Latest Google Update Spreads a Quiet Panic Amongst Some Internet Marketers

With the amount of content on the internet growing by the second it is inevitable that the search engines will need to make constant adjustments as to how they find the most relevant results. As the biggest player in search engine land, the changes at Google tend to be the most closely watched. The most recent update, being trialled first in the U.S. before being rolled out the rest of the world has caused more consternation than most as it is specifically aimed at rooting out poor quality sites so as to give the user a better experience and give better quality and more relevant results.

Some site that are considered as "content farms" have been hit particularly hard, so inevitably this has caused a certain amount of debate by these sites as to how to ensure that they retain their hard earned traffic. Ezine Articles is considering putting limitations on certain topics, e.g. "get your ex back", "reverse phone lookup", etc. Whilst over at Squidoo they are clamping down on duplicate content, so whereas previously you get away with copying and pasting entire articles or even Amazon customer reviews, it seems that if you do so you are likely to have your lens locked.

This raises the whole issue of whether duplicate content is bad or not. When I first started looking into these issues a couple of years ago it seemed that the general consensus was that duplicate content was a bad thing. And then Google quashed that by announcing that actually it is fine provided that you do not produce duplicate content on your own site. Now it seems that a degree of duplicate content is seen as a bad thing, although to be honest I am still not completely clear.

Of course the search engines have to change with the times and constantly evolve. So if this means that some of the poorer (particularly automated) content falls to the bottom then this can only be a  good thing. However, it will only make attempts at making money at internet marketing more difficult.

Monthly Earnings for February 2011

Whilst this month's total earnings are fairly average, I have been particularly frustrated with a lack of progress. Specifically, I have been frustrated that I have not made any Clickbank sales (again) and only made two Amazon sales with a very small commission.

Here are this month's totals (i.e. what I have actually received):

Surveys: $63 (Global Test Market - $50, Pinecone - $13)
Private Advertising: $10
Swagbucks: $5
Quickpenny: $40.66
EBay: $3.25
Squidoo: $2.78

Total = $124.69

I have been aware over the past few weeks that I feel I have lost direction and not working to any particular plan. So I have decided to try to focus on some specific projects for a while. These are:

• A blog based around a forthcoming technology product. I have bought a relevant domain name, written a couple of posts and I am getting traffic already (it's only been up a week). I am using Google Alerts to find useful information which I will re-write as posts trying to do 2 posts a week at first. I am not anticipating that this will be a long term project.
• I am building a site (with Wordpress) focussing on reviewing a particular type of product. These will have affiliate links to Amazon.
• I am intending to start a new blog around a particular subject that I am interested in. This will be a long-term project where I intend to sell myself as an expert in my field. In order to avoid a situation where I am struggling to keep up with posting, I am writing lots of posts in advance of actually starting the blog. This way I will have a library of posts to draw on when I am stuck for something to write.

Also I will be gradually going through my various existing projects and reviewing content, building more links, bookmarking etc. I have put together a spreadsheet to help me keep track of where I have got to with this.

I had started a process of putting together a free ebook to give away to start building a list and I was going to focus on Squidoo as a means of promoting this. I have put this on hold as I am intending to incorporate this project into my new blog.

I have several other ideas I really want to try, but if I have learned anything at all it's that you can't do everything at once.

New Rules at Xomba Lead to My Account Being Suspended!!

At Xomba you can write articles and submit bookmarks and you have the opportunity to earn money from Adsense (60% of the ad impressions are yours). For the bookmarks you have to write more than most sites - 120 words. Recently what I have been doing is for every Squidoo lens I have been building and every article I have written I have submitted a Xomba bookmark. Rather than writing new content I have just copied and pasted a paragraph from my article. This has allowed me to quickly and easily created more backlinks and earn a little money from them at the same time.

However, in the last couple of weeks Xomba have changed their rules in order to make it more of a writing community and improve its standing with the search engines. Specifically, you cannot submit duplicate content, even if it is your own. Also you are now not allowed to link to your own articles and blog posts, or as they say "bookmarks were never meant to be a marketing tool or anything like that; they should be used to share interesting links". Actually the quote is from an e-mail I received telling me that my account was suspended for a breach of these rules. I have had to reply telling them that I agree not to breach these rules in the future and I am waiting for my account to be reinstated. In the meantime, my bookmarks remain live and have still been earning me money.

In the future it would appear that the only I can use Xomba for backlinks and for increasing traffic is to write articles and to include links in the signature. Just when I thought I had found something quick and easy to boost traffic and make a little money, it is taken away.

Save Money on Turbo Tax at The Coupon Album

I don’t know about you but I always like a special offer. The Coupon Album offers plenty of special deals and has loads of vouchers and codes where you can get a discount. As an example, they are offering Turbo Tax coupons where you can get a discount on this popular tax preparation software. When you are working for yourself, such as making money online, it is easy to get into a mess with your tax. Even the most organised of us can start to lose track with income and outgoings, as well as understanding what expenses can be offset against earnings. Keeping track of it all can be a challenge, but failing to do so could land you in serious trouble.

This is where Turbo Tax comes in useful and it means that you spend less time keeping on top of your tax returns and more on your business. There are several different versions of this software which is designed to help you get through your tax returns (only suitable for US residents) step by step and is suitable for both federal and state returns. It also provides tips on tax as well as highlighting anything which may be picked up on audits.

Apart from this there are a huge number of other offers available on The Coupon Album including everything from pet supplies to travel. Some of these deals can offer you a considerable saving on the listed price for many items. The Coupon Album is definitely worth checking out and you can save yourself lots of money.