I Do Web Marketing

This is the first product review I’ve done, but I felt this product was worthwhile enough for me to share my opinions on the matter. From time to time I am going to review products that I’ve found helpful. I’m going to include my affiliate link to those products, just to help offset costs for running the blog. Having said that, I will only write a review on a product I think highly of, and have tested myself.

This brings me to the Fast Blog Finder Review.

I came across this piece of software when I was looking into ways in which to gain links to my blog. In the blogging realm, blog commenting is a major source of traffic and backlinks. The only problem is that a lot of blog owners have their links listed as “nofollow”. This means that the links you receive from these sites will not count for your blog or website. The key is in finding “dofollow” links. This knocks out two birds with one stone. It drives traffic to your blog and also builds your backlink count.

This sounds great, but where do you find the blogs that are DoFollow? Not one to waste time, I went to work finding out the best way to track down these DoFollow blogs. That’s when I came across the Fast Blog Finder, sometimes called the G-Lock Blog Finder after the developing company’s name (G-Lock Software).

Here are some screen shots of the software in action:

The software allows you to quickly identify themed “dofollow” blogs that allow you to drive targeted traffic and build quality backlinks. The only negative thing I would say about the Fast Blog Finder is the amount of “unknown” types that it can return. Depending on the search query, you may get 200 blogs that are “nofollow” and 200 blogs that are “dofollow”, but then you may also get 150 more that are “unknown”. I typically do not bother with the unknowns, as I have more than enough dofollow blogs to deal with, but having a more definitive search results would be a little more helpful. My advice is not to mess with the “unknown” types, unless you just really like that person’s blog. I just follow the green highlighted blogs, as those are conveniently the dofollow blogs. The good news is, you can also set your preferences to just display “dofollow” results.

Another great feature of this software is the that it can filter out blogs that have not been posted in for a specific date range. So, for example, you can set the Fast Blog Finder to only return results for DoFollow Blogs that have been posted in the last 3 months. This is another very helpful feature.

Priced at just $49.99 it is well worth the investment for any marketer or webmaster whose looking to drive traffic and backlinks to their website. I personally own this piece of software and can definitely appreciate the idea behind it and the time it has saved me. If you’re interested in quickly finding related “dofollow” blogs, please visit the Fast Blog Finder website.

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Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

• Preparing for the Google Certification exam! #
• Upgrading to WordPress 2.7 #
• Novel Concept Studio has launched it’s Affiliate Program. Recurring Commissions, Lifetime Cookies! http://www.novelconceptstudio.com for more info. #
• Preparing for a long day tomorrow. I’ll be announcing my affiliate program and trying to wrap up my end of the year to-do list. #

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It’s that time of year again. You know, the best time of year! I’m going to be pretty busy over the next week just wrapping up final marketing responsibilities that I have to my clients, but wanted to wish a happy and safe holiday season to you and yours!

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

This has been several months in the making, but my company Novel Concept Studio is finally launching it’s Affiliate Program today!

Recurring 15% payments, it doesn’t get better! This means you could be receiving up to $262.50 PER MONTH for every referral if they sign up for a full service package. 4 full service referrals and you’ll be pulling down a cool $1,050 per month without having to lift a finger.

We have already had a couple top affiliate marketers express interest in this. If you have a blog or website and feel that you’re visitors would be interested in an internet marketing service, then you need to sign up for the affiliate program! You have nothing to lose, and I can help you with any questions you may have. Please review my posts from the previous two weeks as well, if you are interested in beginning your affiliate marketing career.

I want to keep this fairly short, as I have several forums I need to visit to make the announcement. I also need to issue the press release. I wanted to make the announcement here on this blog first though.

Again, if you’re interested in signing up and receiving recurring commissions for your efforts, then visit the Affiliate Program sign up page and get started! Don’t hesitate to ask questions!

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

• Networking on Twitter! #
• Seeking advice on best ways to launch an affiliate program…Novel Concept Studio’s affiliate program officially launches Monday! #
• Have a blog? Make money with it! See the newest post at http://www.idowebmarketing.com to learn the best techniques for doing so. #
• Finished another affiliate marketing post at http://www.idowebmarketing.com. My affiliate program launches Monday for Novel Concept Studio! #
• Just finished another post for my blog at http://www.idowebmarketing.com. It’s the fifth post in a series of daily posts on Affiliate Marketing. #

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Source: www.clickkt.com

If you’re a well-loved blogger, there’s a good chance that your readers would like to show their support. Give them what they want and make money by taking advantage of merchandising opportunities.

1. CafePress.com: This perennial favorite makes it easy for you to put your blog’s logo on shirts, bags, coasters and other items.
2. Self-Published Books: If your readers like your content, they may want to have something they can own offline or even share with friends. Create a book with self-publishing services like Lulu, and you’ll earn profits even without a huge book deal.
3. Printfection.com: Design and sell custom products with Printfection.com.
4. Hard-Copy Content: Create a CD-ROM “book” with cleanly organized content that can be accessed offline. You can take things a step further and sell subscriptions for future updates to the system.
5. GoodStorm: Like CafePress.com and Printfection.com, GoodStorm is a nice way to create and sell your own merchandising products.

Paid Content

Paid content is a good monetization method for bloggers that regularly offer useful information — especially if this information helps others make money. As with all monetization methods, it’s all in the approach. Don’t create misleading previews of content that requires a membership to read in full. Rather, devote special sections of premium content to readers who are willing to pay for the information.

6. E-Books: Whether it’s a compilation of your best tips or a new idea altogether, an e-book is a good, reader-friendly way to package content.
7. White Papers: Like e-books, white papers are a smaller, more technical version of your content.
8. Phone Calls: Sell one-on-one phone calls for advice and other consulting through Ether.
9. Miniguides: If you’ve just run a particularly helpful series, package it up into a miniguide.
10. Tutorials: Gather your knowledge and compile it into a tutorial that relies upon your expert advice.
11. Members-Only Sections: Whether you’re providing access to published items or just ad-free content, make sure you’re delivering a product that your readers are willing to pay for.
12. TextMarks Inc.: Charge readers to get text-message alerts about your content through TextMarks.
13. X-Events: Project physical events online and create revenue by charging admission, attracting sponsors and selling subscriptions to future events.
14. Podcasts: Podcasts may be a novelty to your readers, and many of them are probably willing to pay to be able to hear your entries on the go.
15. Videos: Like podcasts, videos are value-added extras that readers may be willing to pay for.

Begging

It never hurts to be straightforward about earning money from your blog. Ask your readers for donations — in a polite way, of course — and the ones that truly value your work will likely be more than willing to help support your ongoing success.

16. PayPal: PayPal’s system allows you to place a donation button on your blog.
17. Amazon Honor System: Like PayPal, the Amazon Honor System allows you to accept online donations.
18. Mailed Checks: Of course, good old U.S. mail works just as well. Provide readers with a P.O. box that they can mail donations to.
19. Buy me a beer/coffee: Asking for donations in the form of a beer, coffee or other special item allows readers to reward you with something tangible.
20. Amazon Wish List: Although it’s not cash, asking readers to buy you items from your Amazon Wish List will save you from having to buy things yourself. Again, they’ll feel more rewarded knowing they’ve given you something tangible.

Opportunities

Becoming a successful blogger means becoming an expert in your field. You can use this status to earn money through opportunities, while increasing the value you provide to your readers.

21. Writing Gigs: By showcasing your writing talents on your blog, you’ve provided a living resume to any blog network or news site that might be interested in hiring you.
22. Seminars and Workshops: As an expert, you can invite readers to visit with you in person for seminars and workshops.
23. Bloggers for Hire: Get yourself hired to blog for a corporate Web site.
24. Blogger Jobs: Like Bloggers for Hire, Blogger Jobs can connect you with sites in need of a blogger.
25. Go Offline: Take your blogging skills offline as a columnist in a newspaper or magazine.
26. Guest Blogging: Fill in for fellow bloggers as a guest writer for a nominal fee or just future reciprocation.
27. Job Board: If you’re an industry leader, set up a job board that your readers can use to hire or be hired for positions in your field.
28. Create a Radio Station: With a radio station, you can feature podcasts, sell showcase spots to budding artists and even sell audio advertising.
29. Consulting: If you’ve found success as a blogger, you probably have a lot of knowledge to share about mastering both the Internet and your field. Freelance as a consultant and get paid for sharing what you know.
30. Speaking: Your blog can get your noticed by industry leaders and can land you speaking engagements at conferences and meetings.
31. Book: A number of popular bloggers have landed lucrative book deals.
32. Interviews: Share your knowledge on a new medium and go on radio or TV interviews.

Offline

The benefits, monetary and otherwise, of writing a blog extend well beyond the Internet, particularly if you operate an offline business. Take advantage of these benefits using the following methods.

33. Market Your Services: Your blog is a great forum for marketing your business. Post about current promotions, new interests and other business-building information.
34. Create a Voice Behind Your Business: A blog is a great way to grow your business through personal dialogue. By presenting yourself as a friendly authority, your business becomes more approachable.
35. Deepen Customer Relationships: Beyond providing a friendly voice, a blog can help you connect with customers. Link to their blogs, write about their interests and give them special attention in your writing.

Ads

Ads are generally the bread and butter of bloggers. However, they’re also the most likely to irritate readers. To keep a happy balance, focus on relevance and make sure that you’re not overloading your blog with too many ads. It should go without saying that you should absolutely not use every single one of these ad programs, either. Rather, pick a handful and rotate them until you find what that works the best for your blog.

36. Yahoo! Publisher Network: Display contextual ads on your site via the Yahoo! Publisher Network.
37. ValueClick Inc.: You’ll get quality advertisers, support and advanced technology from ValueClick.
38. Tribal Fusion: Tribal Fusion’s impression-based ad service focuses on targeting and optimization.
39. eXelate Targeting eXchange: This program relies on delayed ad cookies.
40. Clicksor Inc.: Clicksor focuses on contextual ads that can be presented in a number of different ways, such as text, graphics and in-line links.
41. Indeed: Post job listings from Indeed and get paid.
42. Chitika eMiniMalls: Promote products through interactive merchandise kiosks and provide both relevant content and comparative shopping to readers. You’ll get paid per click.
43. AdSonar: Attract advertisers and build relationships with them individually through this platform.
44. ExpoActive: Get freedom, from specific ads to style, with ExpoActive.
45. AdVolcano LLC: Using AdVolcano’s platform, you can design your ads, set your own prices and screen your advertisers.
46. eXelate Targeted Links: Pick and choose the advertisers you want on your site with this program.
47. grokAds.com: Set your price and choose which advertisers to accept with grokAds.com.
48. Adify: Get editorial control and high-value advertising on your site with Adify. You can even set your own prices.
49. AdBriteInc.: Using AdBrite, you have the option to approve and reject ads that will appear on your blog, and you can even use it to sell directly to your own users.
50. BidVertiser.com: These ads are highly customizable, and you have the option to block any ad you don’t want displayed on your blog.
51. Blogads: Get invited to this exclusive network of bloggers, and you’ll have high-quality, relevant advertising on your blog.
52. Casale Media Inc.: Get high-quality advertisers and control with Casale Media.
53. DoubleClick Inc.: DoubleClick offers differentiation and lots of solutions for publishers.
54. BlueLithium: Get great ad targeting, selective partnerships and better ad performance with BlueLithium.

RSS Ads

A more specialized advertising method, RSS ads give bloggers a way to monetize feeds. Most readers generally react to RSS ads the same way they do with regular ones, so if you stay relevant and limited, it should work out just fine.

55. Pheedo Inc.: This RSS advertising platform offers interactive triggers and video options.
56. Feedvertising: A part of Text Link Ads, Feedvertising embeds ads in your RSS feed.
57. CrispAds: This blog-focused ad network allows you to place ads directly into entries so they’ll show up both on your site and in feeds.
58. FeedBurner Inc.: FeedBurner’s ads are embedded in RSS feeds,and feature high-quality advertisers like Discover Band, Best Buy and Comcast.
59. FeedM8: FeedM8’s service makes your blog ready for mobile content and embeds mobile-appropriate advertising.

Text Ads

Text ads are one of the the most reader-friendly type of ads you can serve. Their small size and text-based nature makes them less offensive and in-your-face than graphic ads. Try out these services to put this type of subtle ad on your blog.

60. Vibrant Media: Vibrant Media’s ads are in-text and completely user driven.
61. Google AdSense: Ads from Google are the most popular and often the most profitable source of income for many bloggers. They’re relevant to your content, and many blog readers expect it, so you’re not likely to run into lots of negative feedback.
62. LinkAds: These text ads come with lots of control.
63. PaidTextLinks.com: Sell links on your site and retain editorial control over what’s posted with this service.
64. One Monkey Inc.: You can host highly targeted, text-based ads and earn a great percentage of revenue with One Monkey.
65. Kontera ContentLink: ContentLink turns relevant keywords within your content into a hyperlink ad.
66. Text Link Ads: Text Link Ads’ simple, nonintrusive ads are a good choice for many bloggers.
67. TAGword: Select your ads and set your prices with TAGword.
68. LinkAdage Auctions: Sell text links through private online auctions with LinkAdage.
69. LinkWords: LinkWords offers pay-per-click revenue embedded in your content, highlighting keywords that are relevant for advertisers.
70. Textlinkbrokers.com: Get unobtrusive, small link ads, as well as a steady monthly payout that doesn’t depend on traffic from Textlinkbrokers.com.

Sell Your Own Ads

Self-advertising is a method that trumps all others in terms of reader friendliness. By selling your own ads, you’ll get complete control and will be able to determine the method of ad serving that your readers respond to the best.

71. Individual Advertisers: Your advertisers should be ones that your readers will genuinely be interested in. Solicit ads from major, respected players in your industry for the best results.
72. Actively Sell Individual Advertising: To attract advertisers, let it be known that you’re looking for them. Put links on your site, contact potential advertisers directly and post on industry message boards.
73. Create a Media Kit: Make it easy for advertisers to buy from you. Create a kit that includes your rates, ad policies, demographics, traffic, testimonials and contact information.
74. Offer Free Ads: To get things started, seek out competitive companies in your niche and give them free ads for a specific amount of time. This will get other companies interested in advertising with you.

Affiliate Programs

Most bloggers end up dropping product names at one point or another. Whether it’s software, books or trinkets, you’re probably linking to them for free. Affiliate programs offer a way to profit from your name-dropping, often without changing much more than the URLs you point to. Keep affiliate programs reader-friendly by sharing only products that are truly relevant to your discussion and not going overboard with the quantity.

75. Amazon Associates: Amazon Associates earn up to 10 percent in referral fees for revenue made through blog links.
76. Chitika ShopCloud$: With ShopCloud$, you can list popular products in a tag cloud format.
77. WidgetBucks: These shopping widgets offer popular products, lots of relevance and plenty of customization.
78. LinkShare Corp.: LinkShare’s affiliate program will hook you up with programs for companies like Apple Inc., Dell and Disney.
79. zanox: Set up a zanox online shop, choose your products and earn a percentage of every sale.
80. uSuggest LLC: Suggest relevant products to your readers and get paid for doing it.
81. Chitika RPU: If you’ve discussed a product in a post, make money by putting a link to the product at the end of your text.
82. Auction Ads LLC: Place relevant eBay auction ads on your site to earn money.
83. Recommendations: If you’re a fan of a particular product or service, why not ask them directly to pay you for linking to their site?
84. Commission Junction Inc.: You can promote a wide variety of products through Commission Junction, so you’ll be able to find something that’s relevant to your readers.
85. Chitika Linx: Chitika’s Linx identifies keywords in your blog’s content and links them to paid product listings.
86. shareasale.com: Sign up with this network and choose which merchants you’d like to promote.
87. ClickBank: Through ClickBank’s program, you choose the products you want to promote.
88. iTunes Affiliates: Keep your readers up-to-date on new releases and earn a commission on revenue with the iTunes Affilliates program.

Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts often rub readers the wrong way, usually because they’re blatant cash grabs, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Use these methods and programs that allow you to carefully pick and choose what you’ll write about. That way, you can stick to products and services that are relevant to your readers and that you truly support.

89. ReviewMe: Pick and choose your ReviewMe posts and earn up to $200 for each.
90. PayPerPost Inc.: Use PayPerPost to earn money from writing about the sites, products and services that you support.
91. Payu2blog.com: Sign up with this program, and you’ll get above-average pay, as well as a steady stream of work.
92. Self-Sold Paid Reviews: With paid reviews, the key is to be selective. You shouldn’t accept every offer that comes to you, and if you have nothing nice to say about the product or service, don’t bother. Be sure to offer an opposing view as well so your readers know that you’re not just blindly supporting the highest bidder.
93. SponsoredReviews.com: Review items in your own tone and as critically as you’d like with SponsoredReviews.com.
94. Blogsvertise: When you get an assignment for Blogsvertise, you’ll just put three links in a blog entry. This is a great way to make advertising look natural and unobtrusive.
95. Smorty: Choose your subjects and get paid weekly with Smorty.
96. Solicit Book Reviews: Another way to get something from your blog through reviews is to take on books. You’ll get them for free while providing a valuable service to your readers.

Other

These are just a few more ways you can monetize your blog in a reader-friendly way.

97. Sell Your Blog: If you’ve put a bunch of work into your blog and it has great stats, get a lump-sum payday from a buyer.
98. Shareapic.net: Host your photos with this service, and you’ll get paid for the number of views they get. That means that you can publish them on your blog and get paid every time someone reads a post with one of your Shareapic.net photos on it.
99. Scoopt Words: Sell your content to mainstream media with Scoopt.
100. Use Your Blog to Create a Mailing List: If you sell products, you can use your blog to generate a mailing list of people who are interested in buying from you.
101. Vizu Corp. Answers: Host polls on your site. Visitors will enjoy sharing their opinion, and you’ll earn some extra cash.

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Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

The Novel Concept Studio Affiliate Program will officially be launched on Monday! I’m excited about the possibilities, as I really think fellow affiliate marketers will appreciate the residual income that can be generated from this, as marketers will be making 10% over the life of the agreement, usually 12 months. I’ll make an official post here on Monday when it launches, but if you are interested in joining this affiliate marketing opportunity, let me know and I will send you more information.

So far in this affiliate marketing series, I’ve discussed your basic affiliate marketing campaign. There are plenty more topics to discuss that go into more detail and various types of affiliate programs. I’m going to be saving this for the upcoming e-book, but I did want to close off this series of posts with some helpful affiliate marketing survival tips.

Choose a Niche Market You Enjoy
If you don’t enjoy your market, or have a passion for it, then you aren’t going to be as motivated to put the work into it. Stick with something you’ll enjoy.

Choose a Product or Service Your Trust
If you are sponsoring a product or company that you have not used, you may run into issues. If customers make purchases because of your recommendations, and they receive a faulty product, they will be coming to you with their issues. Promoting a product you are familiar with gives you the ability to be on a more personable level with your site’s visitors.

Examine the Affiliate Program Rules Closely
Before advertising any affiliate program, be sure you read the rules and fine print closely. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask the merchant. They want you selling their products, so you should get a quick response. Look for how long the program is running, payment methods, payment frequency, and how long they track cookies for. You’ll want to check back often, as often times merchant’s cancel their affiliate program and you’ll be advertising a product that you no longer receive commissions for. Cookie tracking is important. Customers won’t always make a purchase their first visit, but they may come back later and make a purchase. So if the affiliate program only covers a single visit, it may not be that profitable for you. Some merchants have tracking for years. If a customer clears their cookies, then there’s nothing you can do about that.

Don’t Choose Every Affiliate Program You Come Across
Having a website full of banners and advertisements can be a detriment to any website. You need to place your banners and ads carefully so that they are not intrusive.

Compile Your Own Email List
You may have heard that the power of marketing is in the list. Don’t be afraid to ask visitors to sign up for your newsletter. Maybe offer them additional articles or pieces of information that aren’t available anywhere else. An example of this is the Affiliate Marketing eBook I am compiling only for subscribers.

Closing Comments
Sticking with these 5 survival tips, you should find success with your affiliate marketing career. It’s important to remember that not every affiliate marketing venture is going to be a success. You’re not always going to get out of the program what you put in. You can’t get discouraged though. Instead, evaluate what you are doing versus other affiliate marketers. Examine the program closely and the products and services you are sponsoring. Are they not as good as you thought? Are you not making the right sales pitch? If you feel you’ve done all you can do, don’t be afraid to throw in the towel on that particular program and try another!

As I mentioned previously, I am going to be putting these posts together and then also adding several more guides and topics and compiling an Affiliate Marketing eBook. This eBook will be free of charge, you’ll just need to be a subscriber! The eBook will go into more detail (such as Google Adwords, two tier programs, etc), as well as ways in which to establish your own Affiliate Marketing program. So be sure and subscribe!

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

I have discussed why having a website is beneficial for your affiliate marketing career. However, there is another way in which you can be successful without having a website. This is through Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. One of the most popular forms of PPC is through Google Adwords or through Yahoo’s Search Marketing program.

PPC basically means you are paying for each individual that is referred to your website (or the merchant’s website in this case, via your link). This is a highly effective form of advertising, as you are receiving highly targeted traffic in this way. When creating your PPC ads, you’re asked to place a bid for specific keywords. This amount determines where you will be ranked on the side of search results. If you bid high enough, you’ll have the top position for your selected keywords. This can be costly though, if your ad is misleading or not written effectively.

Now PPC is more effective for affiliate programs that pay on a per click basis, also known as a clickthrough basis, than versus a per sale basis. Though, it can prove effective on a per sale basis as well since you are delivering highly targeted traffic to the merchant site and thus a greater probability of a purchase.

Now Pay Per Click is not only for those without websites. If You have a website, you can also benefit from PPC advertising, by placing ads on your site. Google Adsense allows you to place Advertisements on your page. Anytime an ad is clicked on your page, you can receive anywhere from 30% to 80% of the advertisers’ bid amount. The great thing about Google Adsense is it will automatically determine the overall theme of your site and then display ads based upon that theme. This obviously gives you a better chance of your visitor’s finding something they’re looking for.

Using Adsense can turn visitors who have no interest in purchasing anything from you, into a money making customer. The other benefit of this can be that your site is viewed as a resource, since they were able to find something useful. This can encourage repeat visits and eventually lead to future sales.

PPC will take some time to learn. In fact, there are entire books dedicated to the subject. However, for your first basic campaign it really will not take longer than 45 minutes to get used to. Then, no more than 30 or so minutes once you have the basic flow and understanding down. It can be a great tool if leveraged properly.

If you’d like more in depth training on the pay per click process, this is something I can walk you through as well. Just let me know that you need help, and I’d be glad to give you a hand.

Tomorrow’s post will be the last in the series of posts, as the Novel Concept Studio affiliate program will be launched on Monday of next week! I plan on releasing an ebook on Affiliate Marketing soon that will go into more details. I’ll discuss this a little more in tomorrow’s post.

Do you have other benefits of why PPC should be incorporated into your affiliate marketing campaigns? Feel free to comment about it!

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

The idea of affiliate marketing has been around for several years. Since it’s proven that affiliate marketing can work, it’s an attractive option for those interested in making money online. It’s for this reason that competition is fierce. Not only will you be competing with affiliates who are promoting other products within your niche, but you’re also going to be competing with others who are also sponsoring the same affiliate program you are! Here are some tips on how you can stand out from other affiliate marketers.

Having a website will help to differentiate you from a small percentage of affiliate marketers who strictly use pay per click methods. Having a quality website will help to set yourself apart from the numerous run of the mill sites out there. It’s worth it to either hire someone to put together a quality website for you, or take the time and do it right yourself. Look at your competition and see what they are doing. Then do better! Easier said than done, but it can be done.

Another helpful tip is to create your own banner ad. Most often, affiliate programs come with a selection of their own banners. Most affiliate marketers will pick one, and place it on their website. However, if people continuously see the same ad, they may tune it out. If you have the graphic knowledge, or know someone who does, then it may be worthwhile to create your own ad. You’ll want to get the merchant’s permission first. They shouldn’t have a problem with this, as it only benefits them, but there are affiliate programs out there that do require permission to do these sorts of things.

Having your own products is another helpful tactic. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical product, but perhaps you could put together some of your quality content and expanded upon that in the form of an e-book. Having something unique like this, helps to differentiate yourself from other affiliate marketers who are sponsoring the same thing. Providing freebies also helps in keeping your customers coming back for more.

Building relationships with your customers is an often overlooked aspect of marketing. If you’re offering a sales pitch or product review, it’s helpful that you are able to answer questions regarding it’s use. Having this knowledge will go a long ways towards building customer loyalty and credibility. It shows that you’ve used the product yourself and feel confident that it’s a quality product. Likewise, if you find a product you were promoting to be a scam, then stop promoting it. Don’t just ignore it, but instead let your customers know. This is also going to help build credibility. Everyone makes mistakes, and admitting a mistake when it happens is going to boost your reader’s confidence in you.

Don’t try and market every product you see. With services like ClickBank and Commission Junction, it’s easy to sign up for everything. It takes literally seconds. It’s better to focus on particular product at a time. When you feel comfortable with that product, you can perhaps sponsor similar products. If you can find products with great customer reviews, those are the products you should target first. Customers like to read what other customers have to say, and so if they read nothing but great things, they’ll be more likely to buy that product.

Affiliate marketing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It can be a great way to make money online if leveraged properly. It’s not going to happen overnight, it’s going to take a committment, but in the end I think you’ll find it’s worth it. I hope these tips are helpful to you, and allow you to separate yourself from your competition.

Have other tips on how to set yourself apart from other affiliates? Then share them with your comments!

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Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

This day and age, having a website just isn’t enough. You may have heard that all you need to do is fill in your meta descriptions and you’re good to go. Unfortunately for you, search engine optimization, or SEO, is not that simple anymore.

Google is the mother load of all search engines, commanding roughly 70% of the market share. Google tends to be a trend setter that other search engines follow. For the most part, your focus should be on improving your search engine ranking within Google. When that happens, you’ll also find that your sites begin ranking better in the other search engines as well.

There are tons, and I mean tons, of different ways for your site to move to the top. Believe it or not, sometimes you just need proper keyword density and a fairly low competitive search phrase, and you’ll be good to go. Most of the time though, you’re going to need to do more; much more.

I do SEO for a living, so I could literally go one for days regarding all of the things that can be done from. However, for now, I’m just going to stick with the basics. First off, we need to figure out which keywords are going to be best for your website. There are a couple of keyword research tools out there such as SEO Book and Wordtracker. I am actually in the process of developing a similar tool to Wordtracker, but that will be announced at a later time:) Once you find your ideal keyword phrases, we want to make sure this is placed throughout your website. Mainly, you want this placed in between your title tags. Ideally, you’d like to have the keyword phrase placed in header font. Each image on your website allows you to include “alt” tags. Place your search terms in those tags as well! This is your basic overview for your on page optimization. You want to ensure your keywords are weaved into your content as well, but it’s important to remember that you need to speak to your customers first and foremost, not to the search engines.

Lets remember that having relevant and quality content that matches your keywords should be a priority. If you’re able to churn out quality content every day, or at least on a regular basis, you’ll accomplish two things. One, search engines will take notice and your content will be indexed quicker. Secondly, your visitors will keep coming back to see what’s new.

One last thing I want to touch on, is your link building strategy. To begin, I suggest submitting your site to various directories. You want to avoid link farms, and free for all pages. You’ll also want to avoid reciprocal link exchanges at this time. Perhaps down the road, you’ll find link exchange partners where it will work out, but it’s not something I would necessarily do for an affiliate website.

When you begin making money, or if you’d like to cut out the time requirements of link building, you can look to outsource this responsibility. I would suggest you try yourself first though, just so you know what it entails and have a better grasp of the process. This is your basic link building strategy. However, your link building can expand into several other aspects as well. Such as: commenting on blogs, forums, social networks, groups, etc. For your first few affiliate programs though, I would suggest keeping things simple.

This is a basic SEO overview for beginning affiliate marketers. If you’d like assistance or more detail regarding any of these principles, feel free to ask!

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.