Setting Bookmarks from MRH links

If you use Internet Explorer, its really easy.  Just right click on the icon of the sponsor you want to create the shortcut and click "Add to Favorites" and then every time you click on that favourite, MRH gets credit for it.

Using Google Chrome is a little more work (at least I haven't figured out a quicker way yet).  What I do is go to the Sponsors page, right click on the sponsor and click "Copy Link Address".  Then I click the link, which will change to the advertiser's page and save that as a bookmark.  Then I go to Bookmark Manager and edit the bookmark, pasting in the original URL from MRH and now every time you use your favourites, MRH gets the credit for your visit. 

I don't use other browsers, so if you use something else, someone else can chime in with how to do it, but it should be fairly similar to the above.

Here's what I do...

I use Firefox.

Just go to the MRH Sponsors Page, right click on a Sponsors Logo and choose, "Copy Link Location".  Now go ahead and click the logo to be taken to the sponsors website.  Create a bookmark for the site, but edit the url for the bookmark, replacing the default url with the url copied from the sponsors page.  Does that make sense?

I think these links will only work while the company in question is an MRH sponsor though.

The sponsor link for Signature Press looks like this below.

http://www.model-trains-universe.com/cheker/cheker.php?idmk=310

While the signature press url is as below.

http://www.signaturepress.com/

Edit:  Oh oh, too slow, Dave beat me to it. [grin]

All good info

I use Firefox, so I was glad to get Blue's specifics after Dan gave the overall idea.

Now, if only MRH's cheker url had the sponsor's url in it, especially for emailing a link to someone.

Time to edit all of those favorites...

~Ken

Email Links

I also use Thunderbird for email.

If I want to send a link like the checker links, I'll just type the sponsors name in the message, then select the text and use the Insert/Link menu item to make the text a hyperlink to the site in question.

It also helps if the vendor is web savvy

Some of our sponsors are especially web savvy - and that helps.

A good example is Fast Tracks. When you visit their web site from an MRH link, they record the fact you came to their web site first via MRH. Then if you say, come to their web site 6 months later via some other route and you order something, they remember you first came to their site via MRH and we get the credit for originating the sale.

But it takes a web savvy firm to do this. Most mom-and-pop hobby vendors who had their brother's nephew build their web site for them don't do this kind of stuff - so we may often never get the credit for the sale.

We believe this kind of behavior is going on, but we can't prove it easily. If someone clicks on an MRH link and then bookmarks the site and uses the bookmark to go to the site from then on, we no longer get the credit.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to use our sponsors page as a sort of "model railroader's bookmarks" page from which to do your initial shopping. If you start with our sponsors page, you will always give us credit for the visit.

The bookmarking trick also works, but unfortunately, most people won't know about the trick. We see ad clicks at steep levels when a new advertiser comes on board - then the clicks drop off over time. We suspect that's because people are bookmarking the site and then using the bookmarks to visit the site instead of our sponsor logos page.

If you order from Signature

If you order from Signature Press (or other sponsors), be sure to tell them that you saw them in Model Railroad Hobbyist.

Charlie

I'm thinking we need a new feature on all ads ...

I'm thinking we need a new feature on all ads ... a button in the nav bar that says: bookmark this site. For hobby marketplace ads, each ad would have a button below it that says "bookmark this site".

Then if people click it, we'll put a bookmark in their browser that gives MRH credit forever more when they use the bookmark.

That would neatly solve the problem of MRH not getting credit when people bookmark a site.

Bookmarks - EASY!

You guys are making it too hard, especially for Google Chrome ...

Just drag the sponsor button up to the bookmark/favorites menu and drop it in - voila! You get a bookmark to the sponsor that uses the MRH sponsor button link, so we always get the credit.

Easy!

And it works in all browsers. Time for a quick how to video ...

Easy or not...

While that does work in FIrefox too, I'll stick to the way I've always done it.  Dragging and dropping isn't always what it's cracked up to be, IMO.

Making bookmarks the hard way assures they go where I wanted them to, everytime. [smile]

But I've always done it this way ...

Hmm, "But I've always done it this way, so why change?" ...

Sounds like a good topic for an editorial, like a Reverse Running, maybe? (wink)

Sorry ... I couldn't resist ...

Funny Guy...

No problem Joe. [grin]

Here's the thing.  I never thought of bookmarking by dragging and dropping until you posted about it.  As soon as I read it, I thought to myself, well sure you can!  So I "rushed off" to try it.

First I just dragged and dropped the BLMA logo on the bookmarks menu, but as I let it go there, the menu expanded, so I made the quantum leap and tried it again but this time I waited for the menu to expand and then went to drop it into my railroad bookmarks folder.  That's when folders started to expand and contract and bookmarks appeared and disappeared...yeesh!  The end result was I ended up with a bookmark where I didn't want it, something that never happens if I do it, "the hard way".

In the end, what's easiest for me, turns out to be doing it the way I've always done it.  Just to be contrary! [wink]

Actually Joe I have been

Actually Joe I have been using your way ever since I started using Firefox. It's just so much faster to bookmark links. So every time MRH gets a new sponsor I just add them and continue what I was doing. I also have the MRH sponsor page as my home page and when I need to Google I have their link in the upper right hand corner of every page.

The only time I hit Bookmark this page anymore is when I'm on my own looking up other than Railroad or on the Gaming sites.

Dan

Knew there was an easier way

Never even considered dragging and dropping the link, thanks for that.  Will save a lot of time in the future and I'll be sure to have all my bookmarks linked through the MRH site. 

"But I've always done it this way..."

LOL feldman !!

Actually Irv your right and Good one!

Joe You do have a good Idea about reverse running that statement. We hear it enough here at MRH.

Dan