Three major events took place on, at, or around Google last week
any one of which could radically change the company and its
relationships with its users, advertisers, and ad delivery
partners. Two of the events will have long lasting effects -
the first being Google’s look and operation and the second
directly affecting the public’s perception of Google as a
trustworthy company.

Chronologically, the events started last Monday with the
introduction of the new-look and feel of Google Universal. The
same day, Google began the process of cleaning up its paid
advertising program AdWords by terminating thousands of poorly
performing “Made For AdSense” sites, a process that seemed to
pick up speed as the week progressed. The week closed with the
premature leak of information from the Fair Isaac Corporation’s
ongoing study of billable click-fraud rates.

The last event, the leak of preliminary information from Fair
Isaac, is likely the best place to begin an explanation because
it (the tone of the report) is arguably the primary causal
reason for the other two. It is as if Google suddenly
understands the depth of the public relations problems it is
going to be facing going into the second half of 2007 and is
making very public moves to deal with the root causes of those
problems.

Google’s Greatest Problem

Early last Friday morning a press release left the offices of
the Fair Isaac Corporation. The press release stated that Fair
Isaac had been conducting a study on billable click fraud rates
at Google and had found 10 – 15 % of all billed clicks to a
small sampling of accounts had stemmed from invalid activity.
Naturally both the tech and mainstream media made an enormous
issue of the news with virtually every important business or
tech section mentioning the story.

By Saturday, the dust had settled and writers began taking a
second, less euphoric look at the story. As Kevin Newcomb in
Search Engine Watch wrote,

“Media reports (including Search Engine Watch’s) saying Fair
Isaac Corp. (FIC) reported industry-wide click fraud at 10 to 15
percent are not accurate. FIC decided to put out a press release
and speak at its user conference about data that was extremely
preliminary, based on a small sample size, and not statistically
significant.”

What happened and why was it an important event?

The significance of the media’s reaction to the Fair Isaac
report is the media’s reaction itself. Within minutes of the
release being issued, stories began appearing in Associated
Press, Information Week, the Wall St. Journal and in other major
publications. Though Kevin is correct in chastising himself and
his colleagues (including me) for jumping the gun on the story,
that so many of us feel there is a story about click fraud is in
itself the story.

Readers have to understand how difficult it is for reporters to
write about click fraud as there is very little corroborating
evidence outside the information we ferret out of advertisers
who complain to us about their experiences. Google and Yahoo are
not known to be forthcoming with information surrounding their
pay-per-click programs. Journalists rely on third-parties such
as Click Forensics, ClickFacts other analytic companies (in
this case, Fair Isaac) to supply us with information which in
turn we supply to you the readers.

The numbers that came out of the Fair Isaac press release
generally jive with those of Click Forensics and the index
maintained by the Click Fraud Network which estimated a 14.8%
click fraud rate at the end of the first quarter of 2007.
Hundreds of other writers simultaneously experienced the same
low-watt, light-bulb moment I did, hoping that Fair Isaac had
provided a solid set of numbers to speculate from.

Unfortunately, as Kevin wrote, it was simply speculation but,
the event did point out a gaping hole in Google’s corporate
awning. The press is clearly prepared to expect a 10 – 15% click
fraud rate, as evidenced by the breakneck speed the story made
from wire to writing to print. Perhaps that is the biggest
reason for the second important event from last week.

Google to Close Low-Yield MFA Accounts

Google is sending closure notices to owners of low conversion
“Made For AdSense” (MFA) sites. On Friday afternoon, reports
that Google issued polite emails informing several owners of MFA
type sites that their AdSense accounts are going to be
terminated on June 1 began surfacing at WebmasterWorld.

Google is targeting a large group of people who use the AdSense
system to scam money from advertisers. Some reports have
suggested Google is going after the paid-search arbitrage
community though others point out that though many (if not most)
arbitragers are going to be affected they themselves were not
the actual issue Google is dealing with.

Google is moving to close what are called “MFA” sites. Examples
of MFA sites include parked domains, misspellings and
faux-search engines, all of which tend to have AdSense
advertising on them. When users go to or are somehow driven to
those sites, those who click on the ads make the site owner (and
Google) a little money. Though clicks on these sites might only
be worth 5 – 10 cents, the Internet allows MFA site owners to
run businesses based on huge volumes of purchased and
misdirected visitors. On average, MFA site owners make a few
hundred per month on their sites though in some cases, site
owners can be making tens of thousands of dollars per month.

Obviously, this use of the AdWords and AdSense programs were far
healthier for the MFA site owners (and Google’s bottom line),
than they were for advertisers or Internet users. For most, the
halcyon days of MFA are over and those webmasters will have to
adapt to the new rules surrounding ad distribution through the
AdSense program.

As for Google, if cleaning up the system makes advertisers more
comfortable over the long-run, it makes far more sense for
Google to forgo what is to them a relatively minor revenue
source in order to create a more stable advertising environment.
Assuming Google successfully removes MFA sites from its system,
it will have moved a long way towards cleaning up a highly
lucrative arena for click fraud.

Google Universal

The third and perhaps most interesting thing Google did last
week was the introduction of the Google Universal results. In a
nutshell, Google Universal is about tying many of the multiple
search indexes Google maintains into one coherent set of
results.

Google literally has over a dozen types of search result
available, depending on the type of search each user conducts.
Google Universal is their first major attempt to bind all search
types into an overarching set of results.

A good contemporary example might be the recent recall of pet
foods across North America . This is a topic of extreme interest
to pet owners, one that has received a high level of attention
from news, governmental and consumer organizations. A search
conducted for “pet food recall” might bring up results from
general search, news, YouTube videos, radio reports, shopping
search results, etc… Under Google’s old system, a user would
have to perform specialty searches to find information kept
outside of Google’s general search results. Google Universal
should change that by bringing other file formats into what the
user will perceive as the general search results.

Google Universal is probably the biggest change made to Google
results since the introduction of paid advertising five years
ago. The move was made by Google to present a wider array of
file types to users. It is a logical change that will have
sweeping effects throughout the search marketing industry.
SiteProNews will carry fuller coverage of Google Universal later
this week.

Last week was one of the most significant and startling weeks in
Google’s history. From an outsider’s perspective, it appears
Google is taking serious action to improve its services on
several fronts. Its greatest weakness is the specter of click
fraud, as evidenced by the speed at which the media bit the hook
dangled by the Fair Isaac press release. It is prepared to forgo
revenues in order to clean up its system and is working to
integrate richer media into its general search results. Any one
of the three stories could have provided months worth of
material for writers in the search marketing space. Together,
they provide a clearer indication of Google’s greatest fears and
best intentions. This is likely to be another interesting week
watching Google.

About The Author

Search marketing expert Jim Hedger is one of the most prolific
writers in the search sector with articles appearing in numerous
search related websites and newsletters, including SiteProNews,
Search Engine Journal, ISEDB.com, and Search Engine Guide.

He is currently Executive Editor for the Jayde Online news
sources SEO-News (http://www.seo-news.com) and SiteProNews
(http://www.sitepronews.com). You can also find additional tips
and news on webmaster and SEO topics by Jim at the SiteProNews
blog (http://blog.sitepronews.com/).

If you have been around Adult Marketing for a while you have seen a lot of new innovations come along in the last 10 years. First there was TGP’s and their meteoric rise to the top and then Blogs and now Video Sharing sites came along. As each appeared on the scene there were many who jumped on the band wagon and all along as each appeared there were some standing on the side lines saying well it just won’t last. They hastily predicted that TGP’s , Blogs , and Video Share sites would soon be gone but they are still here and more are opened daily.

Then 2257 came along and we lost a lot of good webmasters out of their fears about 2257 and what would happen there. It really so far has not been the end of the adult industry every one predicted.

And as each thing happens people run around screaming like ” Chicken Little ” that the Sky is falling but the sky is still up there and so far its not falling. Why people run them selfs crazy with all the doom and gloom is beyond me.

As times change you need to change with them and pay less attention to what other people say and ignore them when they say , That won’t work or its only a fad and will never last. You know what you could do. Create a site that combines a TGP , a Blog and a Video Sharing Site into one site. I would almost bet you would have a super busy site if you set it up right and worked to push traffic to it. Bottom line you need to , you must think outside the box. Especially in todays market place. As long as you are not violating a sponsors terms of service create something of your own. Hell you may just create the new big thing. And its your creation. Sure people are going to say that will never work. But remember they said the same thing about TGP’s , Blogs and Video Share Sites.

Whats the next big thing. I am not truly 100 percent sure but I am sure its out there. Social Bookmarking sites are going to change a lot of things. Check them out and see how you can take advantage of the traffic from them. And they are going to change as time goes along. How could you change a Social Bookmarking Site to make it more popular. Someone is going to do it. Why not you!

Are you thinking daily for yourself. Do you make your self notes and are you well organized. Those things are very important. Making sure you stay organized and taking careful notes you can refer back to are very important.

One of the first questions of any newcomer to the adult entertainment industry is inevitably “How much money can I make?” Anyone involved with the industry boards has seen this question asked over and over again with predictable frequency. I can almost envision seasoned webmasters sitting back and shaking their heads, muttering to themselves, “here we go again.”

The answer of course fluctuates wildly, everything from the sarcastic to the generic and all shades in between. To a certain extent, that vague response is a justifiable tap dance, justifiable in the sense that the question itself is relatively redundant in the sense of business preparation. Very rarely do we see any practical advice given, and in the cases where it is given, rarely do I see the correct response, which is namely, “What is your business background?”

Regardless to the approach you take to the industry, the fundamental and determining factor in answering that question is really a simple matter of understanding business, developing a plan, and working your field. Far too often we see people begin in this industry only to be greatly disappointed with low profitability for the sometimes huge investment in hours spent to trying to make it.

I am not going to dive into the aspects that make up a good adult entertainment web site, for that you need only point your browser to the huge volumes of tips, tricks, and techniques contained in the article archives of this adult resource. Instead I want to focus on the basics of business, any business.

Notwithstanding the nature of the business you are getting into, every business is going to have some common basic principals. Specifically, you should have in your plan an effective outline to deal with Accounting, Analysis, Legal and Finance. I intentionally left out Marketing and Product because they are outside of the scope of this article.

There is no such thing as a free ride, and this business is no exception to that rule of life. Accounting is the basics of business, a component that will, if done correctly, sustain every other part of your business. It’s more than just ‘we pulled this cash in’ and ‘we paid that cash out.’ Effective accounting practices can predict, regulate and caution the business owner on everything else that they do. It tells you what to pay the taxman, what you can invest and most importantly, what you walk away with as a paycheck. It acts as a gas gauge and should incorporate a quantifiable game plan as defined in your business plan.

The Finance element is an extension of accounting; it derives its limits from your business plan based on a percentage that reality dictates as a result of your accounting. Sometimes finance is an absolute, and based on the product, it can also be an abstract. In the brick and mortar world, finance deals with banks, assets and real property collateral. Finance is the acquisition arm of your business and if you are to maintain any kind of reasonably consistent personal income, it must be a planned resource.

Way too often while trying to cut corners, we overlook what I consider to be the essential element of legal resources. In this day and age, it’s becoming more important than it ever has been before in this industry, and frankly my belief is that you are crazy to enter or operate in this business without a sound legal plan. A legal resource plan should be figured in on your baseline business plan. Not unlike financial resources, it should be a finite percentage that is automatically ear marked as part of your operating structure. Best advice is to set a goal to reach, and then move excesses back into your plan once that goal is obtained. If you never have to use it, that is great, but the time to discover if you can do without it is not when you are forced to use it.

Any business plan is a living breathing guideline. It’s intent is to provide a road map to success and as such can and should be in a constant state of evolution. Changes to your plan should not be haphazard but rather based on a solid method of analysis of the state of your business. Analytical technique is a very important component, not only in the traditional sense that is applied to marketing and sales, but also in terms of meeting business plan milestones. Effective analysis is what allows your business to grow from an informed perspective and allows your plans to evolve with an eye to risk management. Analytical skills are greatly sought after in the business world and spending a little time to familiarize yourself with these techniques can only benefit and accent your success.

The components of business basics are more involved than this space provides to promote a decent understanding. Any businessperson intent on success should spend the time to look into these concepts from a more proper perspective. Many books and tutorials have been written that run through the essential elements of good business concepts. It doesn’t matter if you are just getting started, or if you are already well into the rat race, everyone can benefit from a working knowledge of basic business. There is really is no such thing as too late and the old phrase “Better late than never” has never been more true. It is far too easy for one to say, “Heck, I am doing just fine.” The question is, “Could you be doing better?”

www.payasyouclick.com

What is happening to the bees? More than a quarter of the country’s 2.4 million bee colonies have been lost — tens of billions of bees, according to an estimate from the Apiary Inspectors of America, a national group that tracks beekeeping. So far, no one can say what is happening to the bee’s. Also vanishing are wasps , hornets and yellow jackets. So far scientists are unable to figure out what is going on.

The relatively low barrier to entry for entrepreneurs entering the online adult entertainment industry has resulted in many successful (and not-so-successful) businesses being run by principals with little or no formal business education or training. While this situation is actually a stunning example of capitalism and free market expression at work, it is a situation that presents many pitfalls along with opportunities. We’ll look at some of the more common ones below, in hopes that the experiences of others will ease your path:

The More The Merrier
We’ve all heard the old expression, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” and it applies as a warning not only to farm girls being cautioned about losing their entire dinner over a single slip but to adult operations that are dependent on a limited base of customers.

For example, a one-man design firm may rely on today’s “all the work I can handle” assignment creating banners for a major sponsor, but if that sponsor’s needs change, he might find himself out of work. The same can be said for affiliates who rely on only one or two programs for their income. Sure, there’s a lot to be said for maximizing sponsor presentation by focusing on one or two programs, but if one slows down, won’t your income as well?

Diversifying your revenue streams and constantly courting new customers will pay off.

Can You Hear Me Now?
Nothing replaces testing — and not just of your website — but of your offer as well. This is all basic marketing, or “pre-marketing,” where testing the market acceptance of your offer beforehand can prevent you from making a costly mistake.

For example, you might find the notion of twin gypsy girls smearing Hungarian goulash all over their olive-oiled backsides particularly appealing, but you might be alone enough in your little fetish that a site focusing on this content may not be profitably marketable. Of course, some testing might have shown opportunity in this “messy” niche, however.

It’s really easy to fall into the “build it and they will come” trap, but it is smarter to see where they’re going and meet them there.

Operators with tangible goods for sale have an advantage in this process in that away from an “instant download” environment, they can run preproduction offers, testing the response and making the final production decision based on actual sales, to the point of pre-funding the production from initial sales.

Sharing The Pie
The most successful adult operations typically involve the efforts of multiple players, and with many companies being closely held, partnerships are a fairly common occurrence. While this often is the result of longtime friends, “college buddies” and others getting together in a like-minded, “share and share alike” enterprise — or the result of needing to acquire qualified talent for your company without having the funds to pay a competitive salary — this sharing of authority can have unforeseen consequences for the business if not properly planned for.

For example, a 50/50 equal partnership can result in operational stalemates that hamper the effective running of the business. This situation is often magnified when multiple but equal partners are involved. The solution of course is to have an unequal partnership, such as a 51/49 split where the dominant partner (usually the CEO) has the final decision-making power. Alternatively, two partners could each have a 49 percent share, with a trusted “outside” partner having a tie-breaking 2 percent share, eliminating decision cycle roadblocks.

Pricing For Profits
One of the most important decisions that operators need to make is how much to charge for their products or services. There are many factors involved in making this decision, but one consideration is that of price vs. volume, where some operators believe that offering their wares at a lower price will equal increased profits from increased sales volume — but this isn’t always the case. Lower prices do not guarantee increased sales, and the lower margin dictated by the lower price may not be sufficient to guarantee profits regardless of sales volume.

Try pricing your offer as high as the market will bear and raise your prices until sales begin to drop. If you have the infrastructure and can take the loss, try lowering prices on a test offer until you see how the volume fluctuates. Many operators have seen higher paysite profits and conversions on higher-priced sites; so don’t just think that the blowout route is necessarily the key to sales to a free-porn satisfied audience, especially without testing.

It Takes Money To Make Money
Because of the low barrier to entry, many operators assume that the costs of running an online adult entertainment business are nearly nonexistent, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, you can make a profitable website for free, replacing financing with time and hard work, but if you want to go beyond the “beer money” level, you’ll find a never-ending and ever-escalating series of expenses.

While it’s easy to be overly optimistic in your forecasts and projections, the erratic state of the current market makes an over-reliance on “sunny day” wishes potentially deadly for some operations. Particularly susceptible are adult webmaster affiliate programs trying to offer competitive pay-per-signup payouts, where payouts are due months in advance of receiving any potential profits from the referred customer. All of this takes money up front.

The thing to remember is that while you’re in business to make money, it takes money to run a business — often a lot of money — spent in ways that are unanticipated, often well before you ever turn a profit. More businesses die from under-capitalization than from a lack of customers. Keep this in mind while making your projections and budgets.

In part two, we’ll continue to examine some of the pitfalls and opportunities along the road to online success.

This week at the Netpond Board there are some very interesting threads that we are going to show case and tell you about. And we want to tell you just a bit about the Netpond Board. The Netpond Board is all about helping people and some times people forget that. The spirit of Netpond is helping one another and that is the spirit we want to culture and develop. Its what Netpond is about is helping one another.

And now here are some of the best threads at Netpond now.

Where Is Everyone From
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The Perfect Sex Toy For Any Housewife
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Amateur CC Bill Sites Wanted
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Social Networking Sites
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And that is only a small portion of all the great threads at the Netpond Board this week so be sure you come on by and check them all out. We have ton’s of great helpful information. And if you have questions you can always start a thread and ask your own questions.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Reacting to a proposed law that would require libraries to filter public computers, the Illinois Library Association is urging library officials to disconnect their libraries’ Internet access Monday to demonstrate solidarity.

The Internet Screening in Public Libraries Act was passed last week by a 63-51 vote and currently is being viewed by the state Senate’s Rules Committee. The law was proposed in the hopes of preventing minors from accessing and viewing obscene images online using a library computer.

The Library Association reportedly is strictly opposed to the law because of its cost — $10,000 for the filtering software and another $3,000 in annual maintenance — and the fact that these filters provide false security and often filter important information.

The organization’s executive director Robert Doyle came up with the idea for all state libraries to protest together in one united demonstration. Doyle said library officials would post notices on their doors explaining why Internet access has been shut down for the day.

Adult industry lawyer Jeffrey Douglas said that regulating how patrons use the Internet is unconstitutional, and that the bill is both unconstitutional and foolish.

“Libraries have an especially precious place in our culture,” Douglas said. “Librarians are the most sensitive and activist population in America protecting the free flow of ideas, including controversial ones. Someone needs to educate the members of Illinois’ lower House who voted for this bill that viewing of sexually explicit material is not only always a ‘lawful purpose,’ it is a constitutional right.”

Douglas added that it is unfair to those who cannot afford Internet access at home to only be allowed access to a filtered Internet.

“Why should only those economically successful enough to have home high-speed access be able to access an unfiltered Internet?” Douglas said. “It is everyone’s right, rich or poor.”

By Tod Hunter

CANNES, France — Playboy and partner International Images introduced the Playboy Legacy Collection at an exclusive, invitation-only event in Cannes on Thursday. The Playboy Legacy Collection is a compilation of 48 gallery-quality images available in limited editions.

“The Playboy Legacy Collection is such a unique and special project,” Hugh M. Hefner, Playboy Editor-in-Chief and Chief Creative Officer, said. “The compilation offers the most outstanding images from among the 15 million archived and is a real tribute to the visual history and impact of the magazine.”

The $85,000 Gold Edition of The Playboy Legacy Collection comes in a handmade wooden box that opens with a replica of an original Playboy Club key. Inside the box are all 48 photographs, including a Marilyn Monroe shot signed by Hefner. Also included are a coffee-table book about Playboy photography, five music CDs, a DVD set of Playboy TV shows, and admission for two to the “Playboy Legacy Collection Weekend,” which includes a party at the Playboy Mansion. The Gold Edition is limited to 75.

Three 16-photograph suites are available for $8,500 each, and the 48 art prints are available as a set or individually.

The 48 photographs in the Legacy Collection were selected for their potential investment value and artistic appeal, reflecting the transition of Playboy photography from the “girl next door” image of the 1950s and 1960s to the bolder, more provocative Playmates of later years.

“The Playboy Legacy Collection is an incredible cross-section of the history of Playboy, hitting all of the high points, as well as images people aren’t so familiar with that have a real visual impact,” Playboy Photo Editor Gary Cole said.

Celebrities attending the Cannes party included James Blunt, Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson, a Playmate of the Year who has appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine more than any other person, 12 times in all. Images of Anderson, shot by photographer David LaChapelle, were auctioned with proceeds going to her charity of choice, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

“I feel honored to have two images of me, shot by David LaChapelle, featured at Cannes in the Playboy Legacy Collection,” Anderson said. “I attended the U.S. launch of the Collection a few months ago in L.A., and I am proud to support Hef, with whom I share a passion for animal rights. With proceeds of the auction from my images going to PETA, the collaboration combines two of my loves — Playboy and animals.”

For more information about the Playboy Legacy Collection, visit PlayboyLegacyCollection.com.

LONDON — Officials from four top universities conducted an international survey of Internet censorship and found that 26 out of 40 countries use some sort of blocking system to prevent citizens from viewing content deemed inappropriate.

Working with the OpenNet Initiative, researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Toronto universities surveyed countries in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa to find what information was denied passage into the country via the Internet, and reportedly plan to turn the research into an annual process.

The group found that each country had its own idea of what should be censored from online view, but all topics were those considered “antithetical to social norms,” and include pornography and gay/lesbian-oriented content.

“This survey shows us that online censorship is growing around the world,” said John Palfrey, Harvard law professor and executive director of the Berman Center for Internet and Society.

Six countries were labeled “pervasive” social filterers: Myanmar, China, Iran, Syria, Tunisia and Vietnam, and researchers also discovered that filtering systems have grown increasingly advanced as the Internet has expanded.

“Instead of just blocking static websites, such as pages online that show pornographic pictures or information about human rights, online censors are blocking entire applications, such as YouTube,” the study’s results stated.

Research also showed that many countries, including Iraq, Israel and Russia, did not employ Internet filters, contrary to initial hypotheses.

The group reported that the U.S. and European countries did not participate in the survey because of their understanding of filtering practices compared to other countries in the world.

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