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SWeCS NEWSLETTER - 23 August 2004

In this issue...

- Sensis Launching Pay Per Click
- This Fortnight's Question
- 24 Hour Domain Name Sale!
- Drug Dealers v Program Developers
- Resources For Small Business

SENSIS LAUNCHING PAY PER CLICK

The newest Australian search engine, www.sensis.com.au, is launching a Pay Per Click option very soon.

You may have seen in a recent edition we reported on the newest Australian search engine, www.sensis.com.au (from Telstra). In our opinion the free results it is currently providing need a lot of work to be more relevant, but we're sure they are aware of that and are working on it.

In the meantime, however, Sensis have announced that very soon (ie. within the next month) they will be launching their Pay Per Click option, BidSmart. So far they are tight lipped about exactly how this will work, but if it operates like other Pay Per Click services it will mean that people can bid to be on top of their search results, for their chosen keyword phrases, and only pay "per click" (ie. when someone actually visits their site).

Pay Per Click advertising is often a fantastic way for the "little guy" to be able to advertise effectively against the "big guns", being able to get first page search engine listings for as little as 10 cents per click in many instances.

We hope to find out further details about the Sensis service soon, and will let you know how to get involved as soon as it's up and running.

THIS FORTNIGHT'S QUESTION

This fortnight's question comes from Roslyn:

"What are ALL of the costs when getting a website? Are there any hidden costs?"

There are basically three different costs when getting a website:

1. The domain name. If you want your own domain name, then there is a fee. Global domains (.com, .net, etc) normally cost around $20 a year. Australian domain names (.com.au, .net.au, etc) can cost around $80 for two years. Other domain types such as .org are often cheaper. You can check prices and available domain names at http://domains.southwestecommerce.net.
   
   
2. Hosting. If you have your own domain name, then you also need to pay someone to have it hosted on the Internet. This can vary depending on what you need, but you're normally looking at around $20 to $30 a month, plus any setup fees.
   
   
3. The actual website creation. This is the payment you make to the website designer to actually create the site, and can vary significantly depending on what you need. Sites can range from a few hundred dollars for the simple, "informational" sites, to a few thousand dollars for the larger, "ecommerce" sites.

The only other cost to be wary of is updates. The web designer will most likely charge you for future updates, so you need to know up front what that might cost too.

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.

24 HOUR DOMAIN NAME SALE!

Mark it in your diaries - on 25 August 2004 we will be holding our first (and maybe only) 24 hour Domain Name Sale.

From 9:00am WST on Wednesday 25 August 2004 to 9:00am WST on Thursday 26 August 2004 we will be selling .com.au and .net.au domain names for only $60 plus GST for 2 years. You'll never find it cheaper.

There is no limit to how many domain names you can purchase at this price. The only condition is that you must purchase online between those times. Any registrations outside of those times will be processed using our normal rates (which are still the lowest around!).

If you want to start looking now for domains, use our search facility at http://domains.southwestecommerce.net.

DRUG DEALERS v SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS

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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