are only estimates) of your potential traffic. Play with the numbers and you'll see what you can expect generally.

2. That's probably a question you should ask of 7Search. They have tons of affiliates apparently, but I don't personally know who they are.

3. I'm still a n00b, but I think the experts mean duplicate the process. Duplicate content is a waste of time. Arbitrage also requires almost no original content. Ads only is not a proper option, but you don't need to write a book either. Around 100-200 words is fine.

4. My inclination is to concentrate on the main keyword then branch out later if needed, but perhaps someone with more experience can address this.

RE: the images about the ads: This is not a problem and does not violate the Google TOS since their code is completely intact. It is common practice to surround the ads with images in order to draw attention to them. This can be done with borders, boxes, whitespace, or images.
 
RE: the images about the ads: This is not a problem and does not violate the Google TOS since their code is completely intact. It is common practice to surround the ads with images in order to draw attention to them. This can be done with borders, boxes, whitespace, or images.

I know images are ok but I could have sworn there was a rule about arrows pointing to the ads. While the images aren't obvious arrows, they are arrow-like and do point towards the ads.
 
Speaking of AdSense, has anyone else had problems of late with AdSense not picking up color changes to borders, URL, etc?

Even when I change the code manually, the colors aren't being displayed. As you might imagine, this precludes proper site integration. The odd thing is that with 2 ad blocks and 1 link block, only the link block and 1 of the ad blocks display this behaviour. The other ad block works fine. Any thoughts?

I spent time just recently on that very problem on my first web page. I eventually gave up, closed everything down, went to bed. I got up in the morning, pulled up my site, and there were the color changes. For some reason it wasn't "refreshing" so I clicked to another site, returned to mine, and there were the color changes. Other changes showed up in refresh. I have no clue why, so I just worked around it. I'm pretty new at this so felt it would be more time efficient for now to do that than try to figure out WHY!
 
I spent time just recently on that very problem on my first web page. I eventually gave up, closed everything down, went to bed. I got up in the morning, pulled up my site, and there were the color changes. For some reason it wasn't "refreshing" so I clicked to another site, returned to mine, and there were the color changes. Other changes showed up in refresh. I have no clue why, so I just worked around it. I'm pretty new at this so felt it would be more time efficient for now to do that than try to figure out WHY!

Your browser has the page cached. Next time do a 'hard refresh' by holding down CTRL and hitting F5. You can hold down CTRL and click the Refresh button, too. Either one will work.
 
Your browser has the page cached. Next time do a 'hard refresh' by holding down CTRL and hitting F5. You can hold down CTRL and click the Refresh button, too. Either one will work.

I've tried these things and its had no effect. The colors being displayed are the default AdSense colors for some reason and it doesn't matter what I change them to.
 
You sure you

a) added the new adsense code
b) are looking at the right page?

As of b: I am ashamed of how often it has taken me far too long looking at an HTML document that just would NOT change. Often I was either looking at the online page while checking offline, or vice versa.

Funny thing is that every web developer I have talked to just nodded in agreement when I told them that... :stonedsmilie:

::emp::
 
Okay, great thread..

Once you get an arbi site tested and up and running profitably, how much do you expect to earn from each site? $50/mo? Then repeating the formula 100 times to make $5k/mo?

Are those numbers real, or low, or??
 
Robots.txt

Hey guys I'm a noob here, I just wanted to ask about something I've heard about regarding arb sites. Are we supposed to block robots from spidering our site? Why?
 
Okay, great thread..

Once you get an arbi site tested and up and running profitably, how much do you expect to earn from each site? $50/mo? Then repeating the formula 100 times to make $5k/mo?

Are those numbers real, or low, or??

I'll assume that by "what you earn", you mean profits. I expect $1-2 per day max per page. That means appox. 1000 visitors * 20% CTR, $60/month, and an average CPC of $0.10. This means an approx. ROI of 100%.

My goal is to make $2000 profit/month before I can quit my "day job" and do this full time. That means I need 34 such pages or sites at this level. Once I have the first one, the other 33 should be easy.
 
I spent time just recently on that very problem on my first web page. I eventually gave up, closed everything down, went to bed. I got up in the morning, pulled up my site, and there were the color changes. For some reason it wasn't "refreshing" so I clicked to another site, returned to mine, and there were the color changes. Other changes showed up in refresh. I have no clue why, so I just worked around it. I'm pretty new at this so felt it would be more time efficient for now to do that than try to figure out WHY!

I just did the same thing and it worked this time. The code hadn't changed. I had tried rebooting, CTRL-F5, just F5, closing and opening Firefox...Nothing worked. This has to be something on Google's end.
 
I just did the same thing and it worked this time. The code hadn't changed. I had tried rebooting, CTRL-F5, just F5, closing and opening Firefox...Nothing worked. This has to be something on Google's end.

Did you clear all cookies & temp internet files?
 
SearchFeed Sucks

Okay, so one of the "rules" bandied about by the more experienced arbi ppl here on WF is to test things out using different methods, find out what works and repeat. To that end, I have tested out Adwords, 7Search, and SearchFeed so far.

Adwords was okay, but pricey - not so good for profits (as in, there was no profit). 7Search was okay but the traffic didn't convert as well and the interface is, well, lame.

SearchFeed sucks. They are sending tons of traffic, but it is the worst possible CTR I have seen yet (i.e. 1-2%). For reference, you need to have a minimum of 20-30%.

Any experienced uber-arbi daemons out there that can offer any advice before I never login to my SearchFeed account again?:mad:
 
BNW,

I wish you the best man. I've been reading this tutorial and today I finally got things together and got my first Arbi site going. So far I've spent .12 cents for four clicks and have gotten two CTR's for .49 cents. Nothing huge but I agree with a lot of other just to give it some time. I'm using 7Search.

Chicago
 
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