According to Webmasterworld there’s changes a foot with the search results for Yahoo and from having had a look something is not right. On some terms we’ve seen sites that are clearly using dubious cloaking techniques and keyword stuff techniques to ride high.

This is bad for affiliates who seeing that their efforts to build community sites, information sites or consumer sites with purpose are pushed down the listings at the expense of, well, crap! It just sends out all the wrong signals.

At the start of 2005 both MSN and Yahoo had the potential to make a gain on Google. In my opinion neither have made much impact. Apparently Ask (or is Teoma) are looking to improve their service, but their results (i.e. we can’t figure out how to get ourselves in the listings) are often more confusing.

Talking of Teoma we have noted that a doppelganger chinese site who ripped off Loquax is listed as a “expert and enthusiast” alternative when you do a search for Loquax. HTF do they work that one out!

And that pretty much sums up the latest Yahoo change over too.

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Had a phone call today from a direct marketing company who operate an affiliate program. After the usual pleasentries and introductions rather than ask us to promote them, they asked if we’d like them to promote us on a cost per registration basis.

Now we wouldn’t – no other reason than we don’t want to spend money with them (actually we don’t like spending money with anyone) – but their reply took me a bit by surprise “oh, cutting back are we?”!! Eh? How did you work that one out Sherlock!?

So I simply replied “no, i just don’t want to spend money with you”. And it’s not really a surprise. This is a company who run several affiliate programs but only pay one measly 40p lead for one registration (and who’s conversion rate is not so hot for us), and who from past experience aren’t the most forthcoming in the paying of invoices stakes.

We’re not cutting back (actually you can’t cut back if you don’t spend anything in the first place) but being an affiliate gives you an insight into the type of company you’re dealing with. And when the tables turn and a merchant wants your business and your money it’s that insight which helps in making decisions on whether to spend with them or not. In this case, not!

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Received this email today…

“Please advise me who your marketing contact is, I would like to offer you association with Fran Cosgrave who recently won the leading reality TV show ‘Celebrity Love Island Reunion’.

Fran is a skilled poker player and would like to endorse your products and services.”

It arrived with a topless photo of Fran posing too!

Either Loquax has escalated higher in demand or Fran needs to find himself a company that does better research!

Still made me laugh though.

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No updates for a few days as I’ve been on holiday. The laptop did come with me though and thanks to our hotel/B&B having free wireless internet access I was able to check in with Loquax and email and feel a lot more relaxed knowing that all was working well.

This was my first almost full week off for over 12 months, so it was nice to get away. As much as it would be nice to leave the laptop behind, I am happier knowing I can keep an eye on things without having to work work. At most I was online for 30 minutes a day and that often coincided with us chilling out or getting ready to go out. The other plus point was that I didn’t return to piles of spam emails and was able to put to one side all the things that needed attention and delete everything else.

Strangely all the affiliate stuff we do seemed to work better in my absence – so maybe I should take more holidays )

Whilst away though our server has been having a few issues but that’s going to be sorted this week. Also we were informed that one of our competitors does not allow the word ‘Loquax’ to appear on their message board – apparently the users can’t post anything if ‘Loquax’ is mentioned in any context whether good or bad.

Now I fully understand why they’re doing it as we in turn prefer users to not discuss competitor sites or post links, but it does happen and sometimes it’s easier to just leave them rather than delete it. In some cases we do filter but the post still appears – just with an automated edit.

However, by deeming ‘Loquax’ a swear word some of this other site’s users have come over to our forums to test our word filter policy. So in effect they’ve generated the interest in Loquax that they were desperate to avoid. Nice One!!

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Twice in one afternoon I’ve heard affiliates say that affiliate marketing is not as fun or enjoyable as it once was. The first affiliate (we’ll call them Affiliate X) said in in response to his battles with networks not playing fair, and the second came from John who runs the excellent NetFreeStuff site. He has formally announced his retirement on a4uforum and his honest declaration of his reasons plus the other affiliate’s problem with networks does offer food for thought.

In some ways I envy John’s position (apart from the fact he’s a Plymouth supporter.. just goes to show you can’t have it all) and wish him well – but is the fun still there at Loquax? The last couple of days it hasn’t that’s for sure. Server issues, phpBB upgrades resulting in an 8 hour recode of the site late into the night, followed by a four hour wait for our ISP to sort out a reboot issue isn’t exactly day to day fun!

However, the site is now running and all seems to be well – so we’re back to the day to day task of running Loquax (or Loquax Ltd to encompass the various sites). And whilst admittedly I feel shattered and thankfully holiday time is imminent, well yes the fun is still there.

Each day there’s new things to do – there is the laborious and tedious updating of the competition details – but we get to interact with our users, share in their wins, have fun with the duck holiday, and put up links for affiliate programs without any real pressure. And I think it’s those ingredients that help to keep things interesting.

So what happens if it stops being fun!? I’ve always maintained the day I stop enjoying doing any job then I’d walk away from it if I could. The same has to apply to Loquax.

We are fortunate though in that we don’t have to deal with too many people who could influence the day to day enjoyment of running a website. The main culprits in “affiliate day ruination” are the networks, especially one’s who one day kick you off a mobile phone program for a, at best, grasping at straws reason then two days later re-package the program so that kicking you off was in fact totally unnecessary. Good thing they don’t run a brewery!

If you’re dealing with issues like that day in day out, as it would seem Affiliate X is, then I can understand why being an affiliate may not be so much fun. The options are to “do a John” (a newly coined affiliate term for walking away from the industry into the sunset), or to take the fight to another place.

Just because a network exists does not mean you have to work with them! If they treat you like crap, then go and work with a network who treats you well. It’s as simple as that. The fun can still be there if you want it to be – but sometimes you have to look for it in other places.

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