Okay, we know we all need to pay the bills. I know that many of us want to get traffic to our web sites. And some of us just want to make enough money to pay for our costs so that this thing we love to do is free.
But, come on, that doesn't mean you should plaster a hundred ads or a dozen banners on every page of your web site. A banner here and there, a small button or a few text links is fine, but I've seen some web sites that have dozens and a few that have hundreds of ads on each page! Now this is just tacky and is virtually guaranteed to get your visitors to hit that handy back button fast.
One of the worst kinds of web sites, in my opinion, are those that are just huge advertisements. Especially those that are advertisements for dozens or even hundreds of other services. People do not surf the web looking for banners, text links and other advertisements to click on. In fact, statistically, most people are surfing because they are looking for (a) information, (b) entertainment, or (c) someone to talk to. Most web surfers are not looking for something to purchase.
A good web site offers excellent content (which can be graphics, text or interactive features). Even those sites which sell something also offer content which is of interest to their visitors. Go take a look at any really good shopping site and you will see what I mean. Look at Amazon.Com or Barnes And Noble and you will understand - these sites offer tons of content. Reviews of their products, consumer comments and large amounts of data about the items being sold. This is what people want - information. Some common things on web site that you should never do.
Banner exchanges - It's real simple - these do not work. Oh, you will get a click or two, but banner exchanges tend to look tacky, take up valuable space on your web pages and increase your load time. To make it even worse, many times you will lose far more traffic than you will gain. Don't even bother putting even one of these on your entire web site.
Notices saying "please, pretty please, keep my site free and click on something". This just makes you look like a rank amateur. In my humble opinion, it's very tacky to expect people to click on links just so you can "keep your site free". Come up with or find a good product or service, and sell it if you must. Advertising is not in of itself of value - only products or services have value.
Pornographic ads (unless your site is a pornographic site) - You want to chase away your visitors fast, then include pornographic ads. Yeah, you might get a few dollars from them, but you will lose visitors and your site will not be "family safe", which can be important.
Gambling ads - I understand that these advertisements may be the only things (besides pornography) that people will click on nowadays, but quite a few people do not want to be exposed to these things. I believe that these kinds of advertisements will cause you to loose a large amount of traffic.
Web sites that are just advertisements - I suppose there is a place for brochures or full site advertisements, but I personally hit the back key as soon as I run into one of these. I want content. If I wanted this many advertisements I'd buy a magazine or look in the classified section of the newspaper.
Any large graphic advertisements. Remember one of the very important things in web design is load time. Your site must load fast. If you include large graphic ads you are increase your load times.
Sites which are just lists of pay-surf, MLM or other money making schemes. There is nothing wrong with include some pay-surf or MLM ads here and there on your site. Including a section on these programs is also fine. But come on, please put some real content there also. Otherwise people will hit the back key fast and never come back.
Brochures - I've seen a large number of web sites in my days, and one of the ones that I click out of the fastest is one that looks like a brochure. It feels just like someone took the company brochure and converted it to web format. What on earth makes companies think these are of value to anyone?
Popup Windows - If you do a survey of web surfers, you will find that these are among the most hated "features" that exist. No one likes pop up windows, and if your site has too many of them you will loose visitors fast. Oh, you may get a few more clicks or signups for your newsletter, but the amount of time your visitors remain on your site will be limited and of less quality.
900 Numbers - Sites which advertise 900 numbers (a) don't work, and (b) clutter up the web needlessly. My advice is to find something better to do.
About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips: mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Online poker gambling at casinos and poker rooms is one of
the fastest growing forms of wagering on the Internet. Fueled by the
televised tournaments seen on Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, ESPN with
the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP), and Bravo's Celebrity Poker, the
popularity of the game is seen everywhere. A huge number of the qualifiers
for the 2004 WSOP gained their entries from playing in online satellite
tournaments for a fraction of the large entry fees paid by others. Look
for more players to enter 2005 world series of poker satellite tournaments
for this reason.
Tournaments at land based casinos are becoming so popular
that people are being turned away, with waits at some lasting two hours to
get a table on the weekends. Smaller land based casinos are promoting
poker tournaments in order to capitalize on the growing trend of the game.
Even though the cut for the house is pretty slim, they report increasing
revenues by the number of patrons who play other games, buy drinks and
food. It is also allowing them to attract new players which are mostly
twentysomethings and women which expands their customer base.
It seems that most of the upcoming poker stars are a lot
younger than in the past. This is because the years of experience formally
gained at the brick and mortar poker rooms is compressed into months when
playing online. College students watching Texas Hold'Em poker on TV have
taken to playing at crowded tables on campus or online where they can take
advantage of the 24/7 availability of other players when they can. One
college student stated that "Being able to lie (bluff) and get away with
it is exciting when you know the hand you have is inferior to the one your
opponents have." Plus being able to play for free is also a nice way to
learn the game which is a feature that most poker rooms on the Net offer.
Learning the game is also becoming easier with free
lessons at brick and mortar casinos and also The Travel Channel featuring
review and analysis of poker hands on Wednesdays through it's WPT Poker
Corner. Viewers will learn more in-depth about what they did not see.
Discussions will go over the tells, the big mistakes, and the bluffing
made by others players. This is an excellent way to learn how to improve
one's game.
With the huge piles of money that people can win, more and
more are getting into the game of poker. The 2005 WSOP championship for
next year will boast a $6,000,000 first place prize and anyone making the
final table will be a millionaire. The 2004 WSOP winner turned a $160
buy-in satellite shootout into a massive $5,000,000 check and so many
endorsements he quit his job as an patent attorney. Visit our sister site
to learn more about the
2005 World Series of Poker .
Tom Howze is a webmaster for 9 sites that relate to online
gambling, World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events and updates.
For more information, please visit
2005 World Series of Poker . He can be reached at
webmaster@justgambleforfree.com for questions.
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