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SWeCS NEWSLETTER - 20 September 2004

In this issue...

- Australian Search Engines - The Only Way To The Top
- This Fortnight's Question
- New eBooks For Sale
- Microsoft Cars
- Resources For Small Business

AUSTRALIAN SEARCH ENGINES

Over the last couple of years there has been general shift in the way worldwide search engines display their results. Australian search engines are no different.

It can now be said fairly safely: If you want to be at the top of the major search engines in Australia, you must be prepared to pay "per click".

Gone are the days when the major search engines listed all sites equally. Now, the majority of search engines show a combination of paid and free listings, with the paid listings up the top. This is perhaps an expected transition considering that search engines, like all businesses, need to make a profit.

Google is one of the only major search engines left that don't require payments to be number 1. But, considering the number of websites in their database (hundreds and hundreds of millions), it is often very hard to get on the first page of their results unless you take out their paid option, which can give you listings on the first page.

Can you get away with not advertising on the search engines? Consider the fact that there are over 1 billion searches conducted on the Internet every day. But who do you choose to advertise through? Here is a list of the main players:

• Google - still the most popular search engine, you can pay to be on the first page of results from $0.09 per click
  
  
• Yahoo - Yahoo owns Overture, which claims to have "the largest distribution network in Australia". This doesn't necessarily mean they have the most searches, but their network does cover Yahoo, NineMSN, Altavista, Mooter Search, Ozemail, HP, Fairfax Digital, News Interactive, and Optusnet. You can get first page listings on all of these engines from $0.10 per click
  
  
• Sensis - A newcomer, this engine provides results for it's own search engine (Sensis.com.au), and also the Telstra and Bigpond sites. Again, you can get first page listings from $0.10 per click.

Just these three networks will give you access to over 80% of the Australian market.

If you don't undertake "Pay Per Click" advertising, you can still be included in all of the above search engines. But due to the change in the way the engines provide results, you can't guarantee you'll be on the top without paying per click.

Remember it costs nothing to be listed on the first page, you only pay when someone searches for your product, sees your listing, is interested and clicks on the link to visit your website.

If you're interested in advertising on the search engines, don't forget to consider one of our most popular services, our Pay Per Click Management service, at www.southwestecommerce.com/ppc.htm.

THIS FORTNIGHT'S QUESTION

This fortnight's question comes from Rick:

"If I list my site on the search engines on a "Pay Per Click" basis, what happens if some idiot gets on the net and just keeps clicking on my site for fun?"

All of the major Pay Per Click engines have sophisticated anti-fraud systems in place and can tell when someone is simply clicking on the same link over and over. Anything that looks remotely suspicious (eg. the same person clicking on the same link more than once on the same day) is usually refunded. They have put these measures in place because everyone asks exactly what you have, and for their own good reputation they have to ensure that advertisers only get charged for real visitors.

Got a question? Send it to us at admin@southwestecommerce.com and we'll do our best to answer it, as well as publish one every fortnight for everyone to see.

eBOOKS FOR SALE

In response to demand, we have now made available our popular "Making Money As An Affiliate" and "Introduction To Website Building" courses into eBooks that you can download and read through yourself.

• Making Money As An Affiliate - this book explains, step by step, how people can make money on the Internet by selling other people's products (earning commissions). You don't need a website, and there is no selling required. All you need is an Internet connection and a bank account to deposit the commissions into. More details can be found at www.southwestecommerce.com/ebook-affiliates.htm.
  
  
• Introduction To Website Building - learn how to build your own website with this step by step guide. Very easy to follow, with diagrams included. This is the manual for our popular "Build Your Own Website" course. No additional software needs to be purchased, so this book is all you need to start building or editing your own simple website today. More details can be found at www.southwestecommerce.com/ebook-websitecourse.htm.

MICROSOFT CARS

At a computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating, "If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
   
   
2. Every time they painted new lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.
   
   
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
   
   
4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
   
   
5. Only one person at a time could use the car unless you bought "CarNT," but then you would have to buy more seats.
   
   
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive -- but it would only run on five percent of the roads.
   
   
7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "general protection fault" warning light.
   
   
8. The airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?" before deploying.
   
   
9. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the antenna.
   
   
10. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally Road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50 percent or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.
    
    
11. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
    
    
12. You'd have to press the "start" button to turn the engine off.

RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Ecommerce Library

Browse through the SWeCS Ecommerce Library, full of FREE information about getting more out of the Internet. Sections include Web Site Development, Web Site Promotion & Internet Marketing, Online Commerce, Computer & Technical Issues, and Miscellaneous.

Newsletter Archives

The SWeCS Newsletter archives provides a wealth of FREE information on small business and the Internet. Browse through the main topics or search for your particular query.

SWeCS Affiliate Program

Start up another income stream, by earning commissions for each referral who signs up for one of our services.

Affiliate Directory

Browse through a list of reviewed Affiliate programs. Let us do the work of testing it out for you!

Do you know of a resource that should be added here? Email us and let us know. There is only one condition - it must be free.

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