Ok so I'm just curious who actually made money with this, not ASD account balance money, but in your hand cold hard cash. And if you did make money, how much do you currently stand to lose, as my understanding is you could only get back a portion of what you put in?
I never made money, but I wasn't in it to make money. I was in it to try and build my website traffic. The rebates being offered could have gone away at any time and I recognized this. I just wish I would have the opportunity to be refunded my small $1000 initial advertising purchase, since the company isn't in a position at the moment to deliver as promised. In my humble opinion of course. Mike
HAHAHAHAHAHA..... Oh, that was a really FUNNY thing to read in the middle of yawning.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Caterina: HAHAHAHAHAHA..... Oh, that was a really FUNNY thing to read in the middle of yawning.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Caterina.... don't you see me laughing in my picture? You don't believe me?
iggyigette: I sold my steak to the guy who posted above me.... Almost ready for shipping Mike... Am I getting global steak credits while I wait?
LOL......Mike, did Iggy mention the steak you're getting might have a little bit of green on it???? I think he throws THAT in for free.....quite the guy, isn't he? Thanks for yet another smile.....
money4nothing: I think Andy made money! I shouldn't laugh because I really do feel bad for everyone, but that was pretty funny. Sorry! mrich87: I never made money, but I wasn't in it to make money. I was in it to try and build my website traffic. Mike, I'm not sure how much experience you have with your website and how much you know about search engine rankings, traffic generation, etc. I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination. I've only been marketing online for about 18 months. One of the things I have learned, though, is that quality targeted traffic is important. It is the real 'key' to online success. As I'm sure you know, there are different ways to get traffic. You can pay for traffic by buying Adwords or other such pay per click advertising. This can be very effective if you know how to do it right. You need to choose very targeted keywords and phrases that narrow down the clickers to those who are more specifically looking for what you are offering. You don't want to be paying for clicks from general words or you'll go broke in the process. You can get free traffic from various sources like posting in forums, directories, answering questions at Yahoo Answers, writing articles that link back to your site, etc. These are time intensive and that may not be how you want to spend your time. Some people would rather spend their money than their time. You may be one of them if your statement above is completely honest. If it is, you'd be better served to do some solid research on Adwords and learn how to use it effectively. Or, pay someone who is expert in it to set up a few campaigns for you and test to see which is most profitable for your niche. Lastly, and most importantly, is free organic traffic from the search engines. The best kind of traffic you can have is traffic that finds you naturally when they do a Google search (or a search in one of the other major engines). If your site is built properly, over time you will get found for the keywords that you target for each page. When someone types in a search for "Mike's quality widgets" (obviously I don't know what your site is so I'm using that as an example), you want to be listed on the first page of the results if possible. You may not be on the first page of the results for every page of your site, but the more the better. There is a way to accomplish that with work and know-how. Here's the problem with ASD and anything similar. The basic concept for advertising is flawed. Everyone is clicking through their 'required' ad views each day for the minimum seconds (is it 15 seconds?). 1. Who cares if you have 20,000 visitors to your site for 15 seconds each? Does that benefit you in some way? Are you hoping against hope that some of them are going to be so tantalized by your riveting site that they will stop and get caught up in your amazing content? This is just not likely. Oh, it could happen now and then, I suppose, but you are asking an awful lot of yourself, your site, and the process. 2. The search engines (like Google) have a variety of ways of determining the 'value' and 'importance' of a web site. Guess what one of the criteria is that they measure? How long people stay on a site. By having hundreds/thousands of visitors who only click on and click off after 15 seconds or so, you are actually 'telling' Google and the other engines, "This site is worthless. No one wants to hang around for more than a few seconds." That's no way to get yourself listed in the search results. So, paying that $1000 for the kind of traffic you would be getting, was essentially paying to sabotage yourself. I looked at ASD when it first was brought up in this forum. I was tempted by the concept, but I decided against it for two basic reasons. 1. The numbers didn't add up. I considered that I might be missing something and that there was more than met the eye on first investigations, but I was still uneasy. 2. I didn't want to damage the 'reputation' of any of my sites by exposing it to that kind of traffic. So, I decided to wait and see how the whole thing played out. Of course, I'm glad I did, but that's not really the point of this post. My point is this. It sounds like you are considering trying another program that has the same basic premise as ASD. I just wanted you to understand the basics of search engine rankings, etc., so that you would know the causes and effects of what you were considering. If you knew all that already, or it doesn't apply to you for some reason, then, just ignore this. But, I hope this has helped you or others who are somehow thinking that this is a wonderful way to advertise your business. It may have been a wonderful way to make a quick 25% profit on your investment (if it had worked), but it is NOT a wonderful way to advertise. Blessings, Angie
Thanks so much for sharing that very useful in-depth knowledge! I don't know where else I could have learned that information. Almost makes the whole ASD loss worthwhile!! Again, thanks.
You are very welcome. I'm glad you've received it in the spirit it was intended. If you have further questions on any of the issues, let me know. I'll try to point you in the right direction. Blessings, Angie
happywife: 2. The search engines (like Google) have a variety of ways of determining the 'value' and 'importance' of a web site. Guess what one of the criteria is that they measure? How long people stay on a site. By having hundreds/thousands of visitors who only click on and click off after 15 seconds or so, you are actually 'telling' Google and the other engines, "This site is worthless. No one wants to hang around for more than a few seconds." That's no way to get yourself listed in the search results. So, paying that $1000 for the kind of traffic you would be getting, was essentially paying to sabotage yourself. HW, Thanks for the priceless info! I never took into account how a short glimpse of one's site is worse than none at all! Your comment made the time spent viewing this forum worth it's weight in gold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tom T
To piggy back on what happywife has said, of all the many ways to drive traffic to your site traffic exchanges are quite possibly the most worthless. (with a few exceptions of course.) ASD was a traffic exchange at its core. If you still wish to see your traffic stats jump then please visit the main forum here as there really are people out there who give this info away for free. I hope all you ASDers don't get burnt out because of one bad experience. There are 100's of ways to make the "online" thing work, don't give up. Come visit us again when you get serious again and we'll be here to help.
