Catch the NETexponent team at SMX in Santa Clara, California March 2nd- 4th

January 29th, 2010

Before forming a client relationship with the Search Marketing Expo, we at NETexponent had been attendees of the leading search conference for years.  This convention, produced by Third Door Media, always attracts highly distinguished speakers, and SMX West-Santa Clara will not disappoint.  This year’s keynote speaker, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, will bring his jovial personality and exceptional brand of technology leadership to set the stage for a highly educational and network-enriching three day experience.

In addition to Mr. Ballmer, team members from Google, Yahoo!, and Youtube (amongst others) will speak on behalf of the most knowledgeable leaders in the industry.  Fear not, however, sessions are clearly labeled and expertly tailored to fit any experience level so that all visitors leave feeling educated and inspired, not bored or overwhelmed.

The NETexponent team has always found that SMX offers sessions to match any interest and an exhibition hall to generate quality leads- not just visitors looking for free stuff (although you won’t leave empty handed).  Meet us at the preshow meet-and-greet or during one of the more structured networking events.

All in all, we would love to catch up with you there, so take advantage of the early bird pricing to save up to $350.  To get more conference details and information about signing up for an attendance pass, visit http://tiny.cc/Meet_NETex_at_SMX.

And if you are as passionate about SMX as we are, click here to join the affiliate program.

See you in Santa Clara!

Posted in Meet Us, NETexponent Clients, Search Marketing by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

Best Kept Secrets of Affiliate Marketing Success

January 16th, 2010

I recently wrote an article for iMediaConnection and I thought I would share some of the insights with our blog readers.

Feel free to read the full article at iMediaConnection.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Meet Us by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments

Affiliate Summit West Here We Come

January 16th, 2010

The NETexponent crew is off to Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit West. In fact I am typing this from my Virgin Atlantic flight (gotta love wifi on planes).

Are you going to be at Affiliate Summit West? Want to connect with our team? Here is how you find us.

1. Visit us at the Total Gym Direct meet market table. Our staff will be representing one of our great affiliate marketing clients, TotalGymDirect.com, and would love to see you.

2. Stop by the PMA members meeting.

Or just wander around and you are sure to see one of our friendly crew.

Who will be there?

Sal Conca, Erica Myones, Valerie Russo, Noelle Huter, Chris Kramer, and Me (Peter Figueredo)

see you in Vegas!

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events, Meet Us by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments

A Year in Review

January 6th, 2010

We’re proud to say that 2009 was an exceptional year for NETexponent. We grew as a team and also in our list of clients. Not to mention, NETexponent was recognized with a few awards and several write-ups on notable industry blogs and online forums. This year, we even expanded the list of services that we offer in order to better serve the needs of our new clients.

New Clients
To start, we’ve signed quite a few new clients this year, and some of these relationships grew even further after their initial inception. Early this year, we began working with Total Gym Direct by managing their relatively mature affiliate program. After several successful months, we extended our partnership into managing their search engine marketing efforts, as well.

Shortly after beginning our relationship with Total Gym Direct, we began working with Pingo, a pre-paid calling card service of iBasis, which is a leading carrier of international and long distance phone calls. With this new partnership, NETexponent was able to improve Pingo’s SEM program and enhance their online sales presence. Also early in 2009, we began managing SMX’s affiliate program; having attended the bi-annual search conference in the past, our team had a comfortable understanding of the events and the improvements we could make to the program.

In the fall, we greatly increased the size and diversity of our list of clients, and subsequently our team grew as well! Simultaneously, our affiliate program management grew to include Hot Topic and its subsidiaries Torrid and Shockhound. NETexponent took on managing Automotive Concepts’ (an online auto parts retailer) and Yola’s (website building tools) affiliate programs, too.

SEO Service

Recently, after bringing an industry executive onto our team, we launched our SEO services. These are quickly gaining prominence in our portfolio of search marketing services alongside our long-established paid search programs. We are implementing these services for one of our newest clients, American Listed, a free online classified listings website.

New team members

As mentioned, with the growth of our client roster, we have been excited to expand our team with a number of new positions filled by professionals with impressive, diverse backgrounds. We welcomed the following individuals to the team during 2009:

Wei Zhang- IT Analyst Valerie Russo - Affiliate Media Coordinator
Alex Watson- Marketing Coordinator

Estefanie Duque- Office Manager Nir Shemesh- Senior Search Media Manager Lindsey Murphy- Search Media Coordinator

Noelle Huter- Affiliate Media Manager Julianne Bohl- Search Media Manager Jessica Baier- Account Coordinator

Under the tutelage of our experienced staff, these folks hit the ground running and have become integral parts of our award-winning team.

Awards

Topseos publishes monthly rankings of the top companies in various online marketing fields. In October, topseos ranked NETexponent the 5th best Affiliate Marketing Agency, and we have since stayed in the top five. To see the most recently published list, visit topseos.

In early September, NETexponent was featured on Inc. Magazine’s 500│5000 list of the 5000 fastest growing independent companies.  We are extremely proud of our fast-paced growth and for the recognition by Inc. Magazine. Because our revenue is primarily performance-based, we issued a press release heralding this acknowledgment as a recognition of our clients’ success over the past four years.

Speaking engagements

This year, many NETexponent team members demonstrated our industry expertise by speaking at a number of leading conferences in search and affiliate marketing.

First, at the Search Engine Strategies Conference and Exposition, Peter Figueredo joined a panel of industry experts for a session called ‘Dealing With Affiliates: A Roadmap to Success.’  Here, Peter shared with the audience the ‘Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ of affiliate marketing. He described some of the ways affiliate marketing can be successfully married with search engine marketing practices for a synergistic effect on sales for the client.  However, Peter also outlined some of the negative ways that affiliate marketers can abuse SEM and create added competition for advertiser’s search campaigns.

In August, Senior Affiliate Media Manager Sal Conca spoke at Affiliate Summit East during a session discussing affiliate websites’ dynamic shopping features.  This panel covered all subjects including website creative, optimization, merchant relationships and analytics/reporting.

At Commission Junction University (CJU), during the “Affiliate Marketing: The Whole Truth” workshop, Peter presented some results from the AffiliateBenchmarks report. These teaser facts gave a broad overview of some of the recently analyzed data points to spark interest in the report that was due to be completed and released shortly after.

On November 10^th, at PubCon Las Vegas, Chris Kramer presented data from the newly completed 2009 AffiliateBenchmarks report.  This data supported the theme of the session which addressed the varying quality of available market research.  Chris cited research applicable to both search and affiliate marketing, and the whole event was promoted in a press release sent out a week before the session.

2009 AffiliateBenchmarks Report

In November, we began a hard release process of the 2009 AffiliateBenchmarks report, following a soft release period in which we sent out the completed report to everyone who filled out the survey in its entirety back in July.  Each wave of promotion garnered attention from industry publications and leaders, which we expedited by working with an external agency to assist in the promotion.

In the end, the report and slices of its data were featured on EasyAffiliateMarketing.biz, TJantunen.com, the Performance Marketing Alliance, Website Magazine, digiday: DAILY, Internet Vibes, Visibility Magazine, Biz Report, Marketing Charts, Marketing Vox, Market Scan, MediaTrust. These forums, organizations and blogs all took interest in the report because of its previously unheard of sample size of 3,500 respondent and the depth of its analysis.

Posted in Awards and Honors, Meet Us, NETexponent Clients, NETexponent Fun by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

AffiliateBenchmarks Report Released

December 7th, 2009

Last month, NETexponent’s research division announced the general availability of its second annual report.  The report is based on the results of the most comprehensive survey of the affiliate industry to date.  Not only did Affiliatebenchmarks (with the help of key partners such as Commission Junction, Google Affiliate Network, Shareasale, Linkshare, MediaTrust and more) secure over 3500 survey respondents, they also grouped respondents into categories based on affiliate advertising income and experience in the space.  This strategy allowed for deep analysis into different profile segments and the unique opportunities and challenges for each.

The 2009 AffiliateBenchmarks report is also the only one of its kind to collect data for the benefit of affiliates rather than strictly for advertisers.  The digital advertising industry is evolving and changing by the moment.  Because many affiliates are getting into the space on a part-time or hobby basis, it’s important they have an up to date resource of information to turn to for maximum return on their time and resources in the channel.  That’s not to say, however, that advertisers can not also benefit from the report.  In fact, the insights into the preferences and practices of affiliates today are invaluable for advertisers looking to forge the most lucrative relationships.

One thing that is clearly evidence by the report is that the affiliate industry is growing at an incredible pace.  In fact, nearly half of all survey respondents joined the industry in the past two years alone.  The growth and momentum in this industry further speaks to the importance of research and education as a foundation for new affiliates to come quickly up to speed on the best practices and leading techniques that are driving success for more established affiliates.  This report contains data on which merchant categories will likely produce the greatest revenue for affiliates and the best of all the tried-and-true methods of driving traffic to your site.

What this report provides affiliates is a one-stop shop resource and a wealth of insight on how to grow their businesses and become more successful in their techniques and practices.  Affiliates will learn what networks are getting high marks from their peers, what advertising channels are returning high profits, what types of programs (and how many) successful affiliates belong to and why- and much more!  More established affiliates can turn to the report as a watermark to learn how their practices compare to those of their competitors.

Response from the overall affiliate and advertising industry has been extremely positive, and we are already looking forward to expanding on the report in the next year.  To download the full AffiliateBenchmarks 2009 report, visit: http://affiliatebenchmarks.com/products-page/.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Online Marketing, Research by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

NETexponent Celebrates the Opening of our New Break Room!

December 4th, 2009

This week, NETexponent co-founder, Chris Kramer, put the ceremonial scissors to the red ribbon stretched across the sliding glass doorway of our new break room.  The scissors, surprisingly neither large nor gold, snipped the ribbon to successfully signify the conclusion of the week-long construction in the office and the official opening of the first NETexponent break room.

Now the area surrounding the refrigerators, water cooler, and coffee machine is enclosed with sky blue walls and smooth sliding glass doors.  Upon entering the break room, you can find two shiny white tables partnered with eight contemporary, Swedish-engineering inspired (IKEA) chairs.  To complete the new space, we will be installing a full-sized fridge in the near future.

Of course, this event was heralded with an invitation sent out to each member of the team, wrought with reference to KitKat’s early 1990’s “Give me a break!” campaign.  Following this theme, the team found a dish (just beyond the red ribbon) overflowing with KitKat candy bars.  Within an hour of Chris’ ceremonial ribbon cutting, the new space was bustling with conversation and proved an exceptional investment to the environment of NETexponent.

Showing her support and approval of the new room, Valerie Russo, NETexponent’s Online Advertising Coordinator remarked, “I think the new space will help us all relax better while eating lunch and make us more productive when we’re at our desks.”  Undoubtedly, the whole team is excited about the utility of having a break room available where they can unwind and relax during lunch or at the end of the day.  The open space is also great for brainstorming!

Check Out The Video

Posted in NETexponent Fun by Alex W. | | 1 Comments

Nick Jr. Boost Affiliate Program Launch!

December 1st, 2009

We’re happy to announce the launch of the Nick Jr. Boost Affiliate Program in the LinkShare Network!

About Nick Jr. Boost

Nick Jr. Boost is an online educational service designed for preschoolers through first graders. Nick Jr. Boost helps children learn through exciting, adventure-based games based on core curriculum subjects like literacy, math, art, and Spanish. Kids will have the opportunity to team up and learn with their favorite Nick Jr. characters, including Blue, Diego, and Dora, in a totally personalized environment.

Product Offerings and Commissions:

• Nick Jr. Boost Subscription Product

- Features:

• Includes a 7 Day Free Trial

• Free Gift with a paid subscription

• Kids earn virtual rewards that they can exchange for digital prizes

• Nick Jr. Boost is a safe, secure, advertising-free environment

- 2 subscription pricing models to choose from:

• $5.95 per month / 12-month commitment

• $9.95 per month monthly

- Commission: $7.00 / subscription

• Action Referral Period: 30 Days

Everyone here at NETexponent is delighted about this launch. If you are interested in promoting Nick Jr. Boost via LinkShare, you can apply here.  Or, in the Search Advertiser Box in the LinkShare interface, type “Nick Jr. Boost” or “MTV Networks Inc.”

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, NETexponent Clients, Online Marketing by Erica M. | | 0 Comments

What is podcast advertising?

November 6th, 2009

At this month’s NETexponent town hall meeting we were fortunate enough to receive a lesson in podcast advertising from our in-office expert Syed Mohammed of online media agency Performance Bridge.  Syed has been a pioneer in podcast advertising, managing podcast campaigns for nearly three years.  He manages hundreds of placements in leading podcasts each month for a variety of advertisers.

 

In his presentation, Syed opened by splitting audio content into three categories-1. Podcasts 2. Internet radio and 3. Live-streaming digital radio. For the purpose of this tutorial, we’ll address only the relevant podcast advertising portion of his presentation.

 

Working with podcasts affords advertisers more flexibility compared to the other types of online audio content.  For one thing, podcast advertising uses customized advertising execution where advertisers can have product shout-outs (product name mentions) during the show or have hosts personally endorse the product and product placement. This kind of advertising gives the podcaster and advertisers the ability to place the product in the most appropriate area of the show.

 

As far as entertainment content, podcasts and podcast advertisements can accommodate talk radio style banter and quizzes or competitions.  For the convenience of listeners that want to continue on to the sponsors’ websites, podcasters can post accompanying text links in the show notes or banners. For comparison, live streaming audio is similar in advertisement opportunities, as it offers advertisers the chance to recruit host endorsements, product placement and pre-roll, post-roll and interstitial advertisements.

 

The advantage of podcast advertising

There is one serious pro of podcast advertising; because of the requirements placed on the audience to download and play the podcast (versus simply stumbling upon a radio broadcast), listeners are conspicuously more loyal to the podcaster and receptive of his or her messages.  As a result, the podcaster can engage the audience better.

 

How to track podcast advertising

Advertisers can track the success of the promotions through some of the typical avenues; they can utilize third party tracking systems or provide a custom URL at the end of the podcast instead of generic URLs.  This should be made convenient for the listener, however.  For example, instead of adding on to an existing domain, a shorter more memorable domain should be utilized- something like NETexponent.com/podcast.  You can also track all click activity and conversion activity from that URL via an Ad-server tag.  Finally, by offering a simple unique coupon code during a podcast, advertisers can track which podcasts are driving sales as well.

 

This is just a brief run-through of the knowledge Syed bestowed upon us, and we were all very grateful for the lesson.

Posted in Online Marketing by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

Top PPC Price Recorded In The U.S.

October 26th, 2009

Last week I read that the highest CPC (cost-per-click) price in the U.S. last month was recorded at $99.44.  According to AdGooroo’s Search Engine Advertising Update: Q309, “mesothelioma” sold for $99.44 on Google and $60.68 on Yahoo for the number one ranking.  The number one word on MSN was of a different persuasion altogether: “auto insurance comparison” for $55.20 per click.

First of all, if you’re like me you didn’t know what mesothelioma was.  The –oma reminded me of melanoma so I knew it was probably bad, but meso- just brought to mind the Mesozoic period and dinosaurs, and I was willing to bet it didn’t mean dinosaur attack.  It is, in fact, a deadly lung cancer caused largely by asbestos exposure.  Law firms have been bidding on the term because of the increased number of law suits surrounding the issue.

As interesting as that is, $99.44 per click?  Is it worth it, even for law firms?  What kind of a return would you see on such high CPCs?

You could argue that the possible millions of dollars a law firm could take in successfully representing a mesothelioma sufferer should offset the cost to bring those new defendants to the firm, but there are a lot of variable factors: the size of the firm, exactly how they make their revenue, their budget on these keywords, and how well they convert, for example.  Though instinct might tell you a $99.44 CPC is way too high to ever be profitable, AdGooroo predicts the average overall CPC to stay constant through 2010, while keywords drift in and out of the highest price list.  “Mesothelioma” may not continue to go for top dollar, but if it and other keywords sell for such high CPCs I would guess that advertisers are seeing sustainable results at the time they are willing to bid at that price.

To make a comparison, let’s say your average CPC is between 60 cents and $2, and your average revenue from a single conversion ranges from $50 to close to $1,000.  For argument’s sake, assuming a 2% conversion rate and 1,000 clicks and using the midpoints of the two ranges mentioned, 1,000 clicks cost you $1,300.  20 of those 1,000 clicks will convert, bringing in $10,500 in revenue.  Your ROAS is almost 708%.  All else being equal except the CPC and the average revenue per conversion, a $100 CPC would require revenue per conversion to average $40,400 to maintain the same ROAS.

Looking at it that way, it seems it could be reasonable to pay such a high CPC.  Not every conversion will bring millions of dollars into the law firm, but you know how attorney’s fees add up!  It doesn’t seem like such a stretch to rack up $40,000 from a new client.

AdGooroo suggests that the paid search industry is maturing: a lot of consolidation has occurred over the years among engines and even in ad space on each page of search results.  As the changes in the PPC industry slow, advertisers have had time to catch up and become secure in their strategies.  Most of these advertisers are spending more money on fewer search engines than they did in the past, so if they’ve figured out that a $100 CPC is working why not go for it?  Let’s just hope the CPC on this particular keyword drops over time—the fewer people with mesothelioma the better.  My prediction for the next keyword to top the list?  “Dinosaur attacks.”

Posted in Search Marketing by Leslie V. | | 0 Comments

Total Gym Affiliate Program Launches in Google Affiliate Network

October 14th, 2009

We’re happy to announce the launch of the Total Gym Direct Affiliate Program in the Google Affiliate Network!  Affiliates now have the choice to promote the brand on three of the largest networks in the industry: Google Affiliate Network, Commission Junction, or pepperjamNETWORK.

About the Total Gym
The Total Gym provides an entire gym full of equipment in ONE machine.  It takes just 10-20 minutes a day to reshape your body into the one you want.  With Total Gym, resistance training, cardio, and stretching can all be achieved in just one workout!  Individuals from 8 to 80, beginner to advanced, can benefit from a Total Gym!

You also may have noticed that Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley have been endorsing Total Gym on television for over 10 years.  Total Gym units can now be found in over 3 million homes!

Product Offerings and Commissions
We kindly ask that any affiliate who is currently promoting the brand in Commission Junction or pepperjamNETWORK continue to do so! All of the programs promote the same great products – the Total Gym 2000, 3000, and the XLS.  In addition, all programs offer a 10% baseline commission and a 45-day cookie duration.

Everyone here at NETexponent is delighted about this launch. If you are interested in promoting Total Gym Direct via the Google Affiliate Network, you can apply here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Posted in NETexponent Clients by Leslie V. | | 0 Comments