Paid To Click(PTC)
Paid To Click is an online business model that draws online traffic from people aiming to earn money from home. Paid-To-Click, or simply PTC websites, act as middlemen between advertisers and consumers; the advertiser pays for displaying ads on the PTC website, and a part of this payment goes to the viewer when he views the advertisement.
In addition, most PTC sites offer a commission to its members for signing up new members (similar to many affiliate marketing programs online), or they may pay members a percentage of the clicks that their referrals make as an ongoing commission.
The viability of the PTC business model has been questioned, as fraudulent clicks have ramped up the expenses for advertisers. With lawsuits filed against the internet search companies, the burden has been placed on Google, Yahoo and others to determine valid clicks from fraudulent ones.
Even though advertisements are the most widely known method for PTC sites to stay alive, much of the profit can come from the direct sales of referrals or upgrade packages which are created by the owner of each PTC site. This has led to the proliferation of online scams or ponzi schemes being created with PTC sites as a cover, as members are encouraged to buy referrals that are not actually human or upgrade packages that offer no real value. As well, some sites may request that their users pay an "upgrade fee" before being able to cash out their earnings, and then not paying out earnings after these fees are paid.
Scams, although exposed on various PTC forums, are still heavily used by newcomers who are drawn in to the websites by search engines. Scam PTC sites are known to attract new users with cheap offers for upgrades and referrals and disappear without trace after a short time.
As many scam PTC sites that there are online, there are several legitimate sites that use the Paid To Click business model as a viable advertising alternative.
In addition, most PTC sites offer a commission to its members for signing up new members (similar to many affiliate marketing programs online), or they may pay members a percentage of the clicks that their referrals make as an ongoing commission.
The viability of the PTC business model has been questioned, as fraudulent clicks have ramped up the expenses for advertisers. With lawsuits filed against the internet search companies, the burden has been placed on Google, Yahoo and others to determine valid clicks from fraudulent ones.
Even though advertisements are the most widely known method for PTC sites to stay alive, much of the profit can come from the direct sales of referrals or upgrade packages which are created by the owner of each PTC site. This has led to the proliferation of online scams or ponzi schemes being created with PTC sites as a cover, as members are encouraged to buy referrals that are not actually human or upgrade packages that offer no real value. As well, some sites may request that their users pay an "upgrade fee" before being able to cash out their earnings, and then not paying out earnings after these fees are paid.
Scams, although exposed on various PTC forums, are still heavily used by newcomers who are drawn in to the websites by search engines. Scam PTC sites are known to attract new users with cheap offers for upgrades and referrals and disappear without trace after a short time.
As many scam PTC sites that there are online, there are several legitimate sites that use the Paid To Click business model as a viable advertising alternative.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts. Examples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion of an offer, and the referral of others to the site. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as 'retailer' or 'brand'), the network, the publisher (also known as 'the affiliate'), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third parties vendors.
Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.
Affiliate marketing—using one website to drive traffic to another—is a form of online marketing, which is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail, and website syndication capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers' marketing strategies
Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.
Affiliate marketing—using one website to drive traffic to another—is a form of online marketing, which is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail, and website syndication capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers' marketing strategies
