Know How to Make Money Online without
a Website
A pay-per-click
affiliate program is a great way to leverage the keyword skills you already
have.
If
you've got some successful keyword research and PPC advertising under your belt
for your own website, why not capitalize on that and make money online without
one? Affiliate marketing through pay-per-click makes it possible.
MSN
ad Center and Yahoo Search Marketing both allow direct linking to sites that
are not your own. (But don't try this with Google AdWords.)
Direct
linking means that you can join affiliate programs, create ads for their
products, and send click-through directly to the merchant's site. There's no
need to build an intermediary site or use your own site to direct traffic. When
your click-through converts, you get a commission.
It's
a way to create an extra stream of income--or several--with some big
advantages:
- It eliminates the time, effort, and costs of building and maintaining web pages. The only time you'll have to pay is when someone clicks on your ad.
- It allows you to do affiliate marketing without cluttering up your own site with links that might send potential customers away. You can keep your site clean and focused on its job of selling your product, but still make commissions off other people's products.
- It eliminates an
extra click for users. One click less for them means more commissions for
you.
While direct linking is a good opportunity, though, it's not a walk in the park. The PPC programs that allow it restrict the number of affiliate ads that can point at the same display URL that shows on the ad itself. So ads by experienced affiliate marketers who know exactly what they're doing can bump less skillful ads.
If
you want your ads to be seen, here's what you have to do.
Step
1: Start with a big, broad market
Choose a broad market where there's a lot of searching going on. You want to get as many eyeballs as possible.
Choose a broad market where there's a lot of searching going on. You want to get as many eyeballs as possible.
Step
2: Do some keyword research
Don't build your ads on broad, untargeted keywords, though. The competition for those will be fierce--and expensive. Your objective here is to find neglected, low-cost keywords within a broad, high-traffic market--and that's why it really helps to have keyword research experience.
Don't build your ads on broad, untargeted keywords, though. The competition for those will be fierce--and expensive. Your objective here is to find neglected, low-cost keywords within a broad, high-traffic market--and that's why it really helps to have keyword research experience.
And
as I mentioned in an earlier article, you need to look for specific problems
that are shared by a lot of people within a market. Then find relevant keyword
terms that clearly shows a clear intention to buy or find out more information.
Those terms are much more likely to convert. And remember, you pay for every
click, but you get paid only when they convert.
The
Microsoft Advertising Intelligence tool can show you almost anything you'd like
to know about any given keyword, including similar keywords, traffic, cost per
click, and much more. The free Google AdWords Keyword Tool is also a quick and
handy way of getting ideas for keywords with high search volume and low cost
per click; just keep in mind that you can't use this strategy with Google.
Step
3: Find a good affiliate merchant that targets your niche
In order to find a merchant that offers a relevant product and pays you a good commission, check out these affiliate networks and directories:
In order to find a merchant that offers a relevant product and pays you a good commission, check out these affiliate networks and directories:
- www.associateprograms.com
- www.affiliatesdirectory.com
- www.ecommerce-guide.com
- www.cj.com
- www.clickxchange.com
- www.linkshare.com
When
you're choosing affiliate merchants, ask these questions:
1.
Do
they offer a product that directly solves a problem you've identified?
2.
Do
they allow direct linking to their sites? Some don't. Check the terms and
conditions before you commit.
3.
Does
the landing page generate pop-ups? If so, then forget it. This is not allowed.
The back button on the page also has to be functional.
4.
Is
there a strong landing page for the product? If you send click-through to an
irrelevant page, a confusing sales process, or a site that's just plain
unappealing, then they won't convert and you'll end up wasting your money.
Step
4: Write a PPC ad that drives buyers to the affiliate merchant's site
Take a good look at the landing page your ad is pointing at and make your ad directly relevant to it. Your ad must:
Take a good look at the landing page your ad is pointing at and make your ad directly relevant to it. Your ad must:
- Address the specific problem you've identified.
- Include the keyword you've bid on, preferably more than once.
- Reflect the keywords of the landing page.
- Highlight a benefit of the product.
- Include a strong call to action.
You
can give your ad an extra boost by adding your keyword, or part of it, to the
display URL at the bottom of the ad The actual target URL will contain a big,
ugly affiliate ID number, but the display version can show the domain name plus
a subdirectory with a word or phrase that makes it look relevant to the search,
Before you create your display link, check out the PPC
competition to make sure it's unique so your ad won't be bumped. The better
your ads, the higher the click-through will be which means your ads will be
rewarded with better positions for the same money. It's worth polishing them,
and then testing them to see which ones are performing the best.
Running a pay-per-click affiliate campaign probably won't generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for you right off the bat--but it is the easiest way to leverage the keyword research and PPC skills you've developed in building your own site. And when Microsoft ad Center and Yahoo Search Marketing join forces sometime this year, you'll get the traffic from both, even if you only advertise on one. That makes direct linking even more appealing.
Running a pay-per-click affiliate campaign probably won't generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for you right off the bat--but it is the easiest way to leverage the keyword research and PPC skills you've developed in building your own site. And when Microsoft ad Center and Yahoo Search Marketing join forces sometime this year, you'll get the traffic from both, even if you only advertise on one. That makes direct linking even more appealing.
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