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In the course of change, the concept of optimized development becomes synonymous with improvement. For those toiling on the Web and existing within Web-based markets, development becomes an inherent key in both the revision process and the constant struggle to stay abreast of developments within the Internet (r)evolution. Varied in meaning, to optimize may commonly refer to making changes to keywords within HTML language or making developmental changes within HTML to improve browser compatibility. Moreover, optimized development refers to the overall procedure of comparative and quality assessment. Demonstrating commitments to resource accessibility and usability, throughout various stages of the growth process, Studyabroad.com continues to respond to user and customer needs.
A new home page, featuring numerous key navigational elements, as well as a newly revised Studyabroad.com logo was recently launched in early October. The layout of the Studyabroad.com Master Sponsor positions have been graphically modified and several Studyabroad.com essential elements, such as Express!, Forum, and Marketplace have been included within a button navigation format. This format will be consistently implemented throughout the Studyabroad.com site. Changes within Studyabroad.com navigation has also resulted in a new Search by Country format. Interactive map menu pages broken down by Region/Continent have been implemented as visually stimulating and effective forewords to our Studyabroad.com Destination Portals. In effect, graphically rich maps will allow users to become more keenly aware of world geography, as well as geographically visualize study abroad destinations.
Studyabroad.com Destination Portals, unique, all-inclusive study abroad planning elements continue to provide prospective study abroad students/participants with program directory information, travel and destination content, vital safety, health, and climate information, maps and much more. Due to the recent merger and acquisition of LeisurePlanet.com, Studyabroad.com has greeted Columbus Publishing Ltd. as a new provider of travel and destination content. Newly added Studyabroad.com portals include Madagascar, Hawaii and the United Kingdom (UK) and a content section entitled Useful Addresses enhances information pertinent to all prospective study abroad travelers.
As the look, feel and design of content provision are sought to be consistently optimized at Studyabroad.com, change will be the necessary and exciting component of the Studyaborad.com site. Most recently, changes have included a new home page, a revised logo and the introduction of a new navigational system. Various upcoming projects are well underway and we encourage you to regularly visit us noting content refinements and additions that assure Studyabroad.com as The Study Abroad Information Source. Surely, as the fields of Study Abroad and International Education evolve, so will Studyabroad.com!
Recently, the change to navigational structure has been an essential element in the processes of incorporating new content and developing the Studyabroad.com site. Slightly altered to accommodate and effectively unite content offerings, the new structure of navigation accompanies many new and exciting opportunities for customers throughout the Studyabroad.com site.
**Studyabroad.com Regional Menu Pages
Changes within Studyabroad.com navigation have resulted in a new
Search by Country format. Interactive map menu pages (broken down
by the following Regions/Continents: Africa, Asia, Australia and
South Pacific, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Far East, India
Subcontinent, Middle East, North America, South America and
South-East Asia) have been implemented as visually stimulating and
effective forewords to our Studyabroad.com Destination Portals.
These visual enhancements will facilitate recall and understanding
of world geography; essentially, these menu pages will serve as an
introduction to an array of study abroad destinations.
Strategically placed within the heading of each menu page, limited
banner advertisement positions are available.
**Studyabroad.com Destination Portals
Studyabroad.com Destination Portals, the unique, all-inclusive study
abroad planning element, greeted a new design and great new content
upon the welcoming of Columbus Publishing Ltd. as a new provider of
travel and destination content. Newly added portals include Hawaii,
Madagascar and the United Kingdom (UK). Studyabroad.com portal
half-banners offer guaranteed high visibility and page impressions.
Positions have been selling quickly; there are only a handful of
Studyabroad.com's largest directories and most widely searched
country pages left. Examples include: Argentina, England, Germany,
Italy, Thailand , U.K. and U.S.
**English.Studyabroad.com
English.Studyabroad.com continues to receive phenomenal traffic.
Over the past several months, approximately 18,000 pages of content
have been viewed each week. Due to an intensive marketing campaign
and highly successful affiliate program, English.Studyabroad.com has
effectively become an immediate starting point for individuals
seeking English as a Second Language programs. While
English.Studyabroad.com shares the ESL program directories with the
Studyabroad.com Languages section, it cuts out several layers of
menus by providing a direct link (re: targeted shortcut) to the ESL
listing pages.
English.Studyabroad.com boasts a new look, a new logo and clean,
efficient navigation. Similar to Studyabroad.com,
English.Studyabroad.com offers home page Master Sponsor positions.
Serving users with highly developed and concentrated ESL and
Intensive English Language Program interests,
English.Studyabroad.com becomes an effective, highly-visible,
targeted venue for the advertisement of your ESL or Language
programs.
For more information regarding Studyabroad.com Regional Menu page advertising, Studyabroad.com Destination Portals and/or English.Studyabroad.com, please contact; Erica Brechemin: erica@studyabroad.com, 610/499-9200
An affiliate program can be a great asset to your business whether you are a merchant, an affiliate or both. The secret that lies behind a successful program is the time you spend nourishing it and the effort that you put into it.
TYPES OF AFFILIATE PROGRAMSAffiliate programs are typically classified as pay-per-click, pay-per-lead and pay-per-sale. A merchant can offer a single or a combination of these methods of pay. A pay-per click program pays the affiliate for each click on a merchant's link from the affiliate's web site to the merchant's site. A program that is pay-per-lead will allow the affiliate to be paid for each lead, such as a completed form. A pay-per-sale program gives the affiliate a commission or flat fee for each sale generated by the affiliate's sent user.
THE MERCHANTMost merchants use a third party affiliate program to help manage their affiliates. Many third party programs will provide reporting of affiliate performance and paycheck services. Some will even advertise merchants' programs on their site. There are some merchant's, however, that choose to manage their own affiliate programs. For a large program, however, this usually requires a full time staff person or persons to manage it. EDU combines both a third party affiliate program and a direct program for top affiliates. Using this method, EDU can cater to a select few top affiliates while still maintaining a large program.
Even if a merchant chooses only to use a third party program, they should still seek out quality web sites through search engines or word-of-mouth to participate in the program. By seeking out potential affiliates on your own, you are more likely to find sites with the same target audience as you.
Recognizing top affiliates is an easy task if you know what to look for. The best affiliates will produce a high number of quality clicks. So how do you know the clicks they are sending are of high quality? There are several ways, actually. One way is determined by the number of unique visitors they send. The number of unique users should be above 80% of total users sent. Another way of determining the quality of an affiliate's click-throughs is by the number of steps each user takes through your site. If the user is only hitting one page, that usually means he/she is only hitting one page and then leaving. Yet another method is analyzing the conversion of clicks to sales or leads. This is usually easy if you operate a pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale program, but can be a bit harder if you only have a pay-per-click program.
Top affiliates should be valued and should receive special attention to ensure that they putting forth their best efforts in promoting your web site. Newsletters, promotional items, and higher pay out rates are all ways of maintaining loyalty.
In any affiliate program, scam artists are inevitable. They do, however, always show tell-tale signs that something is not right. Some scams consist of one individual hitting the merchants link or completing a form over and over again. By examining the number of unique hosts when compared to total hits, one will be able to determine whether or not this is taking place. Other frequent scams include robots hitting pages, incentive programs (though some merchants accept these) and pop-up windows. All of these scams can drastically hinder your success, as they are not worth the time or money.
THE AFFILIATEAn affiliate's first step to creating a successful program should be seeking out merchants that have the same target audience. It would obviously be a waste of time and effort for an educational web site to place an affiliate link to a gambling web site. Just as merchants should seek affiliates beyond the third party program, affiliates should do the same. This will ensure a higher number of quality sites to advertise on your web site. To make the most out of a program, be sure that you have the best creatives that will work for your site. Text links are often a forgotten but effective creative. If the merchant does not generally provide text links or the type of creative you need, ask for it. Merchants will almost always agree to go out of their way for good affiliates.
Also like merchants, affiliates must be wary of scams. There are
many merchants out there, who will claim to give you an outrageous
pay out rate. It is only after you have gone through all the effort
of providing them with a large amount of traffic or leads that you
will be denied your payment.
Pay-per-sale programs can also present themselves as great
profit-making schemes. Some will boast a 25% commission; however,
you may only be able to refer one sale in several months.
For merchants and affiliates alike, learning to nurture good,
healthy relationships and being aware of many scams is the key to a
successful program!
Academia Cervantes - Málaga
American Express Travelers Cheques
Augusta State University
Brooklyn College
Europe on Rail
Institute of Youth (Center for Education and Culture)
Instituto Chac Mool
Sonoma State University - American Language Institute
Studyabroad-cis.com
Commission Junction - A third party affiliate program that also produces many articles and information on affiliate programs. http://www.cj.com
Mrgoodbucks.com - A shopping portal for non-profit companies with affiliate programs. http://www.mrgoodbucks.com
Here's a look at unique hosts (roughly the number of unique users) per month visiting studyabroad.com:
September 2000: 200,683
September 1999: 80,074
August 2000: 127,931
August 1999: 70,356
July 2000: 94,076
July 1999: 49,774
June 2000: 108,392
June 1999: 56,408
May 2000: 99,502
May 1999: 51,974
April 2000: 93,204
April 1999: 61,277
March 2000: 108,291
March 1999: 64,205
February 2000: 121,078
February 1999: 63,855
January 2000: 95,653
January 1999: 66,263
December 1999: 68,538
December 1998: 27,121
November 1999: 98,813
November 1998: 32,156
October 1999: 99,847
October 1998: 72,774
The following are the top five search engine robots which visit Studyabroad.com most often.
1. HotBot
Here are the current top 10 EDU Domains visiting Studyabroad.com for the five-month period ending on October 12, 2000. Following each school name you will find the number of pages viewed from that campus during the period.
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 6,718
(610) 499-9200
http://www.studyabroad.com
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