Finch Sells | Affiliate Marketing Blog

Brand New CPV Lab Released

Feb 10 2014

Here’s what I had planned for Monday:

Wake up.
Get henched on caffeine.
Detonate several Exoclick campaigns in the heart of mainland Europe.
Short the shit out of Manchester United FC’s share price, just for the LOLs.
Manage my tribe of Eastern Europeans.

Here’s what actually happened today:

Woke up.
Got henched on caffeine.
Frazzled the Frenchies, blasted the Germans.
Deleted browser history.
“HOLY SHIT, THERE’S A NEW CPV LAB SAY WHAT?”

Yes, it’s been a running joke that CPV Lab updates have been few and far between.

The last time CPVlabs was updated, @EagleWebAssets was walking around conferences in fur coats
— charles ngo (@Dr_Ngo) January 27, 2014

Well, joke no mo.

There’s a new CPV Lab in town, and it looks to be the dog’s bollocks (ROW: really good).

The update email is below.

CPV Lab 2.17 is Now Released!
In this update we addressed the top 3 requests from our users and also added many new core functions and improvements.
Please read through this entire post, especially the server details towards the end, as the server requirements and update install process have been updated.
Contents:
1st = Mobile Device Detection and Data
2nd = Volume, More Data and Fast Interface Speeds
3rd = Advanced, Yet Easier Ways to View & Customize Stats
YUP, There’s More…
And…there’s still more!
2.17 Update Installation
===== 1st = Mobile Device Detection and Data =====
After a great deal of research, Q&A + Feedback…we seriously addressed the overall usage and importance of mobile data across the board:
– Full Mobile Detection and Stats, including Mobile Carriers and Automatic Updates of Detection Databases every 2 weeks or less.
Over 30 Mobile Data Points available allowing you to go far beyond the traditional mobile optimization points of device name, etc. with actual content and media your visitors support.
– Mobile Audience Stats…Quickly View a Breakdown of your Mobile Visitors to identify top performing Brands, Carriers, Devices, Data Rates and Specific Features Based on the Visitors Device.
– Don’t Lose Your Cookies!:) Mobile introduces several issues with Cookie-based Tracking, however, with Desktop/Laptop users…Cookie-based tracking is the most popular method across the board and has been used since the dawn of the internet.
We didn’t want to lose the use of cookies completely, but had to support and track all mobile visitors regardless of their device settings. So, Live-Switch was born…this feature offers Cookie & Cookie-Less Tracking to Support All Visitors regardless of their device and settings. It’s all on the fly and in real-time, nothing extra to setup.
===== 2nd = Volume, More Data and Fast Interface Speeds =====
One of the biggest issues high volume users faced was sluggish stats once the database reached a certain point. To address this, we’ve added TrueCache to allow enhanced Volume Capabilities and greatly Increase Responsiveness of User Interface.
The reason it’s called “TrueCache” is because another concern many high-volume users had was the ability to customize data storage options to their hosting environment. You have this ability as well using a simple configuration file.
Check out the 2.17 Feature Guide for more details and setup instructions.
http://cpvlab.com/release/217_Feature_Guide.pdf
===== 3rd = Advanced, Yet Easier Ways to View & Customize Stats =====
The common thread from users, was the ability to group stats by specific data points using a series of dropdown boxes. But for most users, when asked…they generally and most frequently viewed their stats across all campaigns in a “routine” of specific data sets.
It became very clear, the solution wasn’t to “group” the data, as this can become somewhat cumbersome and limited based on the number of options available. But simply to view the Stats just as you wanted them…based on your Common and Most Used Viewing Habits.
So, we added just that.
Quick-Stat Views feature for Target Performance Stats allows you to quickly change you Target Performance stats by specific data points.
For Example…In 2 Clicks, go from viewing:
Carriers ‘ Visitors ‘ CTR ‘ CR ‘ EPC
To: Device Brands ‘ CTR ‘ CR ‘ Cost Per Subscriber
Anything you can think of…you can select the data points to view and save them to be quickly used anytime. You can even Drag & Drop the column order for each custom view to display the information exactly as you wish.
And…
– Multi-Select Controls Added to Show/Hide Dropdown Menu on All Pages
– Ability to filter by Visitor Type, Target, Page and Offer in Stats
– Drag-and-Drop Re-Ordering and Re-Sizing of Columns in Stats Tables
===== YUP, There’s More… =====
– If/Then Redirects to redirect visitors based on multiple conditions using over 30 data options. Send visitors to a Specific Page, Offer, URL or Campaign.
– Trends Heatmap Views to quickly identify top performing times of day by CTR, CR, ROI, Subscriber Rate, etc.
– Trends – Ability to Filter by Target, Page, Offer and by specific days of the week.
– Record Desktop/Laptop Users Operating Systems, Browser & Versions
– Greatly expanded features to Pass and Post Data to & from CPV Lab.
– Total Control Linking Options…you can now link to a specific Landing Page, Level, Option Group or Path.

This looks to be an impressive update, and a much needed shot in the arm for CPV Lab.

It will be welcomed by the many affiliates, like myself, who increasingly rely on mobile campaigns to fund their hedonistic needs.

I’ll post my thoughts once I’ve had chance to play around with the latest version.

If you are new to CPV Lab (read my very old review here), you can grab a copy for $297. If you are a previous user, or your license expired, you can upgrade for $147.

My First Regrettable Acts of 2014

Dec 31 2013

December 31st, just gone 1pm:

I’m enjoying a very small window of opportunity in No Man’s Land. The abyss between getting drunk and merely thinking about getting drunk.

No work today.

Today is my Sabbath.

I know a lot of affiliates are curiously teetotal. The idea of getting wankered is seen as a threat to one’s ability to make money online. Forgive me… for I am British.

And so, New Year’s Eve is my favourite night of the year.

Perhaps it’s the clean slate ahead.

The chance to wake up a new man on January 1st:

A pang of motivation, a bubble of new goals, the itch to get started.

But first… a roaring headache.

Desperate measures.

Taxi to Spoons.

All day breakfast. Nose an inch above the plate. Toast crumbs dribbled in beard. Don’t give a fuck. The Vodka shakes. What are these stamps on my hand? Taxi home. Feeling nuclear. One false step and I’ll blow.

An afternoon nap, swiftly interrupted. The sprint is on.

A bout of the shits.

Oh fuck, why Tequila?

Uncontrollable remorse.

An evening hangover, morose sorrow. Get walked by the dogs.

Eyeful of daggers for anybody in sight.

Home, sofa, primal groans.

A Recovery Twister:

Miracles do happen.

The fog lifts, a haze departs – memories of Amsterdam – I’m… why am I drooling?

A calm wave of serenity.

A vision.

2014: I’m having you by the balls.

And in that priceless moment, just before ordering a savage Meat Feast and internally combusting once and for all, I really mean it.

Happy New Year, Affiliasphere.

“Hi, I’m Here to Fix My SEO”

Nov 29 2013

Not so long ago, I vented my disgust at the Rise of the Content Marketing Moron.

Well, there’s a new moron in town.

And his name is The Complete Stranger.

The Complete Stranger comes with a massive sense of entitlement, and with requests that disrupt my day to benefit his.

Like the ‘link removal’ request.

I’ve had several of these in the last few weeks:

“Dear Blogger,
It has come to our attention that a third party agency has used questionable means to secure links to our website on your blog.
[COMMENT SPAM]
[COMMENT SPAM]
These links are harmful to our search engine strategy, and we would greatly appreciate if you could remove them at the earliest convenience.”

Why?

Why should I?

You hired this agency.

If they spammed up my blog with junk links, that’s my first reason to be pissed off.

If you then come and ask me to take time out of my day removing these links, that’s my second reason to be pissed off.

I don’t have the time, or desire, to worry about somebody else’s link building strategy.

And yet the first impression you get when dealing with 95% of these agencies is that the world needs to bend over backwards ASAP.

If you are trying to ‘disavow’ your rotten link profile, you can start by acknowledging that you are no more than a piece of shit on the bottom of my shoe.

And then start to grovel.

Nothing personal.

That’s just where you stand on my hierarchy of priorities.

Another request I hate:

“Can you make this link nofollow? Or remove the nofollow?”

You pretentious little fuck-urchin.

Is it not enough that I stopped to consider you? That I linked to you out of the gajillions of other pages on the web?

No, you want the link to be technically correct. Once again for your own gain.

This is where SEOs need to understand something important:

The only person who gives a shit about your link building strategy is you.

Every blogger or webmaster you deal with is doing you a favour when he takes up your requests.

But it will only be a favour.

And he’ll probably never link to you again, while feeling a sharp urge to douse your balls in petrol and start throwing matches.

There are a couple of exceptions where I have removed or adjusted links for guys that I know on a personal level.

Favours.

But when a complete stranger lands in my inbox requesting that I get off my arse to fix a problem that he created on my property, then the answer is swift:

Fuck you.

Your world may revolve around SEO.

Mine does not.

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