Were you aware that millions of people today work from home for an employer rather than commuting to work. One of our next door neighbours work from home as a computer techie and loves the freedom it gives him.
The thing is you don’t need to have an employer to work at home and make money, you just need a computer and a willingness to learn the affiliate marketing ropes. Like I’ve been doing here in Moncton, New Brunswick for the past decade.
First, What is Affiliate Marketing
My definition of Affiliate Marketing is pretty simply. For me it’s about selling other people’s products or services for profit. I can’t put it much simpler than that. However you may want to read a more detailed example at Wikipedia. What is Affiliate Marketing?
Right up front you need to know that there is millions being made in affiliate marketing but it doesn’t mean that it’s easy to make money with affiliate marketing. Today you will find a lot of competition in just about any niche or market you take on.
The key to success in affiliate marketing is learning how to make money in affiliate marketing before you start. You need to know and understand your niche or you’re just wasting your time.
For me personally I have found my niche in fishing, gardening, playing guitar, puppy training as well as a few others, even a money making blog or two.
Fishing Fanatics Like Myself Spend on Fishing
I know a lot of people that love to fish and these guys spend money, a whole lot more money than I do, on their fishing hobby.
So just how do I make money with a fishing blogs? Simple I have great days on the water doing what I love and I share it through my fishing blogs.
I write about kicking my fishing buddies behinds with my inexpensive fishing gear and baits. But I also share how I do it and that’s where I make money.
Example: I was out fishing chain pickerel here in New Brunswick with two of my fishing buddies. They were using one lure after another while I was using just one Red Devil. At the end of the day my arms were worn out from catching fish all day, my buddies didn’t get much exercise.
Just a little post like that has made me money because I link to the bait I was using with an affiliate link. The affiliate link would take them to the Red Devil page on an affiliate network but that doesn’t mean my visitor is limited to buying only that one item.
Actually anything they buy earns me commission but not just for today. A cookie is tracking code that tells that affiliate program I sent that customer but not just for one day, more are for the next 60 or 90 days.
So as time moves on and I continue to write fishing related experiences along with my affiliate links for fishing rods, reels and tackle. The number of readers continues to increase over time as does the sales.
Basically I share stories which include products I use and I make money.
Now I don’t just do one kind of fishing. I do regular spinner fishing but also fly fishing and I tie my own fishing flies so I have two other fishing related sites. One for fly fishing and the other about fly tying.
To make it even better I localize most of my blog posts to reflect where I live and fish. This way I get a lot more local traffic which tends to convert a lot better for me.
Next I Started A Gardening Blog
My first gardening tips blog had it’s start as an online marketing blog that didn’t do as I had expected so I took it down and started my first garden related website. In the first year I started to make money with text ad links so I decided to start a second gardening blog but this time I purchased a keyworded domain.
The first garden blog had full year of content before I even bought the second domain so you’d think today a few years later that first site would still be ahead of the second but that’s not the case. The results changed how I focus on my business today.
Today I Only Buy Keyworded Domains
The thing is I have treated both blogs the same and even use the same content and keywords but as you’ll see the newer, keyworded domain has blown the first site clear out of the water for most keyword phrases I use.
Here are a few of the stats for both sites so you can see for yourself that a keyworded domain name can really make a difference.
- For October 2011 my keyworded domain received 32,923 visitors, 12,581 were unique visitors giving an average of 1062 visitors per day. The non keyworded domain received 10,030 visitors, 3,180 were unique visitors which gives an average of 323 visitors per day.
- Both sites have paid link ads as well as sponsored ads. The keyworded blog makes more than 3 times as much per ad and has almost 3 times as many paid ads.
- My keyworded gardening domain has a PR4 while the non keyworded one has a PR2, as of two days ago when the latest page rank update happened.
- Phrases searched in Oct. for my keyworded domain is 2818 phrases while the other had only 317 phrases.
- My keyworded domain gets a whole lot more clicks and conversions, the other doesn’t.
I could keep going but I am sure you can see that a keyworded domain has more potential than a non keyworded domain.
Next, give your site an advantage by localizing your content for even more target traffic.
Localize Your Content For More Traffic
I have learned I can really increase my site traffic by including towns and cities near me as well as our province name. The combination of both keywords and locations can make a huge difference in your traffic as well as your conversion rates.
Heck by localizing my content I have even made new friends to go fishing with. That’s how well localizing your content can work.
For example I will write sentences like the following: Living in my city or province, gives me access to some of the best Atlantic salmon fishing in the world. We even have salmon flies known around the world they work so well.
Of course I also include links to products I use. When a reader likes it they click it, hopefully buy it, and I make money and possibly a new friend or return visitor.
Bottom line is a keyworded domain like those I purchase at GoDaddy.com can make a huge difference to your Bottom Line.
IMPORTANT: Keyword Research Comes First
The fact that a keyworded domain name can be so beneficial it’s important to do your keyword research before all else and especially before you start a site without it being keyworded.
Although very time consuming your research can be done manually and is how I did things for the first couple of years.
Part of what I would do, once I knew the niche I wanted was to use the free Google Keyword Tool to find plenty of keywords. I would check each keyword I was interested in Google to see how many PPC ads appeared on the search results page so I would know there was money being made with that phrase.
Today I streamline my online business so I can have more domains and make more income. To make the research much faster and more efficient I purchased a copy of Keyword Elite 2. What used to take hours and hours can now be done in a fraction of that time.
Finding Niche Related Affiliate Networks
Once I have my keywords the next step, again before I get a keyworded domain name, is to find products my readers would want. If I can’t find good affiliate network or affiliate program to help me earn income I don’t bother with that niche.
Now some niches I work I am actually in the process of writing my own tips related ebooks. Once I am complete I will either sell them from my site or offer them free to more subscribers to grow my list and make more income.
The thing about using other people’s products aka affiliate products is that I have more time to work on more traffic getting methods.
Rather just joining networks in the hopes you will find a great product to promote I suggest you use Google to find appropriate affiliate networks and programs.
I have joined a number of difference affiliate networks as they don’t all carry what I need for all my blogs. This could be a little confusing but let’s make it simple to find the right affiliate network for my niche or niches.
I find the right affiliate programs with a simple Google search that looks like the following:
“home gardening” +”affiliate program”
I put quotes around my keyword phrases to get exact matches then I add the phrase ‘affiliate program’. It’s just that simple. Next I join the affiliate programs that appeal to me and wait for acceptance into their program.
Back To Getting A Keyworded Domain Name
Now a days when I go to GoDaddy.com to purchase a domain I always have a keyword or two in mind I will use in the domain name. It can make that much of a difference in my books.
So with the right niche, your best keywords, a keyworded domain name you have what it takes to find a great affiliate program and start making money. Now not everyone gets accepted into affiliate networks so be prepared before you apply.
Getting Accepted Into An Affiliate Program
My advice to new marketers, when applying for affiliate programs, is to make sure you have a good site setup, with quality and focused content, based on your keywords.
If you still find you get rejected just contact the affiliate manager and ask what you need to do to get accepted. It may be something simple so be sure to ask.
In conclusion, affiliate marketing has the potential to make you money but the key is to learn all about your niche and keywords before writing a single word or buying a domain to get started on.
Not every one has a product to sell online. I am one of those work from home online marketers who has no products of their own but I don’t mind at all because it doesn’t mean I don’t have products to promote and sell.
I really doesn’t matter what you niche is there will be an affiliate program you could make money with, unless you pick a niche that is so out there that there is little to choose from but for the normal things there are often multiple programs to choose from.
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