Simple Webpage Tricks    
           and Techniques

                   Sometimes used with the intent 
                               to deceive visitors

        ...But they can also be used with integrity, and give 
                   more value to the visitor = more $$ to you.

                                    - Charles Brown

1.  The "Recent Date Script"
This little jewel of a Java script is the reason why you can visit
an ancient archived webpage and see the following in the header:

From the Desk of I.M. Important

    "How to Get Cabbage Patch Dolls in the
      Next 15 Minutes and Sell Them for a
   Huge Profit, Order Amazing eBook Now!"

Notice today's date in the header (if you allowed the Javascript to run).
The site owner is hoping a visitor will think, "Wow, I guess  cabbage
patch dolls are making a comeback, I better buy that ebook now." 

The idea is if you can fool your visitor into believing that your
information is up-to-date, he will be less likely to click away
from your site.

The current date by itself in the upper left hand corner is not
really much of an attempt to fool visitors.  But it is when placed
in combo with other info such as in the above example--as if the
page was just uploaded by Mr. Important today.

Personally, when I see today's date on any website other than CNN,
for instance, I automatically assume it's ancient.  But even if it
isn't--right or wrong--I can't help but immediately assume at
least this one thing about the author:  He or she is at least willing to
try to fool me.  And if they're willing to try to fool me on that--trivial
though it may be--what other tricks are hidden in there?

Contrast that with a site that has what is obviously the actual
publication date on it: I automatically assume that the author is
trustworthy. 

But that may be just me,  I dunno.  I will say this:  I use the
recent date script on some of my stuff.  Just depends on what
it is.  If you're interested, here's the javascript code for the
"recent date script." 

2. The "Slash-Thru #Items Remaining Technique" 
You've probably seen this:  There will be an 'initial' number of
copies of some digital product for sale.  That number will be
crossed out.  Next to it will be a string of other numbers---all
successively smaller than the next.  Each one has been, in turn,
crossed out.  Except for the last number, which represents the
number of copies "actually" remaining at last count.

Sometimes it's just a ploy to scare you into pulling out your
wallet "before they're all gone!" and sometimes it's legit.  Now,
keep in mind we're talking digital products here---there's
unlimited #s of copies!  Unless the author has stated on the ad
copy that he's limiting the number of copies sold to keep the
product effective, I always thought it ludicrous to say,
"only 5 copies left" or something like that.

(The technique can be accomplished with most any image editor--- 
even MS Paint.  One way is to take a screen capture of all or part of
the desktop and then free-hand edit it with a "pen.") 

         Several times I've seen that last number---down to
          "3 copies left" remain on a website for days on end. 

Yet, apparently, the number of copies selling up until then was
astronomical; at the rate the copies were selling, those "3" copies
should have sold in about 5 minutes.  But for some reason, only 3
copies remained for a couple weeks there in the end....hmmmm.

But some marketers do use this technique legitimately. They're 
trying to limit the number of copies of their product that gets
sold.  It seems crazy, but the idea here is to keep the
effectiveness of their digital product from being too 'diluted.' 
This is good.

I've also seen it used in another, more creative way that also can be
totally honest and above board.  (Depending on the level of
exaggeration.)  And this is by showing the number of copies of a
product that have already been sold.  The idea here is to create
excitement around your product; If that many copies have been sold,
it must be good!

So the 'Slash-thru' script/technique is often just another way to fool
you.  Knowing what you know about it now, maybe you can use it
honestly and to your advantage.

3. The "Search Term" Script
When this one is used on you, it can be annoying because you may be
temporarily fooled into thinking you've found exactly what you were
searching for....when actually you've been tricked.

For example, say you're searching for "authentic WWII footage of
P-51 Mustang in flight"...

Hurray!  For a moment your hopes are up...
One result was returned with that exact wording:

"Get your--- "authentic WWII footage of P-51 Mustang in flight"...
today at shopzilla.com"

...Ri-i-i-i-ght

This script gets loaded on your server.   When someone arrives at
your site thru any of the search engines that are included in the
script, they are 'rewarded' with the exact search terms that they
used to find you.

Anyone can get this script and load it on their server---not just
places like "shopzilla.com." 

The idea here is to fool your visitors into thinking they've found exactly
what they were looking for---your site!  And if your site is remotely
related to what they were searching for, the hope is that they'll stick
around and click on your adsense ad or affiliate link and buy something.

Now, here's a really slick way you can use this software (by the way,
it's called "Niche Modulator" and has been sold for $97 and up, but you
can download it here free):  Adwords campaigns.  I won't go into the
grey-hat tactics you can use this for, because the instructions that
come with it do that.  Here it is:  NicheModulator  Enjoy!...

Of course, using the example above, it can backfire, pissing off your
visitor, making him vow to never visit your site again.  But in certain
cases it could be useful---like on sites that offer a hodgepodge of
things for sale, a "storefront."

4. Pop ups
O.K., this one we all know about, and it really isn't particularly
tricky.  Annoying, yes, but not tricky.  The only reason I included
it here is because I wanted to highlight a few key differences in
Popup scripts and tell you about the best way to use them.

First off, there are Popups that can be blocked and ones that
can't.  There are Pop-Unders, Pop-Overs, Exit Popups, and Popups
that can be configured to slide in from any direction.  Usually you
have to have different scripts for whichever one you want.

If you're going to use Popups---and the statistics say you should
(if used a certain way)---you should use ones that can't be
blocked.  That's pretty much common sense.

And it should not appear so as to cover up most of the visitor's
desktop; This is seen as rude and aggressive.  It also should not
reappear if the visitor has closed it out once.  Beyond that, it's
been shown that a Popup should not appear the very instant the
visitor arrives at your site.  That gives the impression that
they're being "sold to" before they can even get settled.

Anyway, there is an awesome popup script available nowadays.  It
incorporates all the best features of popups (bet you didn't know
popups had a 'good side').  It isn't free and this isn't a sales 
pitch here, but I thought this a good place on the site, since
we're talking scripts.

       Anyway, done right, Popups  have been proven time and
    time again to increase your opt-in rate---as much as 400%.

Speaking of Opt-ins, let's talk just for a moment about List
Building.  Since we're talking scripts here, there's two types of
scripts that are pretty much indispensable to building your opt-in
list of loyal customers.  And they are:

1. PopUps - that ask for your visitor's name & email address in
exchange for a (free) subscription to your ezine or newsletter or
some other bribe like maybe an ebook or something....and...

2. An Autoresponder - which, if you don't know, is simply a program
that automatically collects and stores the names & email addresses
of folks who respond like you would like to your popup---by typing
their name & email address onto your popup.

It also does a whole host of other great stuff and collects more than
just their name and email address.  It also collects  their computer's
address (IP address) so that you can cover your butt in case you
get reported for spamming, and other nifty information. 

5.  "Black Hat" Scripts
It's also worth mentioning here that there are many "black hat"
scripts designed to fool the search engines and/or site visitors.

Some work very well, but when you use these, you are gambling
with your website.  Therefore, most people use them on "throw away"
domains and webservers...

That way, if big daddy Google comes up with software that catches
them (it's always a cat and mouse game; cops and robbers), then it
won't be any big deal. "I didn't like that domain name anyway." 
And "hosting was only a couple bucks a month, anyway."
One of them is the...

                             "Cookie Stuffer" Script:
 
This one will deposit an affiliate cookie onto your computer without
your knowledge---without you having clicked on any link.  There's
two types, and neither are totally above board and ethical, but one
should be illegal...

Here's the scenario (you're the web surfer):

You search for a product and land on a review site for that product.
The review site is crappy, not well written or not enough info so you
click away.  Hungering for more info on the product you're searching
for, you land on a well-done review site (like this one ;). You decide to
buy the product thru the link on the 'good' site.  The person who
spent all the time crafting this good site and good review doesn't get
the affiliate commission associated with your purchase, however... 

        Because that first, crappy site you landed on deposited 
             a cookie for the product that can't be overwritten! 

It's basically 'active spyware,' a script that you'd voluntarily down-
loaded and run on your computer at some earlier time.  But unknown
to you, your free software download had this script embedded in an 
.exe file.   Anyway, it stays on your computer quietly stealing
commissions.  The bright side is that it doesn't affect the price you'd
pay for an online product because it just means someone gets the 
commission who didn't deserve it.  It's invisible to you, just like any
other affiliate sale.  And I'm sure this little fact is what emboldens the 
sneaky jellyfish who deploy this script.

                                       Legal But Unethical

The other affiliate commission-boosting script is (so far) legal, although
questionable from an ethics standpoint. (This time you're the script
owner):  You've bought and loaded this script onto any of your web
pages that you have an affiliate product advertised.  Along comes
Johnny who checks out your webpage for a product called
"Keyword Master."  He's really not ready to buy, but he does read
your little article in which you expound on the virtues of "Keyword
Master."  Later that week, Johnny decides to go straight to the
Keyword Master website and buy a copy...

                    Guess who gets the commission for the
                              sale?  That's right, YOU do...

This example is the best case scenario and not really bad. But you'll
see that, overall, it is unethical, and it's really not good even in the
above situation...

(By the way, the only software I know of that does this is
"CovertAffiliate," sold by Novasoft.com.  There's undoubtedly others,
however.)

So this script deposits your affiliate cookie onto the computer of
whoever just lands on your page--even though they don't click on
your affiliate link--just like in the first example with the parasite
software. The difference, however, between CovertAffiliate and the
other "parasite software" is that CovertAffiliate's cookies can be
overwritten by the next cookie associated with a particular product.
At least that's what I think happens.

But before you start thinking, "Gee, I need to buy this thing,"
remember that it's always a cat-and-mouse game--with the search
engines & "white hat" methods being the "cat." 

Because, even though this script is legal now, it's nevertheless still a
questionable script and...

             A Questionable Way to Run An Affiliate Business.  
                                Here's a couple reasons why:

1. You'd be doing something to a visitor's computer without him taking
any action, without him clicking on something.  This is underhanded
in and of itself.

2. Say you have done a good job with your site (whether or not you're
using a script like CovertAffiliate) and Johnny clicks on your affiliate
link, taking him to the product sales page.  Johnny reads the sales
page and, like most people, doesn't buy the product.  At least not now.

A few days later, Johnny decides to buy the product and is now
typing a keyword in Google to search for the product sales page that
he didn't save from the other day (like most people).

Right away, he's confronted with ten links on the first page of Google's
search results.  Johnny clicks on one, any one, because they all look
the same to him.  Instead of landing on the product website, however,
he's landed on another review site that's also running CovertAffiliate
(or any other script like CovertAffiliate).  Realizing he's not on the
product website, he immediately clicks away and searches 'til he 
finds it. 

So what's happened?  Your affiliate cookie has been overwritten by
one from a site that he accidentally landed on...without Johnny even
clicking on a link--much less reading anything on the page...

  overwriting your affiliate cookie that YOU had actually earned!

This likely happens more often than you think!  It only makes sense...

So the moral of that story is that those scripts are not good even
for the people who choose to use them! 

There's lots other "black hat" scripts, but you get the idea.
 
             Let's conclude the scripts section with this:

There are literally hundreds of scripts available to you at the click
of your mouse.  Most are free downloads from the internet. 
Some are designed to run from your PC, some from your server. 
The ones that run on your server require a little knowledge with
configuring stuff on your server.  It's really easy, but can be
confusing at first if you've never done it.

Anyway, there's really no need to go looking for scripts for your
website.  Remember the advice about finding a Guru and sticking
with him and his well-developed and proven program.  Trust him and
his system for all of that.  Don't waste valuable time reinventing
the wheel!!

So don't even concern yourself with scripts.  No need whatsoever.

But for your information, here's one of the most popular script sites:
hotscripts.com

Three other good ones are:
download.com
scripts.com
scriptsearch.com

I've only covered a few scripts here, but the idea with scripts or
"software" is to make your job easier as a webmaster.  Since
internet marketing can be very time consuming, anything to help
speed up the process can be a welcome addition to your arsenal of
tools and weapons.

But as you've discovered in your own life, often the high-tech things
that are supposed to simplify your life and save you time, end up doing
exactly the opposite: 

               By introducing maddening, pull-your-hair-out
         complications and consuming more of your valuable
             time than you are even capable of imagining!

It's precisely for this reason that I caution you to not dive into
gathering and configuring scripts unless you know two things:

1.  That you truly do need a particular script.  (This is the most
important question you should ask yourself.  99.99% of the time
you don't.)

2.  You know how to install and configure the script.

Remember that the 'net is full of technically-proficient geeks who can
do pretty much everything except make money online.

              Your wallet would be better served if you would 
        instead spend your time on much more valuable things 
             than the technical aspects of internet marketing...

As a matter of fact, most people get caught up in the technical
details of, say, website design instead of website content.  You'd
start making money much, much faster if you concentrated on the
'big picture:'  Website content, how to write sales letters, and
researching the market for products or themes for your websites...
making detailed plans on paper...'decision trees,' schematics of
proposed sites.

In other words, you'd be way better off and save gobs of time
by developing a real internet marketing plan...a business plan that's
for your website business.  Leave the technical details to the
computer nerds who do those things for a living--it's surprisingly
cheap, too.  Most of these people are already working at your
web host--installing & configuring scripts is just an additional charge.

That cool script or the newest software will not, could not, is not
capable of, earning a nickel for you; they're just tools.  No different
than tools in your garage: 

            Just having a radial-arm saw does not make you
           a master cabinet craftsman, able to charge $4800 
                           for a kitchen of custom cabinets. 

However, watching and working for a master cabinet craftsman, and
reading related textbooks from Home Depot WILL make you an expert
who is in demand.

But as I've said before, you do not need to concern yourself with
any software, scripts, black magic or whatever; all you need to do
is to stick with a proven guru's program.  He will spoon feed you the
best tools.  Don't waste your time even reading about all the newest
crap to come down the pike.  Do only what's important.

Your time is too valuable!