Friday, October 30, 2009

How to log Hibernate SQLs and parameters ?

These configs are handy to log Hibernate SQLs and parameters using log4j.

log4j.logger.org.hibernate.SQL=DEBUG
log4j.logger.org.hibernate.type=TRACE
log4j.logger.org.hibernate.bind=DEBUG

log4j.logger.org.hibernate.pretty=DEBUG
log4j.additivity.org.hibernate.SQL=true (optional)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Practical Approach to Google's AdWords

These steps can be helpful in deciding best strategy for online Ad campaign using Google's AdWords.
  1. Find out your target customers and do customer segmentation.

  2. Coin proper keywords combination focusing on target segment. Choosing right keywords is most essential part of Ad campaign.

  3. Next step comes of refining chosen keywords and controlling the behavior of display of Ad in search results by using various options to define your keywords.
    • So once you have a number of alternative keyword combinations, go for that which is closest to your products/services.
    • Use quotes, brackets, exclamation mark (to negate words) to control display of Ad in search results.
  1. A realistic budget can be set on monthly basis so that you don't run out of advertising money if there are unexpectedly very high number of hits.

  2. A regular monitoring of ad campaign is necessary. You should do data mining to find out "customer conversion rates", "expense vs returns".

  3. Localization is very useful in targeting perspective customers having higher possibility of conversion. For example if your products/services are physically present only in certain cities or areas you should localize your Ads to these places only. This can save you ton of money by avoiding unnecessary hits from people outside of your focus area.

  4. Create specifically designed landing pages tied up with the Ad. Sending visitors to homepage can leave them lost in piles of information.

  5. Ad campaign can be outsourced to SEO companies for better returns. These companies have experts of this field. They properly launch, design, refresh and monitor Ad campaigns.

  6. There is a risk factor with AdWords. You may loose your money without return if any computer generated program hits your Ad. Money may be returned by Google in such cases if it had been proved but there would be additional pain in claiming your money back.

  7. If your business is very new of its kind and most of the people don't know about it, AdWords may not be the right choice for you. People generally avoid clicking on Ads in such a case. Traditional ways of promoting productions/services may be better choice to go with.