Archive for Affiliate Marketing
Using Other People’s Content for Revenue – Ethically!!
Posted by: | CommentsPart of what my company does as an automotive seo firm is help dealers drive traffic to their offers. Because dealers can post inventory to a multitude of locations we have found ways to take non unique automotive content, make it unique to drive traffic back to their offers. We do this in a variety of very different ways.
One of the the ways we do this is to pull listings for dealers that use our craigslist posting service to create dealer microsite listings of individual inventory items you can see an example of these listings on this microsite for a Cincinnati Ford dealer. This brings in an incredible amount of long tail traffic and pushes traffic back directly to the dealers telephone and primary marketing site.
Another thing that we are working on is using the ebay api to generate listing sites promoting clients and non clients inventory in the search engines. An example of what we have done for a client is this site which targets Greenville Chevy shoppers it has no other ads other than the dealers ebay inventory while another example is a site we created targeting traffic looking for Texas Direct Auto auctions it has external third party advertising which helps pay for it’s cost and upkeep.
These sites once they are properly indexed will also provide traffic back to external client properties, which will drive traffic and search relevance. It is a win win for all. The nice thing abut the ebay model sites is that they provide some income whether for a client or just to have additional external properties from ebay commissions. Even for the clients who we help market their inventory using this model they see a serious increase in ebay traffic.
Automotive Affiliate Sites – Let the Fun Begin
Posted by: | CommentsI do automotive seo for a few select dealers direct and as a service provider for a couple of other firms I still enjoy affiliate marketing. I have already produced a few very profitable affiliate landing pages using squidoo but now I wish to step it up a notch.
Right now I am working on implementing a huge blog network and have hired content writers to help manage it. The network in of itself will be used as assets to help seo client’s websites but they will also pay their on weight as well. What this means is the content cost, hosting and domain cost will be covered by the onsite advertising and CPA offers.
The primary mechanisms for the income will be affiliate networks and adsense. Not a real novel idea but that is how it is done.
The network will cover 50 blogs to start with all pushing links to clients sites and affiliate landing pages for localized traffic in select markets and national traffic. The network in of itself can actually make zero dollars and I will be happy as long as the affiliate properties cover the weight.
One of the landing pages that was just created is actually quite ugly but the goal is for a high bounce rate with conversion on the ads or cpa offers. You can see the one I created targeting New Jersey G37 Infiniti. Eventually this site will rank really well for all models of Infiniti cars targeting used car traffic and local Infiniti dealer terms in select markets. This is just one example of 200 of these type properties in the works.
The roll out will be slow because the network needs to be in place first to help support this many properties where as the small network I have now really is used specifically for clients. An example of these network sites will be like Domestic Auto Report.
Fresh Site in the Sandbox
Posted by: | CommentsFor the first time ever I think I have a fresh wordpress blog in the proverbial sandbox. The content is unique and has numberous post in place and it updates daily. I have a couple theory as to why it has not indexed yet.
- The Theme – While the theme came from a very well respected designer and I have used some of his other themes this one may not play well in the search engines. I have changed that out now.
- To Many Monetization Points – It is heavily weighted with affiliate offers, but that is the purpose of the site to capture bad credit car loan traffic and make money from it.
- My server is getting weighted – I have many sites are on the same DNS and IP address to try to max out a dedicated box. I have another Hosting Account I could move it to but probably will not.
- Karma – My plans are to build localized traffic and page rank then redirect the traffic later to people wanting traffic for the terms it ranks for. It is easily done and right now it is targeting specific local markets but will scale once nationwide once the traffic builds. The site is soley for the purpose of redirecting traffic to affiliate offers and making money with it later once it owns tons of search terms.
- Not many link and offsite optimization – This I hope is the biggest factor. It has not been submitted to any directories nor have I done a lot of the optimization techniques I use to build links.
- A shady domain name – www.anycreditcarloans.com enough said..
I will give it a few more days before directory submissions and a link building campaign. I really have enough other projects on my plate to really spend much time on this and this is really a low value experiment that I hoped would pay it’s own rent.
Now that I have just broken the cardinal rule of affiliate marketing and exposed a niche I am attacking via SEO I guess my regular readers will try to go after it as well. The good thing is I have other properties in the Automotive Finance Niche that are producing nice incomes and I have not thrown any or that link weight to this property yet. I do believe I could shut out anyone trying to attack my niches if I put my mind to it. Just ask Jacksonville Buy Here Pay Here Dealers of those that specialize in Tulsa Special Financing.
The real value of the longtail in Automotive Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I originally started this blog my intention was to use it to help others that were getting started with affiliate marketing stop from making mistakes. While my current endevors have made affiliate marketing more of an after thought than a primary income source for me. I still make some decent cash from properties I own but the income is in the range of my husehold expenses with not much left over.
That has not stopped me from maintaining some relationships with people who I have helped over the last couple of years and more importantly one individual who is doing some work for me. Her and I spoke on the phone today because she was thoroughly excited about some of the income levels she is obtaining using some bum marketing techniques.
I put her on a very soft geographic automotive niche to target mostly for terms like bad credit car dealers and now she is getting national traffic on these terms from natural search. Most all of it from long tail terms. Not he sharp pointed long tails that dealership sites are optimized for.
Seeing the traffic stats from her efforts just goes to show that dealers need to concentrate on having multiple marketing properties to drive traffic to their offers and to build their story. Unfortunately with the economic turmoil the industry is in now dealer are not being very proactive in their marketing efforts.
This gives salespeople and ISM’s the opportunity to build their own portfolio of properties that are completely transportable. I am witnessing this phenomenon in some of the most competitive markets now. A real good example is a blog that I saw that focuses on New Jersey used car loans.
Using some basic techniques to get infront of car shoppers is easy and until you build these properties it will be impossible to find the converting keywords that bring buyers through the door.
How to have some fun and make some spending money
Posted by: | CommentsI love to participate in social networks and have met many of my close friends by participating in them. One of my better friends just created a Green Blog. I really do not know how is going to monetize it but more power to him. I just don’t see people who are interested in “green” content buying much online unless they are trying to open a business using green operations.
On another note in a recent pugilistic back an forth about dealer micro sites at a social network I belong to there was banter about why I made a squidoo page about Tulsa Special Auto Finance. It was more to prove a point on how easy it is to rank for non competitive search terms. There is not much value in it other than the few affiliate commissions it will generate.
Oh well the net is a fun place to work and live. Maybe some day in the very near future auto dealers will learn about social engagement.
How much content is enough?
Posted by: | CommentsI love to write content and lately I have not been adding much to this site and must apologize to my readers. This site is not a primary money maker but more of a networking tool and really I do not have much desire to get deeply involved with the “Make Money Niche” I just share things that I do and keep people updated on some things that are coming down the pipe.
One thing that has happened is that I have a tremendous amount of content on the web. Most of it highly niche targeted and the rewards are awesome. Sometimes though I just do not have the energy to keep delivering new pieces of content on a daily basis and it carries over for weeks and month on end!!
One thing that happens though when you get to the level of traffic I am getting in my “niches” is the income still comes in regularly like clock work so the need to provide more content becomes secondary to other activities online, like networking.
Both activities provide for an opportunities to generate income and to expand your portfolio. However it is the content that has been published that opens up these networking opportunities or even shuts doors at times.
So if you ever feel like giving up remember this. Provide value added content on a regular basis without the money being the primary objective and it will flow. Just be open to networking opportunities and become a giver too!!
Hot Products In Affiliate Marketing and Christmas Time Affiliate Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsEvery year at Christmas we see a product selling for a premium on sites like Ebay.com. If I recall correctly the first time we saw this phenomenon was with the Tickle Me Elmo doll and every year since there has been similar fad style product. This year had many different one but one of the ones I say selling at the highest premium was the new Amazon Kindle with bids at Ebay.Com topping $1500 and Buy it Now Quotes still over $1000 on Christmas Day.
The Kindle or products of its nature will eventually replace printed Media a we know it. It looks to be an interesting product. But with anything I do not follow the crowd. I more of the bread and butter market. The type of buyer that waits for things to be established before buying it. I guess I am that way because I bought a Digital Audio Tape device that was introduced about the same times CD’s were. It never gained any traction. Since then I have always waited for products to become established before buying them. Just like the old Beta Max buyers are now.
Next Holiday Season I will have the site infrastructure in place to take advantage of the Christmas Feeding Frenzy on that next hot gotta have it product. Which leads me to Affiliate Programs.
One of the new hot you better get in now affiliate programs appears to be Pay Per Play. Basd on the past that Voice2Page has had in running an affiliate program this one is a big pass in my book. I have been fairly outspoken about this one and have had people resort to all kinds of techniques to try to silence or discredit proven claims. It is laughable but this one will go down in the books like AGLOCO, a program that may never pay off. Many already know that Voice2Page never paid their affiliates in their original program.
The sad thing is they are claiming that this is an Adsense replacement and having people buy into this. The real problem is this type of advertising platform has already been tried and failed and NetAudioAds seems to think they can make it viable. Being a natural skeptic and very analytical, I have asked for documentation of their claims and met with strong resistance. That alone should make it a pass for anyone doing due diligence. Ask them to document their claims and do not settle for smoke and mirror answers of Non Disclosure Agreements.
Ok enough ranting for now. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is looking forwards to a prosperous New Year.
Due Diligence in Affiliate Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsPerforming due diligence should be the first thing that you do before joining and affiliate program, especially membership styles, before investing time or money. Let’s face it time is money and even a free program can rob you of your irreclaimable time and effort that could be better devoted to other areas.
I have personally lost thousands in the autosurf debacle because I just followed the heard like a sheeple. Now with the new launch of the Pay Per Play affiliate program it reinforces the fact that people need to perform due diligence. There are almost two hundred people who have lost money and time with voice2page in their prior affiliate debacle and it looks like the companies intention is to continue to deceive people by trying to finally launch NetAudioAds.
Through the process of the last few days watching all of the activity with this new launch and due to the fact that I have lost money with voice2page and am owed substantial commissions from them I have decided to start a new site to help others in their due diligence in all areas of Internet Marketing.
The new site is Internet Marketing Scam Alert and I will be featuring new products and affiliate programs that hit the IM world as they become available. I will also seek out other to help with this undertaking. If you wish to contribute to the project please contact me by leaving a comment here or through www.imscamalert.com
What can Blogging Do for You?
Posted by: | CommentsBlogging has so many different purposes. Although they were originally designed to be a web diary they have now taken over a much broader use. Sure it is fun to blog about things that interest you and getting the word out on subjects that you have a passion for. Making money from them is even funner!!
One of the best examples I have seen of someone using blogs in the Make Money Niche is Mike Paetzold he has used blogs in the niche very successfully and has given some valuable tips on dealing with the glut of offers you are liable to see here at the end of the year and also has made some good recommendations. Visit his blog to see Mike’s Recommendations.
While I have recently been spending a lot of time on the Downline Integrity Brigade issue that has taken away from the message that this blog was designed to deliver. While I believe that building downlines in advertising sources such as traffic exchanges is probably not the best use of ones time in the Internet Marketing arena there are many that do. That is a debate that there is no winner in as it polarizes people and places them on the defense or offense.
My niche is creating content, SEO and providing services to help others with their Internet marketing. While SEO and Content provide a great income stream for my family through various affiliate networks it would not be possible without using blog platforms, social bookmarking and social media. These outlets are ignored for the most part by the readers here as their efforts are usually in list building and the Make Money Niche. All of my profitable properties are outside of that Niche. This site does generate some revenue but it pales in comparison to some of my other blogs.
If you are wanting to learn to use blogs to get the word out about a subject you are passionate about or to make money I encourage you to visit www.AnyoneCanBlog.com as an Internet Marketing friendly platform is soon to launch that will put users in control of their property. The best part is that it will be FREE. Which is a price that everyone likes in the Make Money Niche.
Blogging is a powerful too if used properly combined with other resources. It can allow you to dominate the SERPs for your chosen topic or set of keywords which has been proven to a great extent recently and even had others cry foul. Oh well life is life lead with your chin you are likely to get hit in the kisser.
Downline Integrity is a Waste of Time for the New Internet Marketer
Posted by: | Comments
Because the Forum at GJW is Moderated and I am not sure that my post will be approved I have copied it verbatim minus a quote where Rob Gerhing was asking others to post.
I have fallen squarely in the middle of it. I have stepped on toes on both side of the argument. It is purely comedic at this point knowing what I do.
And You are right Rob. You want to take the SERPS back for the search term Downline Integrity it would be easy to do. Really though it does not matter unless your message is clear when the surfer finds you. But the only searchers looking for that term are a part of the argument. You better have your selling shoes on. The only Google searches are from people admiring their handy work and those on the defense. The only thing it does it allow those on opposite side of the fence to try to persuade others to switch sides
I am fortunate. I have people yelling at me from both directions and really don’t care. As witnessed by the comments on my blog. But hey that is a fun blog anyway that only brings in a few hundred per month. So it does not get the love it deserves.
I did not truly start making the money indicative of the input of my time until I stopped worrying about downlines, traffic exchanges and member programs. People need to realize that if they are expecting others to make them successful online marketers they are in for a huge letdown and no amount of downline integrity is going to make them successful. What is going to make them successful is finding their niche and the best way to market it. Then find another niche and market it. Rinse wash repeat.
If people do not have an aptitude of some sort of business as a whole and are bombarded continuously with hype and argument chances are they would enjoy other activities online more and realize a profit a lot sooner just by authoring a simple blog that they are in control of and stay away from the make money niche all together. Let’s face it why would anyone new or experienced in online marketing want to follow a newbie around. That is why they see limited results and only have principles to defend versus getting outside of the box and making some cash.
If you just want to socialize and make friends there are less confrontational avenues to do it and they do not cost any money.
I author several blogs and only have one that relates to online marketing. One thing I do know is that I have several list over 10,000 subscribers not in the make money niche and I don’t have to beg via IM to receive commissions from Google, CJ, Azoogle, Neverblueads and other affiliate networks. They just wire the money to my bank account(s) on time every time.
Content is King and Traffic is Supreme I can manipulate them both!!
Paul Rushing
(link back to here)
Another thing that I found Humerous over at Mr Gerhing’s Forum is:
Oh, and Ms. Norwood is #6 in Yahoo with her 11/28 post. Great fix Gary………works fast! Now, can we please just shut me up and dominate all 10 Positions and beyond. If I have to see Mr. Rushings propellor of lies one more time I’m going to be sick.
Rob
P.S. Take a hard look at this issue by Googleing, Yahooing, or MSNing (Search Engine) the keywords downline integrity. Yeah, see, I knew you’d me mad. So, take those keywords back team!
Rob
Now I have just decided not only is it time to own the top entries for the search terms he is whining about but also his program names. Even though there really is no money in it it will be fun to watch him wiggle!!