Jeff Deutsch

At the start of 2007 I made a bunch of changes to my website. The biggest and most obvious change was the addition of advertising. I get around 1,000 visitors a week. This strikes me as strange because I only have 120 friends (according to facebook). But the site statistics say 1,000 in a typical week, and that number grows pretty steadily. So to all the visitors I've never met... Welcome! Anyhow, I added advertising in hopes of earning enough money to cover the cost of hosting the site. In a way, it was a big success. After nine months, I made $100 (which is the minimum threshold at which google will send you a check). The experiment was also successful because I learned lots about the online advertising business. Not really useful for my life, but interesting.

Now the experiment is over. I don't like the ads. They interfere with the ineffable experience that is jeffdeutsch.com. So the ads are gone. Except on this page. I kept them here just for fun, and to maintain an active account with Google AdSense. In addition to the ads on this page, there are two other ways this web site can still make me a few dollars:

1) The Google search box. Bottom right of every page there is a search box. I love being able to use google to search my web site. An added bonus is that I get a few pennies every time someone clicks a google sponsored advertisement which appears in the results of a search initiated from my web site. A decade from now I'll probably get my next $100 check.

2) Shopping Links. That's this page only. The shopping links were originally just for me. I buy stuff from these stores, and figured I might as well get a commission from each purchase. Then I thought, why not just let everyone use the links. The links tend to go out of date because I have to maintain accounts with the stores, and I really can't be bothered. So the links may take you to a store, but there is no guarantee that any commission will be generated.

There are also two links sponsored by a geographically challenged company. What can I say, they paid $50 for two ads that probably never get clicked. Probably one of those "improve your search ranking" companies.

That's it. Feel free to let me know what you think about all the changes!
-- Jeff

Backpacking
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Backpacks
Water Treatment
Headlamps
Stoves

Climbing
Belay Devices
Ascenders
Ropes
Mountaineering Ice Axe
Mountaineering Crampons

Biking
Seats

Photography
Digital Cameras
Lenses
Tripods