With CJ being delayed to hell, I was getting worried I would have a complete loss today. I noticed at the top there was a balance, which there never was before. The rest of the stats are not moving at all. Adwords is a real pain, but it does work. Considering I was being hit with the "same display url" problem I finally figured out how to break out of it. Just wanted to thank Digital Point for providing the extra push to get me to actually spend money on a campaign, rather than sitting on the side wish for something to happen. Here's a nice little tip, follow the instruction that the CJ advertisers are suggesting (when it comes to keywords), they obviously know when they are talking about. You just have to beat them at there own game. Now I just need to figure out how to pay .05 a click now and I'll be set. The only down side, I'm going to get hit with the google bill before I get paid.
Often the best way to beat them is to take their keyword lists and build longer phrases to make your campaigns more specific. Remember that the merchant's interests and the affiliate's interests don't necessarily coincide. The merchant would like to get as many visitors as possible on very generic keywords, and they would like the affiliates to pay for those clicks. But the generic keywords (like a broad product category, say "baby buggies") often don't come from buyers; they come from researchers and tire-kickers. The CTRs may be high, but the conversions are ultra low. Get more specific in your campaigns.
thanks, but in the end I am about break even, if not lost a few bucks. Also, the competition took notice and bid me out of the water towards the end of the day. If CJ was updating faster I would have seen the sales first thing in the morning, and I would have ran with the profits.