Top 10 Most Expensive Google Keywords : Most Expensive PPC Keywords

How does Google make money? Surprisingly, 97% comes from online pay-per-click advertising. At WordStream we can’t get enough PPC; that’s why we decided to conduct some research and find out what the most expensive keywords are in Google. Some of our results about the most popular and most expensive PPC keywords were to be expected, while some (like cord blood and mesothelioma treatment) surprised us and our readers.

Note: If you don't quite understand this infographic, consider learning more about what is Google AdWords.
The Top 10 Most Expensive Keywords are:

1. Insurance
2. Loans
3. Mortgage
4. Attorney
5. Credit
6. Lawyer
7. Donate
8. Degree
9. Hosting
10. Claim

You’ll notice that these top ten most expensive AdWords keywords deal primarily with financing and industries that manage vast sums of money. The fact that the educational keyword “degree” is one of the top ten most expensive Google keywords, right up with lawyers and credit, reminds us of the growing cost of education.
The next ten most expensive keywords complete our total list, resulting the top 20 most expensive AdWords keywords:

11. Conference Call
12. Trading
13. Software
14. Recovery
15. Transfer
16. Gas/Electricity
17. Classes
18. Rehab
19. Treatment
20. Cord Blood

There you have it – the highest cost keywords. If you are considering entering into one of these industries, be ready to pay high cost per click rates for the top keywords. While some may start treatment facilities for the greater good, be aware that you’ll wind up in one of the most expensive niche groups, and your paid search marketing wallet will suffer from those high CPCs.
The most expensive SEM keywords may be frustrating for those in the industries, but they are the best keywords for Google, who makes 97% of revenue from advertising on Google sites (AdWords, AdSense). In the last four quarters, the biggest player of search engine history brought in $32.2 billion in total advertising revenue.

How Does Google Make Its Revenues?

Many people are surprised to find out that Google makes 97% of their revenue from online pay-per-click advertising. We decided to dig in and break apart exactly which keywords makes Google the most money.

How Was the Data for the Most Expensive Keywords Study Compiled?

For the Most Expensive Keywords Infographic, we compiled data from our own large keyword database and the Google Keyword Tool to determine the top 10,000 most expensive English-language keywords over a 90-day period.
We then organized the grand total keyword list into categories by theme, such as "Credit," or “Insurance.” The largest keyword categories were determined by weighting the number of keywords in each category, as well the estimated monthly search volume and average CPC for each keyword.

Why is Quality Score Important For Bidding on Competitive Keywords?

Quality Score is key for using AdWords effectively and getting the most out of your advertising budget. When bidding on competitive keywords, Quality Score is especially crucial because High Quality Scores can help you lower your average cost-per-click.
If you’re concerned about your Quality Score, try running the free AdWords Grader, a free tool that helps advertisers evaluate their PPC campaigns based on important metrics like Quality Score. If you score low, Quality Score can be improved by writing more targeted ad text and landing pages.

Withdraw money from moneybookers ( skrill.com )

Freelancing is becoming popular in Bangladesh. There are a lot people works as a freelancer in Bangladesh. They work on oDesk, Elance, Freelancer other popular online market place. But it is very difficult to withdraw money in Bangladesh from those freelancing site. PayPal service is not available in Bangladesh yet. Only MoneyBookers and Alterpay is available in Bangladesh to withdraw money from online.
oDesk, Elance doesn’t support Alterpay. Moneybookers is easy way to withdraw money from oDesk and Elance. I withdraw money using moneybookers from oDesk and Elance. It is very easy way to open a moneybookers account. Just try to follow the following steps.
1) Register at Moneybookers Moneybookers(now Skrill )
2) Verified your address. Click “Verify Address” link. Moneybookers will send a letter with a PIN code to your address. You will get this letter within 20 days and then use PIN code to verify your address.
3) Add your bank account. To add your Bangladeshi bank account you need to know your bank’s SWIFT code. SWIFT code is like following:
DBBLBDDH for Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited
BRAKBDDH for BRAC Bank Limited
4) Withdraw money. After verified address and added bank account, you can withdraw money from moneybookers in Bangladesh via your bank account. You can withdraw money within 10 days.
If you have any question, please ask me. I will be more than happy to assist you. Happy freelancing.

Bing Rewards: A Quick Guide

Bing Rewards is program sponsored and run by Microsoft, that rewards users for completing searches via Bing. Every two searches the user is rewarded with points, which can then be cashed in for gift cards and even Swagbucks (which is currently the most rewarding option if you use Swagbucks as well.) The other cool thing about Bing Rewards, is unlike other rewards programs, you are allowed to have up to four accounts per household. This means you can quadruple your earnings each month.

Basic Information:

• Open To: Users who are 13+ and residents of the US only (sorry!)
• Referrals: 200 500* credits once you referral reaches Silver Status (completes the welcome tours and earns 200 credits for themselves)
  *For a limited time, Bing is offering 500 credits for each new referral. That's basically a whole $5 gift card!
• Cash Outs: Various gift cards, store discounts and Swagbucks bonuses starting at $3.00 = 340 credits for Silver Level / 330 credits for Gold Level
• Earning Effort: Minimum

Recommended Routine:

1. Check the Bing Rewards dashboard daily. Every day you will have a few one point offers that upon clicking will reward you (like a CPC).
2. Do your daily 30 searches (1 credit every 15 searches) to get all your credits for the day. You can use an automated service like Bing Pong or you can simply click Search Bing < Images and click through all the related links until your daily goal has been met. You can also make your own script to click through links rather easily using AutoHotkey. Here is the script I use.

Other Tips & Tricks:

• If you already have Qmee, your searches can be eligible for Qmee cash. Make sure you have Qmee on when you do these searches so you can double your potential rewards!
• It is most rewarding to use Bing Rewards to cash out for Swagbucks bonuses. As a Gold Level, 500 SB = 475 credits. Bing Rewards pays you in a Swagcode that can be redeemed. You can redeem your Bing Rewards for Swagbucks up to 50 times.

Payment Proofs:

You can view all of my InstaGC payment proofs (and all my payment proofs in general) here in this album. Or follow our Facebook page and get up to date codes, payment proofs and news on the best online money makers!

Getting paid (Google Adsense) New payments experience

New payments experience

We’ve made some changes to improve our payments system, and your account has been included to benefit from these changes. Here's a summary of the required actions, changes and added benefits of the new payments processes:

What's new?

Redesigned "Payments" and "Payment settings" pages:

• “Payment summary” is now called “Transaction history."
• “Payment method” is now called “Form of payment.”
• “Unpaid finalized earnings” is now called “Current balance.”
• Redesigned transaction history table shows you the latest activities at the top.
• New toolbar support allows you to filter, print, export, or download transaction information.

More flexibility with your payment settings:

• New extended timeline allows you to change your payment information until the 20th of any month.
• You can choose any payment threshold greater than the default payment threshold based on your reporting currency.
• You can also hold your payments until a specified date.

Improved navigation of the payments interface:

• Centralized locations to manage your “Payment settings” and “Payee profile.”
• Contextual help is displayed based on the pages that you navigate to.

We’ll continue to add improvements over the coming weeks and months.

Intro to AdSense payments

Wondering when your AdSense payment will arrive? Trying to figure out whether you'll be paid this month or next month? This guide explains our payment process.

Steps to getting paid

---

You must complete all the steps below before we'll issue your first AdSense payment.

1. Select your form of payment
Depending on your payment address, there may be several forms of payment available to you, including Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), EFT via Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), checks, and Western Union Quick Cash. To select a form of payment, visit your Payment settings page.
2. Provide your tax information (not required in all locations)
Depending on your location, we may be required to collect tax-related information. To provide tax information, visit the Payee profile page in your AdSense account. Click the edit link next to "Tax information". Our interface will guide you to the appropriate forms and requirements for your account.
3. Confirm payee name and address
Since Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), which we'll describe below, are sent to the mailing address in your account, it's important to confirm the accuracy of your payment address and payee name.
If you need to correct any information, follow the instructions in our Help Center.
4. Verify your address
When your earnings reach the address verification threshold, we'll mail a Personal Identification Number to the payee address in your AdSense account. You must enter this PIN into your AdSense account before we can issue any payments. Your PIN will be sent by standard post and may take up to 2-3 weeks to arrive.
5. Meet the payment threshold
If your current balance reaches the payment threshold by the end of the month, a 21-day payment processing period begins. After the processing period ends, we'll issue a payment.
For example, say the payment threshold for your account US$100. If your current balance reached $100 during January and you completed the 5 steps above, we would issue a payment at the end of February.
If your current balance hasn’t yet reached the payment threshold, your finalized earnings will roll over to the next month and your balance will accrue until the threshold is met.
Payments are sent within approximately 30 days of the end of the month.

How to Easily Increase Your Google Adsense Revenue (Easy Way)

There are many blogger or website owner only use Google adsense program to earn money. Some times they are banned from Google adsense program because they use many tips and tricks to earn more adsense revenue. Here I share some tips how to easily increase your google adsense revenue.

Tips-1: Before you registration in Google adsence revenue program, you should read the google adsense adsense complete TOS . It will help you to realize the Google adsense revenue program.

Tips-2: Be update!! It is most important to update your website on regular. Google loves fresh and regular contains.
Tips-3: Direct Search Engine traffic is the best way to get traffic. More traffic more click and more money. It is the simple equation. For this you must deliver unique and fresh content.
Tips-4: Add placement is one of the important issue for earning more revenue.Select direct visible area for your add. You can experiment with your add placement for 7 days to know which is the best add placement positions for your website.

Tips-5: SEO for your website is the key rule to increase traffic and more revenue.
I am not adsense boss. You can use those basic tips and tricks to earn more adsense revenue. I hope it helps you.

Making money online

Making money online used to pretty much require you to have your own Web site, products to sell and some marketing savvy. But a new generation of dot-coms have arisen that will pay you for what you know and who you know without you having to be a web designer or a marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the real deal. I did a search on "make money online" and "making money online", and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts, mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, "Is anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?"
So I put together a list of business opportunities with legitimate companies that:

• Pay cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
• Don't require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
• Don't involve any hard-selling
• Aren't just promoting more Internet marketing
• Give a good return on your time investment

In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities. 
Help friends find better jobs.
Sites like ReferEarns, Zyoin, Who Do You Know For Dough?, and WiseStepp connect employers with prospective employees, many of whom are already employed and not actively job-hunting, via networking - the people who know these qualified candidates. Rewards for referring a candidate who gets hired range from $50 on up to several thousand dollars - not chump change. If you know a lot of job-seekers (and who doesn't these days?), this is a great way to break into the recruiting business with no overhead.
Connect suppliers with buyers.
Referral fees are a common practice in business, but they haven't been used much in online networking sites because there was no way to track them. Sites like Salesconx, InnerSell and uRefer now provide that. Vendors set the referral fees they're willing to pay (and for what), and when the transaction happens, you get paid. uRefer also allows merchants to set up referral programs for introductions and meetings, as well as transactions.
Write.
A growing number of sites will pay for your articles or blog posts. Associated Content and Helium will "pay for performance" based on page views for just about anything you want to write about. Articles on specific topics they're looking for can earn direct payments up to about $200. The rates are probably low for established writers, but if you're trying to break into the field and have time on your hands, they're a great way to start. Also, a lot of companies are looking for part-time bloggers. They may pay per post or on a steady contract. Our Weblogs Guide posts blogging jobs weekly in the forum.
Start your own blog.
You don't have to have your own Web site, or install blogging software, or even figure out how to set up the advertising. At Blogger you can set up a blog for free in less than five minutes without knowing a thing about web design, and Blogger even automates setting up Google AdSense so you can make money off your blog by displaying ads and getting paid when people click on the ads. To make even more money from it, set up an affiliate program (see below) for books, music, etc., and insert your affiliate links whenever you refer to those items. You'll have to get a lot of traffic to become a six-figure blogger, but pick an interesting topic, write well, tell all your friends, and you're off to a good start.
Create topical resource hubs.
Are you an expert on a particular niche topic? Can you put together an overview of the topic and assemble some of the best resources on the topic from around the web? Then you can create topical hubs and get paid through sites like Squidoo, HugPages and Google Knol. Payments are based on a combination of ad revenue and affiliate fees. You'll get higher rates doing it on your own, but these sites have a built-in supply of traffic and tools to make content creation easier.
Advertise other people's products.
If you already have a Web site or a blog, look for vendors that offer related but non-competing products and see if they have an affiliate program. Stick to familiar products and brands - they're easier to sell. To promote those products:

• Place simple text or graphical ads in appropriate places on your site
• Include links to purchase products you review or recommend in a blog, discussion forum or mailing list you control
• Create a dedicated sales page or Web site to promote a particular product

They all work - it just depends on how much time you have to spend on it and your level of expertise with Web design and marketing.
Microstock photography.
You don't have to be a professional photographer to sell your photos for money. People are constantly in need of stock photography for websites, presentations, brochures and so on, and are willing to pay for the right image. People generally search for images on stock photography sites by keywords, not by photographer, so you have the same chance as anyone else of having your image picked. Just be careful that you don't have images of trademarked brands, copyrighted art or people's faces that are readily identifiable (unless you have a model release), but just about anything else is fair game, and I promise - you'd be amazed what people need pictures of, so don't make any assumptions. If it's a decent photo, upload it. Some sites to get you started include Fotolia, ShutterStock, Dreamstime and iStockphoto. The great thing about this is that it's truly "set it and forget it".
The above list is by no means comprehensive, but it highlights some of the new and interesting ways to make money online without investing any money, without having a product of your own, and without having expert sales and marketing skills. Most of all, unlike taking surveys or getting paid to read e-mail, the potential return on your time investment is substantial.

Who owns the content you upload online?

The thorny issue of ownership is under the spotlight again, after Instagram announced changes to its terms and conditions

The outrage over Instagram's announcement that it is changing its terms and conditions has turned the spotlight on the relationship between websites and users who upload content, whether it is photos, video, blogs or even games. "It is the thorny problem of user-generated content – what rights users have and what rights the online platform has," says Jaz Purewal, digital media lawyer at Osborne Clarke.

There is no industry standard practice, says Purewal, but sites typically take one of two approaches. "Either they say you get to keep your content, but we get the right to use it in various ways; or they say if you upload it to us we own it, but we give you some rights over how you can still use it. Either approach takes a certain amount of control away from the user – although in return they get their content hosted online."

How will I know my rights?

They will be outlined in the terms and conditions you sign up to when you register with a site and you should be notified of any changes – although often websites do this on-site, rather than by emailing individual users. YouTube's t&cs state that it reserves the right to make changes and advises "therefore you must look at the terms regularly to check for such changes".

Initially, you will have to agree to a site's terms before you can upload content, but if a change is made you may be told that you will have to close your account if you do not agree to it.

No one actually reads the t&cs do they?

A lot of people don't seem to. When Gamestation changed its terms one April Fool's day to tell customers that it was reserving the right to claim their souls, none of the 7,500 people who used the site that day seemed to notice. A survey of UK consumers suggested just 7% read online terms and conditions before they signed up for products and services, and other research has put it even lower.

Purewal says consumers could be forgiven for not trawling through pages and pages of small print: "They are historically designed more for lawyers than consumers, so even if consumers do read them all, they are relatively unlikely to understand what rights they are giving away and what rights they are getting back". However, he says companies are putting more effort into readable t&cs.

So what exactly am I giving away and getting back?

As noted, it varies from site to site, and going through every site is too big a job even for guardian.co.uk/money. However, here are some key lines from the small print on some of the most popular sites – if you are already using them, you are subject to these terms.

YouTube: You retain all of your ownership rights to and videos you upload, but when you use the site you grant a limited licence to YouTube and other users. That licence is a "worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence (with right to sub-licence) to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform that Content in connection with the provision of the Service and otherwise in connection with the provision of the Service and YouTube's business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels".

The licence extends to YouTube's affiliates. When you leave YouTube it retains the right to keep copies of your content on its servers.

Twitter: You retain your rights to any content you post on Twitter, but you grant the website a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence (with the right to sublicense) "to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute" your content. The licence allows Twitter to make content available "to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services".

It adds: "Such additional uses by Twitter, or other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter, may be made with no compensation paid to you with respect to the Content that you submit, post, transmit or otherwise make available".

Facebook: You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. The t&cs also state: "We do not give your content or information to advertisers without your consent."

However, when you use Facebook you give it the right to use information "in connection with the services and features we provide to you and other users like your friends, our partners, the advertisers that purchase ads on the site, and the developers that build the games, applications, and websites you use".

Instagram – The small print is set to change on 16 January 2013. The site has committed to reviewing the new terms which currently say that while you still own your content, you grant Instagram "a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service". The t&cs add: "Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."

Flickr: Flickr is owned by Yahoo! and is covered by the same terms as other Yahoo! services. When you upload a photo you retain ownership, but grant the company a licence to use it.

The small print says: "You grant Yahoo! a world-wide, royalty free and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish such Content on the Services solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting the specific Yahoo! Group to which such Content was submitted, or, in the case of photos or graphics, solely for the purpose for which such photo or graphic was submitted to the Services."

What next?

"Every year now brings examples of sites and online businesses facing difficulties about how to communicate effectively what they want to do with a user's content or data – even if they are very good reasons for making a change to their service," says Purewal. "A combination of listening to consumers, and working to avoid regulation and litigation, should help reduce these issues in the future – but it's still a learning process for everyone".

AMZN - Amazon.com Inc Stock quote - CNNMoney.com

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN). Add to Watch List. Set Alert. Tuesday's Trading Day. 227.15, 0.00 / 0.00%. Data as of Oct 25. Day's Change. Wednesday's ...

money.cnn.com

 

AMZN - Amazon.com Inc Stock quote - CNNMoney.com

Amazon.com, Inc.: NASDAQ:AMZN quotes & news - Google Finance

Get detailed financial information on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) including real-time stock quotes, historical charts & financial news, all for free!

www.google.com

 

Amazon.com, Inc.: NASDAQ:AMZN quotes & news - Google Finance

AMZN: Summary for Amazon.com, Inc.- Yahoo! Finance

View the basic AMZN stock chart on Yahoo! Finance. Change the date range, chart type and compare Amazon.com, Inc. against other companies.

finance.yahoo.com

 

 AMZN: Summary for Amazon.com, Inc.- Yahoo! Finance

 

 

Amazon.com 3Q Profit Plunges 73%, Raises Possibility Of 4Q Loss

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) third-quarter earnings plunged 73% because of its expensive spending program, as the No. 1 Internet retailer by sales said it could report an operating loss in the key fourth quarter.
Shares slid 14%, at $195.50 after hours. The stock hit its highest level ever last week and had since fallen 7.9% through the close.
Amazon, which has been investing aggressively in distribution and digital offerings at the expense of the bottom line in recent quarters, said the fourth quarter's bottom line could range from an operating loss of $200 million to a operating profit of $250 million. The fourth quarter includes the key holiday-shopping season.
The company also projected $16.45 billion and $18.65 billion in revenue in the current quarter. Analysts on average expected $18.15 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
In the latest period, operating expenses jumped 48%, outstripping the pace of revenue growth. The company has posted double-digit percentage increases in expenses for over a year.
Amazon posted a profit of $63 million, or 14 cents a share, from $231 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts predicted 24 cents a share.
Net sales increased 44%, to $10.88 billion. Excluding currency effects, the growth would have been 39%. In July, the company predicted $10.3 billion to $11 billion, largely better than analysts expected at the time.
Gross margin was flat, at 23.5%, but the margins of fulfillment and overhead costs to sales both weakened.
Operating income dropped 71%. In July, Amazon predicted operating income could fall as much as 93%.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; joan.solsman@dowjones.com

Amazon / AMZN Q3 2011 Earnings Posted, Revenue On The Rise, While Profits Go Down

Amazon has revealed its quarterly earnings shortly after the Netflix disaster when more than 800,000 subscribers have fled the streaming service in the past quarter resulting in a 37% drop of the company’s stock. On the other hand, Amazon is doing pretty well and it has remained the most popular online retailer thanks to $10.88 billion net sales which is a 44% increase year-over-year.
This beat the expectations of the analysts, however, it’s not all roses for Amazon as the net income is down by 73% from the last year. The Amazon net income for the third quarter of 2011 stands at $63 million which is a decent sum for a retailer. Although profits aren’t reaching the levels of previous years, except if you’re called Apple or Microsoft, $63 million are a lot of money that most companies in the world would love to have.
The Amazon CEO has confirmed that AMZN Q3 2011 earnings include September 28th when the company has revealed three new Kindles including the Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon’s first tablet is there to redefine the mobile computing business as the company believes that users don’t need highly-spec’d slates hence the Kindle Fire lacks a camera, 3G, or a microphone.
The reason why the Kindle Fire was so well received by the public is due to its price: $199.99. Amazon is looking to redefine the tablet market with great prices and it seems like more than 200,000 people have already pre-ordered the Kindle Fire, although many users were disappointed by the lack of a front-facing camera because they cannot use video chatting.
Amazon also offers Kindle e-book readers which are the indisputable leaders on this market while other companies like Barnes & Noble are lagging behind. The fourth and last quarter of 2011 should be very productive for Amazon, analysts say. The launch of both the Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch should attract a lot of interest from consumers who will rush on Amazon’s webpage to secure a tablet or a new eReader.
It’s too early to speak about the AMZN fourth quarter, however, many analysts like to speculate in order to see how the company’s stock will evolve. For the moment Amazon is one the few which can rest assured as the stock has increased by more than 30% since the beginning of the year.
You can pre-order an Amazon Kindle Fire using the link here. I remind you that the Kindle Fire release date is November 15th, though it’s possible that some users might get it earlier. The Kindle Touch can be pre-ordered at this link.

Why Netflix Plunge Is a Problem for Amazon (AMZN)

Investors may be souring on glamour stocks in general, writes Jack Hough.

In early September this column argued that Netflix (NFLX) stock, which had gotten one-quarter cheaper since summer, was no bargain (see "Is Netflix Cheap Enough" ). It was $218 then. It's $80 or so now.

When glamour stocks begin losing fans, things can turn ugly -- and fast.
That raises the pressure on Amazon.com (AMZN), which reports third-quarter results Tuesday after the market close. Before its tumble, Netflix at 46 times earnings was three times as expensive as the average U.S. stock. Amazon sells for 121 times earnings.
Netflix tumbled on some operational missteps that led to a sudden drop in subscribers and forecasts for financial losses in coming quarters. For Amazon, meanwhile, expansion remains breathless. Wall Street expects it to report 43% sales growth from a year ago. (It might even have lured some of those departing Netflix customers to its own video rental service.)
Investors will also learn about pre-orders for the Kindle Fire, Amazon's touch-screen tablet computer, which sells for 60% less than Apple's (AAPL) cheapest iPad. Some analyst forecast that Amazon has received a million orders for the device.
The key risk facing Amazon, however, is that investors will become less enamored with growth stocks in general. That could lead them to nitpick results, question valuations and swiftly punish any perceived shortfall. If Apple can lose 5% of its stock market value in a day after reporting 54% earnings growth but missing analyst forecasts for the first time in 30 quarters, as it did last week, then no growth company is safe from scrutiny. And Apple wasn't particularly expensive.
Glamour stocks have been due for a correction. As I noted in September, the valuation gap between the U.S. stock market's cheapest slice and its most expensive slice has rarely been wider. (See "Decoding the Stock Market's Mixed Signals") That has historically been a good time to buy cheap shares, according to research by Brandes Investment Partners, a San Diego money manager. And it has been a poor time to favor expensive shares.

Only one of 34 analysts who cover Amazon stock recommends investors sell it. But the company isn't flawless. Its earnings are declining on infrastructure investments, and its generous shipping terms and other promotions have left margins thin. Dan Geiman of McAdams Wright Ragen, an investment bank, reckons Amazon turned just a penny and a half of each sales dollar into operating profits in its third quarter, down from three and a half cents a year earlier.
That suggests Amazon is only one-third as profitable as Wal-Mart (WMT). It also leaves little room for something to go wrong. For example, state and local governments are desperate for revenue at the moment. Internet sales must seem a tempting source. In some markets, Amazon is able to charge lower taxes than local merchants because of its lack of a physical presence. If that advantage is reduced by tax law changes, Amazon's sales could slip.
Amazon isn't the only stock that's looks worrisomely expensive, of course. Salesforce.com (CRM), which sells online customer contact software for companies, fetches 100 times earnings. It's expected to increase sales by 35% this year and 25% next year, but there are two problems. First, Google (GOOG) is growing about as fast, and it's one-sixth as expensive. Second, software giant Oracle (ORCL) has been snapping up companies that specialize in online customer contact software, suggesting it's going to take on Salesforce.com directly. Salesforce.com reports results in mid-November.
Amazon and Salesforce.com have defied skeptics for years and could exceed expectations in coming quarters. But if investors are turning less keen on the priciest segment of the stock market, valuations for these stocks could nonetheless contract. That makes now a good time to take profits.