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SWeCS NEWSLETTER - 28 June 2004

In this issue...

- Top NineMSN Results Now Provided By Overture
- Free Pop-Up Blocker (and it's trustworthy...)
- Want To Earn A Quick $50?
- You Know You're A High Tech Worker When...
- Resources For Small Business

TOP NINEMSN RESULTS NOW PROVIDED BY OVERTURE

There's been a change at one of Australia's most popular search engines.

Up until recently, the search results at NineMSN (www.ninemsn.com.au) were provided by Looksmart. The only way you could be listed was to purchase a listing at Looksmart, which usually started at around $400 or $500.

But there's been a change. NineMSN has now followed the same lead as MSN worldwide, which is to now get it's top 3 results from Overture Australia (under the heading of "Sponsored Results"). If you do a search for something on NineMSN and there are no "Sponsored Results" at the top, then that means nobody has bid for an Overture listing, and that you can be number 1 on the results for as little as 10 cents per click (see our last edition's article on Be Number 1 on Yahoo for 10 Cents).

So Overture Australia has now extended it's reach very far into the Australian search engine market. Their listings now provide the top 3 results for Yahoo, Altavista, and NineMSN, which together account for a large percentage of the overall market. The other major player is Google.

So what does this mean for search engine marketing in Australia? It means that even more of the top positions in the search engines can only be obtained by paying per click.

If you are interested in advertising your website on the major "pay per click" search engines in Australia, we can manage your campaign for you (as mentioned in our last newsletter). For only $50 a month (plus GST), we will place your advertisments in Google, Yahoo, Altavista, and NineMSN, monitor the bidding and spending amounts, and provide fortnightly reports.

FREE POP-UP BLOCKER

Hate pop-up windows? Join the club.

There are many pop-up "blockers" out there - software that simply stops pop-up windows from showing up. Be careful though, some of them can also be "spyware" - software that is designed to monitor the sites you visit, keystrokes you enter, and so on, and report them to someone.

An anti pop-up system we have used for some time now, and have found it very good, easy to use, and easy to install, is the free one provided by Google.

It only works on Internet Explorer, but is great at stopping pop-ups, and also has many other features and time savers.

You can find it at http://toolbar.google.com.

WANT TO EARN A QUICK $50?

Don't forget that we offer a referral fee of $50 to anyone who refers a customer to us who subsequently purchases a new website from us.

You can't refer yourself, and you need to have registered with us first before making the referral (because not everyone is approved).

If you're interested, email us at admin@southwestecommerce.com. We also have brochures available for your use if necessary.

We also pay $60 for every referral who signs up for our search engine ranking service.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A HIGH TECH WORKER WHEN...

1. It's dark when you drive to and from work.

2. You've sat at the same desk for 4 years and worked for three different companies.

3. Your resume is on a disk in your pocket.

4. Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose your best jokes.

5. Your supervisor hasn't the ability to do your job duties.

6. You sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom closet.

7. The salaries of the members on the Executive Board are higher than all the Third World countries' annual budgets combined.

8. Being sick is defined as can't walk or you're in hospital.

9. All real work gets started after 5pm or on weekends.

10. 10% of the people you work with (boss included) -- knows what they do.

11. A vacation is something you rollover to next year.

12. Your relatives and family describe your job as "does something with computers"

13. You read this list and understood it.

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 $60 for each referral who signs up for our search engine ranking package. Also earn $50 for each referral who signs up for a website.

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.

OTHER EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

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www.west-oz.com/newsletter/newsletter.asp