Affiliate Summit - Website Reviews

Hey Gang,

I went to a few classes on Website review. It was a lot information and I am sure of all the lingo, but here the notes in this area. Maybe it will help you. They had a panel of speaker and they dissected many websites in front of the audience. Here are the points I was able to get from these sessions.

• Too much CSS code
• 404 code need to be the correct error redirect
• Loading too long - should load on regular DSL 30 seconds or less
• Use Yahoo Site Explorer to check accurate back links << Cool tool
• Use Google Webmaster tools. You can check speed load time here
• the use of No Follow tags on your site. They talked about this a lot. I really don't totally understand. I know you put this code around links that you don't want google to follow. I am not totally sure what links you would not want google to follow. Also, I don't know what this code looks like. Does anyone?
• They talked about 301 redirects and doing this correctly
• Be carefull not to have to many out bound links on a page. Using "No follow" tags
  
• Be careful about your webmaster, if you have one, imbedding outbound links without your knowledge
• Recommended to use Click Path to see which Key Words are converting
• Meta Descriptions are #1 things to keep up with
• To find all your pages that are being index on google >> Site:Your URL
• Talked about whether you need to put your price on your site or not. A / B test results
• Recommended to use SEOMOZ for Seo Tool. It has FREE and Paid Tools
• Use Fire Fox Web Developer Tool bar plug ins - No sure which one
• Make sure that you are using your tags correctly

I hope this make sense to you.
God Bless
John
Looking for great Florida Vacation

Building a Successful Affiliate Website

Here is the chronological order of the success of Shopping-Bargains.com.

Created by Mike Allen

• 1995 Graduated College with Master Degree
• 1996 Made first online purchase
• 1997 -99 Learned about powerful coupon code ** Google is born ** Search engines are not very effective
  
• 1999 Shopping-Bargains.com is born ** Used free hosting ** Quickly moved shared hosting ** Joined two affiliates amazon.com and netgrocer ** joined 2 networks bfree and linkshare
  
• Learned in 1999 ** Meet the customers needs ** Quality webhosting is vital ** Affiliate marketing exist ** Content management is a lot of work ** Affiliate income is not automatic ** This hobby had potential ** Start setting goals
  
• 2000 - 2003 ** Joined Commission Junction ** Share A Sale ** Performic (bought by google) ** Added more retailers and content ** Moved to table layout and upgraded ** Aquired shoppingbargains.com (without dash) ** Trademark easier with dash (- ) in URL ** added first part time person ( this person did data entry only )
• Main Lesson 2000 - 03 ** Affiliate marketing works ** Merchant communication is great ** Manually updating content is painful (35,000 products - redesign site) ** Search engines become really big now ** search more accurate ** online advertising is very effective too ** This not hobby anymore and becomes a business ** need help ** become a LLC business ** Building the BRAND and investment in the company is vital
• 2003 - 04 ** The big migration ** Dynamic content ** Database driven ** Dedicated server is acquired ** Build database in Cold Fusion ( looking back I wish I did it in PHP instead) ** Standardize Layouts ** Navigation ** Read Quit my day job - Jeremy Palmer ** Started to interact with the affiliate industry ** Use Abestweb.com for resource ** Involve more with affiliate managers (building relationships)
• Main lesson learned 03 - 04 ** running a business is expensive ** I must focus on content, not developement ** Quality sites are trusted more ** web layout + usability really matter ** Read the book "Don't make me think" by Steve Krug ** Affiliate income fluctuates widely ** Search engines don't like change
• 2005 - present ** More industry involvement ** Advisory boards / service ** won several awards ** Blogging ** Added more retailers ** Created newsletter >> Like mail chimp for segmented list and not expensive ** Social Media - Blogging, RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, Some use of Video ** Tools to use - for me to coupon.com - popshops.com (all the affiliates in one spot) - google custom search (With Google Custom Search, you can harness the power of Google to create a customized search experience for your own website.) ** Business enhancements - hired more part time people ** New revenue stream - slotting (where you put perferred products on your site and get paid for it) - google ad sense, chitika
• 2005 trends noticed ** Buiness cycles and trends produce big impacts ** Search Engines algorythmes change and it effects bottom line ** Media mentions and Social can be huge ** the ecomony impacts conversions ** Legal issues arise the bigger you get ** Infrigment and typo must be addressed ** content must be protected ** more tools - open office, aff meter , affbook.com, ** go to trade shows - affiliate summit, search engine strategy, pubcon
• Suggestions to think about ** Find a problem to Solve ** Offer creative solutions ** think long term ** build your own brand ** Invest in education ** Expect to fail
• To see the whole PDF hand out < go to >

Thank you Mike... facebook/com/mike.shoppingbargains or twitter.com/mta1
God Bless,
John
swimming with the dolphins bahamas

Email Service Providers

Here is another story I have read about Email Service Providers (ESP) and how to use them properly. Some Companies to Look at Aweber, Listtrack, iContact, Exact Target, and Mail Chimp.

Proper Selection Process of an ESP
Real Basic....

• Handling Authentication
• Quality Control Features
• Third Party Intergration
• Foster an environment of Permission based marketing - Double Opted In emails
• Do they have Metrics to Track, opt out subscribers, spam complaints
• The ability to quickly create individual emails and campaigns
• To preview and test content and run spam checks
• Schedule delivery of Emails or Campaigns
• Set Up Autoresponders

Also, look for advanced feature ...

• Segmentation - the ability to create small email groups
• Subscribers Level of activity or interaction - Sending to the real buyers
• Abandonment - How to get those that leave your email list to come back and buy again
• Coupling emails with social media

Some ESP have autmatic RSS feeds into their email programs. I know Aweber offer this.

Some Industry with High Inbox acceptance

• Books, Music, and Movies 95%
• Food and Beverage 87%
• Sports / Outdoor 87%
• Misc Retail 82%
• Gifts and Collectables 78%

3 Basic Elements of Every Email

1. Personalization
2. Branding
3. Call to Action

Sender OK has a plug in for Outlook, Gmail, Live and Yahoo, where you add a social network into the header panel of messages

Success Story:
Dreamfields Pasta built a marketing database of excess of 280,000 brand advocates in the san of 24 months. << Check out this site

Something to think about. I have used Aweber for many years but would like to check out the other ESP to see what they offer and cost. Also, I am trying Mail Chimp for my civic association because they offer 500 email users for FREE for life. It will work great for the civic association.

God Bless,
John
Today is the perfect day to go swimming with the dolphins !!

Affiliate Website Pit Falls

Hi Guys,

As I have mentioned, I have been following James Martell, an affiliate guru. I have signed up for his affiliate newsletter and this is some points, 5 points, about making positive and income producing website.

1. Give Creditability to your site. Put your face on the website. Stand out and build trust with your face on your website. Brand yourself as the expert.
http://www.epilepsymoms.com/
and
http://www.kitcarconnection.com/

You will see Jame's face and his wife's face on both sites. He recommend to put your face on the top right hand corner and every page.

2. Ad your Name to Blog Posts. Articles you Write, - Full Name. Get people know you are a real resource. Just like a book, people buy the author. Everyone knows Steven King and will buy his books. You do the same.

3. Add your photo to your blog and articles you write- Adds creditability
Photo size 80X80 or 50X50
See example http://epilepsymoms.com/blog

4. When writing blogs or articles or stories - Add personality - Read stories about your reality. Stay away from boring facts and add some real personality.

5. Adding Audio to your website with your voice to your website.
You will see an example: http://www.epilepsymoms.com/ He said it doesn't matter whether you have the voice on or off. Your choice.

Your goal is to have your visitors believe in you. Stay away from Vanilla website where it looks and feels like all the other. If the customer doesn't believe in you, they won't buy from you.
God Bless,
John
Swim with the Dolphins Man