Elaine

Voice over internet protocol is what voiP stands for and the ingenious technology allows you to use your internet connection to place and receive phone calls in and around the country as well as international calls. You can do away with traditional dial up phone services and save money as well. The technology is all the same from provider to provider, but the pricing and plans are significantly different. If you use a phone for your voiP service, you just dial the number and connect, if you use your computer, you simply punch in the number and wait for the person to answer.

The only thing you need to have in order to use the voiP phone service is cable or DSL because voiP needs to have a high-speed internet connection. Another thing most people do not know about this type of phone service verses the home landline is that you pay no taxes or other fees that local telephone services charge. The technology has allowed many businesses and individuals to lower their cost of phone service and make more calls then what they could before. You only need a few things to use a voiP server and have affordable phone service.

You will need an ATA box that connects your phone and computer to the modem, which connects you to the internet. If you are in a home situation, you can hook the main base of a cordless phone up to the ATA and the other extensions will work as well. You will want to hook your computer up so as to talk on the voiP phone sever and search the internet as well. With all the new technology, we see today, we might just wonder what is next. As far as that goes, the features and options are endless where voiP phone systems are concerned.

For help in choosing the right VOIP provider and lots of other useful information, check VOIP Secrets.

So, what is Overture?

Like Google, Yahoo sells paid placement advertising links that appear on its own site and which are distributed to others. These are sold through Overture. Yahoo purchased Overture as part of an acquisition in October 2003.

Overture also provides sponsor links for many other search engines, most notably: MSN, AllTheWeb and AltaVista.

Today, Google accounts for about 46% of websearches. Yahoo accounts for about 22.5% and MSN 12.6%. So you see, Overture really is just as important to use as Google Adwords. Personally I use overture extensively and I highly recommend that you do so too.

First of all, make sure that you set for yourself a reasonable daily budget. That way you won't spend too much. You can do this in overture.

Secondly, Overture works differently to Google adwords. Google adwords uses some sort of fuzzy logic to decide it's ad placement positioning, calculated from such things as:
a) Length of time the advertiser has been advertising with this adword. Sometimes it takes up to a month to realize the full potential of an adword in Google.
b) Click through rate
c) Max cost per click

Overture simply uses an auction system to decide which ad gets displayed highest. If you bid more money per click, you will rate higher. It's as simple as that.

For instance if Mr X bids $1 per click on "Learn Spanish" and Mr Y bids $0.95 and Mr Z bids $1.10. Then Mr Z's ad will be #1, Mr X's ad will be #2 and Mr Y's ad will be placed #3.

With this difference in mind, there is a different strategy that you should use in overture.

Overture Strategy #1

Qualify your ads.
In Google it matters what your click through rate is and you are rewarded for having a higher click through rate with lower costs per click. In Overture, all that matter is how much you are prepared to pay per click.

Hence it is very important that you bid higher than you would in Google, but you ensure that your traffic is of a higher quality by "Qualifying" your listings. You can do this in many ways.

1. By mentioning the price of the product. If somewhere in you overture ad you mention something like: "Only $99!" or simply "Costs $99.95" or something to that effect, then people who aren't at all interested in paying any money for anything won't click on your ad.

2. By mentioning more product details. Remember that in Overture you get to take up more space describing a product, so you should describe what it is so that people know what they are clicking on.

3. I personally recommend only promoting in Overture USA and Overture UK, they seem to have a higher proportion of buyers than in other countries.

4. Mention how the product is delivered. Eg If your product is an online product, say so, some people are only interested in physical products.

Remember, if you are profiting a large amount per click AND if you want to increase your click through rate, simply remove some of the qualifiers, such as price.... above.

Overture Strategy #2

Conversion Tracking
Most website owners, including us, will be happy to add their affiliate's overture conversion tracking code to their purchase page. This means that you will be able to tell precisely which keywords are making the sales and which aren't. And also how much it is costing you per sale.

If a website owner is not willing to add your conversion code, you may want to consider if you really wish to be promoting their website.

It is important to have access to valuable conversion statistics, to see where you are profiting, and where you are struggling.

Overture Strategy #3

Separate Ads for Each Keyword
I know this is time consuming, but in the long run, it is highly beneficial. First of all, make sure that you use the keyword(s) in the title and ad copy.

When your keyword is inserted in the Title and Ad Copy, the come up in bold when someone searches for it in Yahoo or MSN. For example, search for "Learn Spanish" in Yahoo and notice how with the sponsored links, the words "learn" and "Spanish" come up in bold in all the ad listings.

Overture Strategy #4

Try to get the #4 or #5 Position. (even #6 isn't bad)
This increases the likelihood of your ad being seen. The top 3-4 ads get displayed at the top of yahoo and msn searches. The following ads are displayed at the bottom and right hand side of the page in yahoo, and down the right hand side in MSN.

There is a significant difference between being placed 5/6 and being placed 7/8.

Overture allows you to "bid to position" on a particular search term. You can do this once you have set up your keywords. I strongly recommend bidding to position #5 at the very least. In fact you'll get quite good traffic from them. There is no need (unless you are profiting wildly!) to spend more money to place your ad in the top 3 positions which usually get fought over fiercely. Remember to keep an eye on your ads, so you don't inadvertently become caught up in a bidding for position war.

Overture Strategy #5

Make sure that All your Bids are set to Auto bid.
This means that you won't be spending more than you want to for any term, and you will pay less money if your competitors aren't spending as much.

I hope that this advice helps you turbo-charge profits using Overture Search Marketing.

Andrew Portela is an experienced affiliate marketer that loves to spread the word about his wonderful career. For more information on the things learned in this article visit www.affilorama.com

The declaration that summer is here still holds true today, for summer has not yet left, which is more than can be said about that lazy relative who is still on your couch (seriously, check it now). Many people have begun to have some fun this summer, either by vacationing away, vacationing at home, or by watching every television marathon that doesn't actually include people running real marathons (that'd be too ironic). Still, there are likely some who are in need of suggestions. Well, here I am to save the day, with a list of activities sure to stop your summer blues:

- In most areas, the summer implies that there will be some heat. And what better way to use that heat than to have ice races with friends! Simply go outside with a friend and at least two ice cubes of the same size. Then place your ice cubes on the ground or a flat surface and watch whose melts first. Yes, ice is exciting. Who would have thought that "fun" could be spelled with three letters?

- Nothing says summer like a talking Slip 'n' Slide. So why not... Oh never mind, if it talks, then it can tell you the rest...

- It's time to take the cover off of the grill, grab a bag of marshmallows and create your own Peeps. Yours will look nothing like the Easter variety at first, but you have a couple of months to work on it, assuming the fun doesn't overwhelm you...

- You don't need a swimming pool to swim. Simply put on your swimming clothes and wait outside on the street for an open invitation. Wearing scuba gear and goggles will increase the odds of this occurring, or -- at the very least -- will make you a greater target for water balloons, which is pretty much the same as swimming anyway...

- Do birds really need those baths set out for them? If the answer to this question is "no" -- and I am not really sure of this one -- then simply kick them out and take their spots. If anyone questions this activity, tell him/her it's a hockey game and you're playing left wing. If a hockey player asks you, tell him/her your game is for the birds, which is basically accurate, even though you kicked them out earlier...

- Lemonade stands are a hassle to create. So why not take over someone else's stand and negotiate that you will take a certain percentage of the profit, simply because you made the declaration to do so. To make this more fun, put your name on the sign and give all of your friends a free cup. If you are above the age of 30, quit your day job in order to run this business more successfully. Make sure your old high school classmates see your success. Send them e-cards if possible...

But I digress.

Greg Gagliardi is a teacher and writer. His stream-of-consciousness weekly humor column, "Progressive Revelations," has been ongoing since 1998. (http://www.ProgressiveRevelations.com)

GPS, or Global Positioning System, has become for the 21st century what bloodhounds and used to be for police forces and bread crumbs were for Hansel and Gretel: both a way to find a person or target, and a way for a person to keep from becoming lost. GPS uses its eyes in the sky, a group of twenty-one operating and three backup satellites in orbit nearly twelve thousand miles above the Earth, to interpret the signals sent from GPS devices down below.

GPS translates those signals into information about the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the device that sent it, and beams the information back to a GPS receiver in the same device. The whole operation is done in split seconds, accurate to within five meters, and is the result of over three decades and twelve billion (and rising) dollars spent by the US Department of Defense.

Military GPS Applications

While the DoD initially installed GPS systems in their Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to help them locate their targets with pinpoint accuracy, the GPS technology has now fund applications far beyond its use in weapons systems. The US military used it once again in 1991, during the first Gulf War, when GPS was essential for the mapping of huge uncharted tracts of desert.

Because GPS information can be provided as a readout, interpreted, and printed as a map of the target terrain, it saved the military countless man-hours and risk to the personnel who would otherwise have had to map the desert while airborne. GPS has its defensive purposes as well; it allows a country to monitor the movements of military troops in another country across the globe and to prepare for an attack well lin advance.

Commercial GPS Application

The first non-military use of sGPS was for marine applications; those lost at sea and unable to navigate by traditional means could simply push a button to signal the GPS satellites and have their latitude and longitude appearing on a screen in a matter of seconds. Today GPS is most widely used in the aviation industry, as an aid to routing aircraft.

GPS technology has advanced so much, in fact, that it is now possible for ships computers to be linked to a GPS system which automatically navigates to a preprogrammed destination. GPS can function as both s ships navigator and captain, although it is highly improbable that it will replace them.

GPS, in both its military and commercial applications, has made the world a much smaller and safe, place!

You can also find more info on GPS Mount and GPS Portable. Gpssystemsreview.com is a comprehensive resource to know about GPS System.

Its no big secret that some folks are making some significant money in Google's AdSense program. Experienced website publishers are making $100 to $1000 per day and some even more. In the AdSense program, website owners publish information folks are interested in, Google generates ads which match the topics and content of the pages published, and if readers find the ads interesting, they click on them and the publisher is paid for the interested readers he sends to the advertiser.

In spite of what you read, it is not the quick way to buckets of easy money. In my experience, when people tell you they have some special secret to for making fast easy money they are always trying to sell you something. More often than not, the product for sale is usually worthless information. I am selling nothing, so I will be frank and honest and tell you the honest and real truth. Yes, AdSense is truly a great opportunity, especially if you own an already popular website.

On the other hand, the days of throwing up a low quality web site made of material copied (often illegally) from other sites and making easy money are gone. What few of these junky MFA (Made For AdSense) arbitrage sites that remain are under attack from Google. Advertisers find these sites undesirable places to put their ads. Google does not like their business model (nor the fact that they make advertisers unhappy), and is actively seeking to find such low quality sites and remove them from the AdSense program. The minimum acceptable quality bar for MFA sites keeps being raised all the time, so why build a junk site and constantly have to fight to keep it above the minimum standards?

The reliable way to make money on AdSense is to create high quality pages of unique information that are of value and interest to readers. Create a website which is the proverbial better mousetrap and in time you will generate the necessary interest, traffic and ad revenue. Publishing a website is much like publishing paper and ink magazine or newspaper in that readers want a quality publication that is interesting and entertaining. Like the older media forms, advertisers like high quality attractive publications and they dont like slapped together junk that no one finds interesting or useful. If you are going to build up a business this way, its worth your effort to take your time and do it right. Never forget that in the end, the essence of your AdSense business is selling advertising space and your publication must be a place where your advertisers want to put their ads.

Here are some of my 10 essential secrets for starting and operating a successful web based business using AdSense:

1. Dont bother to chase high paying keywords its a waste of time. More than 100,000 folks have already bought the e-books and other materials that say this is the way to go, and its all bogus information. The payment per click numbers presented are the maximum you might be paid, but there is nothing that requires Google to pay you that amount. If Google decides your site is of a low quality, and the sales leads you generate are of a poor quality as well, instead of paying you $10 a click for asbestos cancer clicks, they can pay you 2 cents its called smart pricing and is done all the time. In addition, there are already thousands of sites competing for these high dollar keywords and you will be fighting thousands of others who already have a head start on you to get to the top of the heap. Instead, select a topic that has less competition and still has plenty of advertisers wanting to sell goods related to that topic. If possible, it is best to select a topic you know about and are interested in yourself, as you may be writing quite a bit about it while building your site.

2. Research and choose your website topic carefully. Some topics just don't lend themselves well to profitable ads. A Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton site may attract traffic, but you probably wont have good advertising to go with the topic and the traffic probably will not be folks who are interested in what advertising may be on your page. Ask yourself what are companies advertising out there? Not so much on TV, but in smaller media yellow pages, newsletters, magazines, etc. These are your competition. There are literally hundreds of small niche hobby and special interest magazines consider their topics as potential areas of interest for a web site. Take a look and see what kind of advertisers they have.

The goal is to pick a topic where people are actively looking to purchase things and the ads become just as important as your content, so they're clicking around all over the place to find what they're looking for. If you've got a site providing information for people who are looking to buy something, they're much more likely to click your ads. Pick a topic where people are looking to buy goods and services, not hobby chat, humor, celebrities or other less profitable topics. Anything can make money but when people are in a buying mood those ads are as good as gold and your topic can make all the difference.

The motivation of visitors coming to your site really matters quite a bit. If someone is looking for a recipe they will find it and continue on. If your reader is looking for information on the latest misadventures of Lindsay Lohan or some other celebrity, they will also find it and move on. On the other hand, if someone is looking for a information on hotels and places to visit in a certain city, then they are more of the mindset that they will look at your ads and visit the advertisers with the intention to pull out a credit card and make a reservation or purchase. This type of mindset in your visitors is good for you as well as the advertiser.

3. Focus on building a high quality site. Map out a strategy for what you will have and the site you intend to build. Your content matters to your readers! Sites that have a couple hundred words of meaningless drivel on every page are shallow and of little interest. Those sites that rely on a shallow rather than deep content model are more vulnerable to competition than more authoritative deeper sites are. Google knows that the web is overloaded with sites built of pages that are shallow, rather than deep, and on the Google search side, they know the difference. Sites that are designed purely to benefit the publisher aren't likely to prosper indefinitely. What useful information will your website provide to your visitor? Sites with shallow content are also not likely to attract repeat users, which means they're throwing away revenue opportunities from return visits.

4. For AdSense to work you need traffic, and a boatload of it. If your site cannot generate traffic, you wont be able to make much of a profit. AdSense is all about selling interested traffic to the advertiser and if you dont have much traffic, you dont have much to sell. It is important to concentrate first on a positive, quality user experience for your readers. Good content generates interest and clicks, professionalism and quality generates clicks, relevance generates clicks: all these are the things you need to be successful. Well organized and laid out sites, with good honest SEO will bring the right kind of traffic. Building a quality site is like building a building: brick by brick it goes together to form the intended finished product. In time you will get the bookmarks, the good incoming links, the high positions in the search engines and the traffic that all those things bring. Once you have that traffic coming to your website, if your website is well optimized with AdSense, then the money flows.

For the rest of my 10 Essential Secrets of Making Big Money with AdSense, or to sign up for yourself to become a part of AdSense, check out my webpage and the links below.

The 6 remaining Essential Secrets of Making Big Money with AdSense can be found at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Adsense/AdSense_money.htm

Chris' home web page can be found at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com

Chris Ralph writes on small scale mining and prospecting for the ICMJ Mining Journal. He has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Mackay School of Mines in Reno, and has worked for precious metal mining companies conducting both surface and underground operations. After working in the mining industry, he has continued his interest in mining as an individual prospector. His information page on prospecting for gold can be viewed at:

http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/chris_prospect.htm

When Red Ribbon Week started back in 1988 it was to honor a young DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Agent by the name of Enrique Camarena. His friends knew him by the name of Kiki. He was kidnapped and killed in Mexico back in 1985. He had uncovered a multi-billion dollar drug scam which might have involved the Mexican Army, police force and government. When he left his office one day, five men kidnapped him. He was found about a month later buried in a shallow grave. He had been tortured and beaten.

In 1988 the U.S. Congress proclaimed the first Red Ribbon Week supporting the cause that Kiki had given his life for. It is one of the first times that ribbons were used to support a cause, the fight against drugs. Now ribbons are used all the time to show support such as, for missing children, fights against diseases, and support our military.

Many teachers were around when this first happened and they were concerned about teaching about drugs in the classroom. This was not their area of expertise. On the other hand they could see that in ten years this might be a requited subject so they started preparing for what they felt was the inevitable.

Teachers started gearing up for what they knew was coming. They started to take classes and educate themselves about drugs. These drugs were foreign to them and they needed time to learn about the causes of drug abuse and the effects and results of drug abuse. Teachers started implementing their own programs or programs offered by the states so that they might get ahead of the problem. They found ways to teach children about alcohol, smoking, and drugs. They implemented lessons into their science and health lessons. They role played and did demonstrations.

In my classroom I found that having a play / skit about drugs brought the children a sense of ownership and they wanted to pass on their knowledge to their friends and peer groups. This they did by putting on plays and skits in assemblies for the whole school. Audience participation was a must and the students looked forward to participating.

Sometimes the best way to attack a problem is with a sense of humor so such a scary subject does not seem over whelming to a child. Thus, humor was incorporated into the plays and skits to soften the hard message that needed to be given.

Using fun plays, skits, and programs during Red Ribbon Week is a way to get students involved in the fight against drugs. Audience participation encourages all who are there to stand up and be counted in the fight against drugs. Just as "Kiki" stood up and had the courage to fight even though he died in doing so. His legacy lives on in Red Ribbon Week and in the DARE programs that are used through this country.

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