How I Build My Affiliate Websites
April 7, 2008
Here is a brief synopsis of what I do to make money online through affiliate marketing. Remember, I don’t get involved with PPC advertising…for two main reasons. The first is that I know how cut-throat the competition is, and the second is that I believe you can successfully make money on the internet without risking much upfront. That being said, my SEO techniques do take time to reap rewards and most people don’t have the patience to see them through.
I usually start a new project by identifying an offer or product that catches my eye. This could be because I know it is selling well or simply because I am intrigued by what the publisher is offering. I follow this up with research on how many websites/affiliates are promoting it and using the Google keyword tool to get an idea of how popular a niche is in terms of search volume.
Once I feel confident that there is adequate demand for the offer I build a quick website with either XSitePro or Wordpress. Almost all of my sites follow the same format. I use the home page to briefly discuss the problem that people searching for my keywords typically have, and I conclude by highlighting the affiliate product that provides a solution. Sometimes I “review” three or four similar offers and other times I just provide one solution. Either way, I get paid when they click on the affiliate link and purchase what I recommend. Pretty simple stuff.
Since I rely almost exclusively on search engine traffic, it is important that I provide enough unique content to capture adequate traffic. I usually start by including five articles of about five hundred words each. This seems to be enough to get about forty visitors a day, which provides some insight into whether or not the project is worth my time. I also add a stock photo to each article and name it with the keyword phrase that the content focuses on. This helps to provide some traffic from image searches on the topic.
After the website is built I submit five unique articles to ezinearticles.com and isnare.com. I target each one towards a different angle or keyphrase that potential customers might search for. I also bookmark each one of my website articles on social bookmarking sites. Generally I submit each one to fifty sites at a rate of one article per week. By the end of this cycle the site has been live for about two months.
Ideally, I will have generated enough sales to start investing more time and money into the project. If sales have been slow (or in rare cases non-existent) then I let the site “simmer” for a few months. I’ll make some final tweaks to the sales page and wait and see if a miracle happens. Every once in a while a project will seem like a bust but then all of sudden the Google-effect takes over and it begins to capture steady traffic and sales. This is when I reinvest my efforts and try to take it to the next level.
In my next post I will write about the things I do with the profitable projects…
