Affiliate Marketing and the Landing Page

What is a landing page and why would an affiliate marketer need one? 

 

A landing page is simply a web page where visitors are directed to whenever they click a result in a web search or whenever they click a web ad.  This can have a huge impact on the results of your advertising campaign.  Do you send them to your home page?  How about a special-offer page? 

 

Things to consider on your landing page:

 

• Links:  How many are there on the landing page and where do they lead?  A visitor may choose to leave your site and someone else will make the ultimate sale.

 

• Product:  Do you want to offer a specific product, or just get visitors in the door?  The shotgun analogy from above covers this – if you have a lot of appealing products, this may work for you, but too many choices can be less effective than one really good offer.

 

• Lead Capture:  As a merchant or an marketer the need to capture leads is an important part of doing business on the Internet today.  Is capturing the visitor’s contact part of your marketing strategy?

 

• Action:  Knowing what action you want your visitor to take can have a huge effect on the design of your landing page.  Have you provided enough information to persuade the visitor to take action?

 

 

Whether you are the affiliate merchant or marketer, the answer to these questions will result in different answers.  As a merchant, you want every visitor to make a sale of your product, but the on-line marketer may be satisfied if the visitor purchases any of the items that they are promoting.  Some programs only pay if the visitor clicks on a specific link, which adds to the dilemma.

 

A merchant can have the same mentality as the marketer, bring the visitor to the homepage and hope that one of their products will appeal to them.  This strategy can work, rather like a shotgun, offering an array of opportunities for the visitor.  Sometimes, though, this can work against you, giving too many options, and allowing the potential customer to slip away to another website. 

 

As a businessperson, you have to know what your ultimate goal is.  Do you want a click?  Do you want a purchase?  What is the goal of your advertising?  Once you understand what it is that you want the visitor to do, you can select a landing page, or create one, tailored to achieve the desired result.  Remember, a good landing page can boost your affiliate profits! 

 

Want to learn more about Web Design? Click here!

Do You want to learn how to become a Super Affiliate? Check out Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook here!

 

3 Simple SEO Tips for Affiliate Marketers

One of the most important things an affiliate marketer needs to concentrate on is getting traffic to the partner website. Most experts will tell you that it is a numbers game and to an extent they are right. The more people who see the site the more likely you are to see a profit.

One of the hardest forms of traffic for a new affiliate to get is search engine traffic. Page ranking is a system where search engines determine where in the index a particular web page will be displayed. Things like keywords, link popularity and content have a lot to do with how well your site will rank.

Tip #1: Make sure that your web page title has your keyword in it. The title is displayed in the colored bar at the top of the browser window and should describe what the viewer is seeing. Generic titles such as “Homepage” or “index” can lower the standing of a site. Instead of “ABC Company” alone, add the primary keyword that you want to associate with, such as “widget”. “ABC Company – We sell Widgets”, tells your audience and the search engines what your page is about at a glance.

Tip #2: Ensure that images have an ALT-tag. Not everyone views the Internet the same way, and search engines are no exception. If you have a picture on the page, ensure that in the HTML there is a description for it.

Example: You have a picture of your product to get your viewer’s attention. For anyone not viewing the page graphically, all they know is that there is an image present, not what it is. ALT= “Widget in 1” scale” describes the image.

Tip #3: Make sure that your content is in text format rather than added to your page as a graphic image. Search engines cannot read the text in a graphic. Each page should have around 250 words of text and the primary keyword or phrase should be repeated for density, especially if you have an Adsense link. Don’t go overboard, however, most search engines prefer a keyword density of 8% approx.

To check if your site’s content is in text format, open the page and try to highlight the words by left-clicking your mouse and dragging it over them. If it highlights then it is properly formatted. If not, either you or your website manager, may want to correct this.

These three simple tips for your affiliate site that can boost your search engine page rank. That means free, targeted traffic for your web site. There is no better traffic than a visitor that is actively searching for your particular keyword.

Take the time to make sure that what you are putting on the Internet is getting the attention that it deserves and watch your Affiliate Marketing Business boom.

Want to learn more about Web Design? Click here!

Do You want to learn how to become a Super Affiliate? Check out Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook here!

Understanding the Different Affiliate Marketing Programs

Affiliate Marketing programs have never been as popular as they are today. You can make additional income by partnering with merchants to promote one product or another. The seller get the advantage of lower advertising costs and you earn based on your efforts.

There are several different types of Affiliate Marketing Programs out there and before you begin, you need to know which one will net you the best profits. The following are examples of the different types of plans and descriptions of the benefits each offers.

• Pay per Click (PPC) – This is the most popular plan for owners of a small website, and one of the easiest ways to generate income. By placing a banner or text ad links onto the website, the associate is paid each time someone clicks on the link to go to the partner site regardless if the person following the link actually makes a purchase or not. Usually this type of arrangement returns only a small cash amount, usually under a dollar per click.

• Pay per Lead (PPL) – This method is usually used by insurance companies or financial companies and rewards the website owner when a visitor that they refer completes an application or other form. Compensation is generally a fixed amount upon submission f the required form.

• Pay per Performance (PPP) – Merchants prefer this arrangement as there is no remuneration, regardless of how many visitors are referred unless there is an actual sale. This arrangement usually grants a small percentage of the sale price.

• Pay per Play (PPP) – One of the newest forms of advertising, an audio message is added to the partner website and the associate is compensated each time the message is played, regardless if the visitor follows the link or not.
  

• Pay per Sale (PPS) – Website owners advertise a product for a partner merchant in exchange for a percentage of the item cost, usually 50%-75%, making this one of the most popular methods in use today.

Beyond the individual types of basic programs, there are classifications that determine additional compensation to the site owner.

• Single Tier – PPS, PPC & PPL plans fall under the single tier-program, as the affiliate is only paid on direct sales or traffic referred to the merchant site.

• 2-Tier – In two-tier programs, the affiliate is not only paid for the direct traffic or sales that he refers to the merchant’s site, but also on every traffic or sales referred by various other associates who joined the plan through his recommendation.

• Multi-Tier – Multi-tier programs work the same way, although the associate gets additional commission for a wider number of associates in different tiers in the affiliate network.

• Residual Income – Pays not only once for every customer that has been referred to the merchant’s site, rather, continues to profit the associate whenever the customer referred returns to the site and purchase another product. Compensation for this arrangement is based on either sales percentage commission or a fixed fee basis.

There are so many different types of programs out there that it behooves you to take some time to determine which one fits your business needs. Do you just want to put up a link on your page and wait for the money or are you planning to actively advertise a product in return for a portion of the sale price? By understanding what types of affiliate plans there are, you can make an informed decision.

Do You want to learn how to become a Super Affiliate? Check out Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook here!

An Affiliate Marketing Business Model

A business model is a broad term representing various aspects of a business including its purpose, offerings and strategies.

What is the Affiliate Marketing Business Model? It is simply a plan of action that successful affiliate marketers have worked out to help them get the highest return on their investments of time, man-hours and effort expended. The term gained popularity after 1990, (although it came into use around 1950), and most business models can be broken down into 4 areas.

• Infrastructure: This defines the skills needed to execute the model successfully, the alliances and partnerships that complement it and the value configuration that makes the proposition mutually beneficial to the customer and the parties involved. This would define the level of computer proficiency needed, the partnerships or joint venture partners that will be utilized, and a definition of how much can be made with each campaign.

• Offering: This area defines the products and services that you are offering. The product belongs to the partner, but in return for promoting the product, the affiliate marketer will receive a percentage of the sales made through his/her efforts.

• Customer: This part of the model defines the customer that the product is targeted towards, the distribution channel, and customer relations. A targeted customer should be defined or you risk diluting your efforts. The distribution channel is how the customer will receive their product and customer relations that deal with guarantees and support services that will be provided by the partner who’s product is being promoted.

• Finances: Everything concerning money is covered in this area, the amount expended on promotion as well as the revenue received. The amount spent on promotion should never exceed the amount of revenue or it becomes a losing proposition.

An affiliate marketer essentially drives traffic to their partner web site in exchange for a percentage of the profits. As a business model, this would make the purpose to refer visitors to the partner site, the offerings to be the partner goods and the strategies used to achieve this goal, S.E.O. optimization, pay-per click and traffic exchanges, among others. The customer, by being defined, allows you to target your audience and get the most return from your promotional efforts. Finances are the lifeblood of every commercial proposition, with profit being the ultimate goal. The business model is a plan of action to be executed to achieve that goal and allows you to follow the necessary steps to succeed. By taking the time to work out a plan of action in advance you can determine how much effort will need to be expended and what steps will need to be completed to make a profitable venture, saving time and effort in the long run.

 

Want more information on becoming a Super Affiliate?  You can Check out Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook here!

 

What is Affiliate Marketing, Anyway?

af·fil·i·ate [v. uh-fil-ee-eyt; n. uh-fil-ee-it, -eyt]: a person who is affiliated; associate; auxiliary.

mar·ket·ing [mahr-ki-ting] the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer.

One of the easiest ways to make money on the Internet or off-line, has to be Affiliate Marketing. It is the perfect place to start for beginners who are eager to see some – any profit, as most programs make monthly or bi-monthly payouts. You don’t have to have a product of your own, just promote your partner’s item, whether it is an e-book, a membership site, or a physical item.

We’ve all seen the Avon Lady, leaving the current campaign booklet on doors throughout our neighborhoods. This is a perfect example of off-line affiliate marketing. By getting the books out and taking orders, she earns a percentage of all sales made. Having been an Avon lady, I can tell you that with some effort, this can be a lucrative second income.

On-line, there are literally thousands of companies that are looking for people to promote their products. From big names like Sony, Dell and Amazon to smaller companies who sell e-books and memberships, they all share the need to get the consumer to what they are selling and will pay those who help them in this endeavor.

Becoming an Affiliate Marketer is as simple as signing up on-line in many cases, though some companies do require actual forms to be completed. There are even special sites that bring companies and affiliates together. Commission Junction, Clickbank and Paydotcom, being among the forerunners. At these sites, you simply sign-up and select the product that you wish to promote and are given a URL link, also known as an affiliate link, to direct web traffic towards.

There are dozens of ways to market the partner product that don’t cost anything at all. Traffic exchanges, direct e-mailing, article marketing, e-mail and forum signature lines, joint ventures, to name just a few. By utilizing these free methods, the newcomer can realize the full value of their commissions, without any initial outlay. Off-line, there is some cost associated with printing and mailings that Internet Marketing allows a newcomer to bypass.

The ease which affiliate marketing can be achieved on-line has made it a favorite of the new Internet business owner as well as the veteran. Sign-up to promote a product, advertise it, and watch the profits roll in. Like all successful ventures, it will take both effort and originality to produce stellar results, which in turn can result in super affiliate status.

One tip, we want to pass on to all new marketers is: Don’t just advertise your partner. To become successful, you also want to brand your own name and face to build customer trust. With all of the hundreds of advertisements out there today, you have to give the consumer a reason to buy from you rather than the next guy, who may be promoting the very same product.

Now that you know what Affiliate Marketing is, go out there and earn your piece of the pie!

Want more information on becoming a Super Affiliate? You can Check out Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook here!