Internet Marketing, Web Technologies & News – Best Web Ezy

I have recently launched my first eBay affiliate website.  Please view it here: The Incredible Hulk Shop.

In this shop, all the information are generated from RSS feeds from the eBay Partner program. The reason why I am using RSS on the website is that I can get updated information display on the website, freshly generated from eBay, whenever people visit the site.

And because Google loves new content, Google should love my site.

I am using CaRP to generate the content of the site. I am only using the free version but CaRP Evolution is also available at a reasonable cost. It gives you more freedom of customization.

All I had to do was to properly install CaRP on the server, get the RSS URL from eBay (with my campaign ID! This is important) and paste it onto the page. Fresh content in the form of simple HTML would then be displayed.

To build this site, I used 3 weeks. But that was 1 hour per night and about 4 nights a week. Too much distraction.

The next similar site, since I have already got the layout done, should only take me maximum 2 hours. It is so easy to guess what is my next site, isn’t it?

If you haven’t, then please visit my site: The Incredible Hulk Shop.

Bookmark to

Due to a specific reason, I have recently employed Zen Cart on one of my clients’ site.

The reasons I am choosing Zen Cart are:

• It runs on a Linux server with PHP & MySQL support
• It is easy to install – either you upload by yourself, or use Fantastico
• You pretty much don’t have to write any code, but to install already written modules by the community
• There are a wide range of modules around, categorized nicely on the Zen Cart website
• There are a wide range of themes around

As a first time user, it took me a bit of time to figure out how to turn several things off.  But I must say the whole installation was smooth.  I spent the most time figuring out how to import old database into the current one, but it is actually quite an easy task if you know what you are doing, and if you have no distraction around.

The only down side is that the user manual costs US$29 (the PDF version).  But I found a way out – our mighty Google.  If you are stuck, just Google it.  You would be able to find answers, mostly on the Zen Cart support forum, pretty much instantly.

I think I am already in love with Zen Cart.

Bookmark to

It is the end of the month and things got quiet down a bit.  So let’s have some fun.

I have come across a list of fun facts about eBay (99 of them) and I would like to highlight some of the best fun facts here:

• The very first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. (See, broken item sells – no wonder people sell things on eBay)
• eBay went public in 1998, and both Omidyar and Skoll became billionaires in just overnight. (Go on – if you want to setup your online business, better do than think!)
• JayAndMarie is the first eBay member to reach 100,000 feedback, which happen in 2002.
• eBay engineers have to add about 10 terabytes of new storage every week to cover new transactions.eBay has such high margins partly because it has no factories or inventory, but also because its customers do the work.
• If eBay employed the people who earn all or most of their income selling on its site, it would be the second-largest employer on the FORTUNE 500, after Wal-Mart.
• In June 2005, the wife of Tim Shaw, a British radio DJ on Kerrang! 105.2 sold Tim’s Lotus sports car with a Buy It Now price of 50p. This was after Tim’s wife heard him flirting with model Jodie Marsh on air. The car was sold within 5 minutes.
• A toy is sold every 24 seconds on eBay Australia.
• Every minute a mobile phone sells on eBay UK.
• A piece of jewellery sells every 6 minutes on eBay India.
• Insertion fees were added in May. The first attempt was a flat $1.00 insertion fee, which due to “extreme member displeasure”, lasted about 10 days.
• The Feedback Forum began in February, 1996. Originally, Omidyar handled disputes between buyers and sellers via email.
• eBay has already expanded to almost two dozen countries including China and India. The only places where expansion failed were Taiwan and Japan, where Yahoo! had a head start.
• On an average, eBay.com runs into issues for about 50 seconds per day.
• There was at one point an auction for the first ride on Kingda Ka, the tallest roller coaster on Earth. The winning bid was $1691.66, and the winner rode in the front seat.
• One of the weirdest item sold is a chewing gum spat out by Britney Spears which went for £270.

PS. Talking about that, I am going to launch a ebook regarding earning money from eBay effectively.

Bookmark to

A landing page is not just a simple one-page website. It is a webpage that is designed specifically to drive lead / sales when the client visits the page. It is usually heavily employed on PPC campaigns (and earn money fast scams).

To effectively convert on the spot, a landing page should:

1. Contain only the relevant information, presented in bulleted list.
2. Have the conversion form on a prominent spot, usually on the right hand column, above the fold.
3. The conversion form should have less items other than the essential information.
4. Create urgency (buy now and you will get another sample / 20% off etc.). Put in a deadline.
5. Put in testimonies (but not too many).
6. Eliminate the number of links to the minimum.

Remember to test the performance of the landing page. You may need to tweak the design and do another test, to make sure that you get the best result for the money spent.

For testing, I also recommend form tracking. Form tracking allows you to see where the visitor drop out when filling in the form. Heatmap tracking probably won’t do much good as you should have only a limited number of items that are “clickable”.

Bookmark to

Are you thinking of buying a house? Or maybe build your own dream house?

House Plans And More offers house plans that you can buy online. If you are not sure about your Home Plans, then have a look at their site and you would certainly gain some inspiration. If you are into log homes, they offer Log home plans as well. (more…)

Bookmark to