As a writer for Affiliate Classroom, sometimes I get to do those dreaded "other duties as assigned" that you see at the end of most job descriptions. And, I wasn't too thrilled when I was asked to test some new software. But I decided to be a trooper and give it a try. The software was developed by IntelliResponse and has the power to dynamically optimize the return you receive from your AdWords advertising. Hence the name "Dynamic ROI Optimizer." AdWords gurus will tell you that when you're advertising in AdWords, you need to use hundreds of keywords in order to get any results. And, you need to sort all of these keywords into the proper "Campaigns," and then separate all the keywords into various "Ad Groups." After that's all done, you have a LOT of groups to track, and the keywords can go on for pages and pages. This becomes a problem because it takes a lot of time to click through those pages twice a day (or more), and see what keywords are performing, and whether you have been ... Read More →

I just flew back from the Affiliate Summit and boy are my arms tired! (Sorry, I just had to say that.). Actually my feet are really tired. The Affiliate Classroom had a booth at the event, and I've never seen so many people! I overheard one person say that this was the best attendance they had ever seen. There was a Meet and Greet (cleverly called the Meet Market) late Friday, which was the first networking opportunity of the event. A lot of people attended, and were given a preview of some of the companies that would be exhibiting the next day. Again, I heard people say that at the last Affiliate Summit, this was not a popular event. I guess it pays to try again – even if there is a football game going on! The Event Hall opened on Monday and lasted through Wednesday. There were a LOT of exhibits to look at – three long rows, with exhibitors on each side. Everyone had something to give away, or something to attract people into their space. I enjoyed the little person dressed up like Elvis, and was more than a little annoyed when I missed the... Read More →

And that something is called linkrot. It’s an ugly term (then again, any word with “rot” in it is never pretty) that describes a problem for affiliate marketing websites.

Linkrot is the process by which links from one website to another slowly become less accurate, or extinct.

As an affiliate marketer, you drive business to a merchant’s website, so your website will contain links to that site. Say you set up a link to a destination page on the merchant’s site, and turn your attention to other matters. Over time, that link could “break” or become irrelevant due to one of the following:

• The destination page’s URL may have changed.
• The destina... Read More →

According to eMarketer, adults are now spending more time with their computer than their "significant other".

According to the "Cyber Stress" study from Support.com, conducted by Kelton Research, 65% of US consumers over the age of 18 spend more time with their computers than with their significant others.

That may be bad news for relationships, but it's good news for affiliate marketers. There's one other significant item in the eMarketer article:

"A majority of Americans (52%) describe their most recent experience with a computer problem as one of anger, sadness or alienation."

That gives affiliate marketers a clue to how to take advantage of the information. If you can devise a site that, instead, provides the user with an experience that makes him or her excited, cheerful, and connected then you've got one winning combination. When I say "winning", of course, I mean "profitable." I'm betting that will make your "significan... Read More →

Kevin Lee, in a column on ClickZ, has written a terrific piece on an important SEO idea: SEO scent.

“Search scent is an extension of the information scent concept, initially developed by scientists at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Information scent centers on the how users navigate the Web, both within sites and from one site to the next while pursuing information on a specific topic. The research illustrates that humans forage for information on the Internet in much the same way animals follow scent and visual cues to find food. Scent is essentially an application of user interface optimization best practices, and search scent is a specific niche based on the fact searchers are even more wedded to a particular information-gathering mission than surfers or casual browsers.”

The idea is that you should go beyond simply defining good keywords (which is certainly essential) and trying to get goo... Read More →

In my post on December 7, I explained how a squeeze page can help affiliate marketers build those all-important opt-in lists of email addresses. Once you begin collecting those email addresses, the autoresponder becomes an absolute must-have tool for your email marketing efforts.

In its basic form, an autoresponder is a software program that receives a message or inquiry from an email address and automatically, almost instantaneously, sends a reply to that address. No humans are used in the sending of such replies, so you can arrange to send them whenever you want.

Microsoft Outlook contains a classic example of this. Outlook’s "Out of Office Assistant" (available to Microsoft Exchange Server email account users) is an autoresponder that allows you to reply to anyone who sends y... Read More →

I just had a real-life experience that I think can teach us all a good marketing lesson. During the holidays I decided to get my friend one of those cool Black & Decker Power Scissors. You may have seen the ads. They are the battery powered ones that can cut through anything! However, since they were highly advertised, I couldn't find one anywhere! Everyone was sold out of them (and still are). So, I printed off a picture and gave that to her - and have been looking for them ever since. Today I went into Home Depot and asked about them for about the fifth time. The girl there was very nice; she said that they had them last year, but they all went out on the clearance rack recently. I was surprised that they were on clearance already, so I asked - "These were just released this year, why were they on clearance so fast?" The lady doing inventory told me that they actually came out for the 2005 Holiday Season, but Black & Decker didn't advertise them so they just sat around for a year until they finally put them on clearance. Then, when they finally decided to adve... Read More →

If you're doing Affiliate Marketing correctly, you have at least one subscriber list developed and are sending regular newsletters to your subscribers. Now, there's something new to consider before you set up future newsletters. HTML or Text? Most of my newsletters are basic text messages. I've done this for the sake of convenience, but I find that sometimes I would like to add a banner or another form of advertising to make my message a little "prettier," and more clickable. That's why I made the decision to ”step up to the plate” and develop the newsletter for my next website in HTML format. However, now, due to the changes Microsoft is making with the release of Outlook 2007 (which is only a couple weeks away), I may have to reconsider. Here are a few things you need to know to make sure your newsletter continues to be readable by subscribers who have updated their Outlook programs: For security reasons (I guess) Outlook will use the Word 2007 HTML parsing and rendering engine to display HTML emails - NOT Internet Explorer. ... Read More →

At Affiliate Classroom Magazine, we've decided to make affiliate marketing fundamentals our focus in 2007. In the January issue we'll help you choose the right programs and merchants. Our cover story illustrates how a working affiliate goes through the process of selecting a good program. Beginners will find useful tips for merchant selection, and intermediate and advanced marketers may learn a thing or two as well! For non US-based affiliates, there's an article on international program selection. No theory here, just practical advice on finding programs, getting accepted, and increasing conversions from international buyers. And if you're curious about who won Affiliate Classroom Magazine's Product of the Year Award, don't miss this issue. It's not just the most versatile marketing product of the yea... Read More →

I've read a lot of literature that explains how to set up web pages for the best natural Search Engine Optimization. However, there is very little written on how to measure that success. You spend a lot of time optimizing the pages, so here are a few things you can do to see if that time was spent wisely. Check your Rankings. If you are using a large number of keywords to bring traffic to your site, it will not be feasible to track each one. For this reason, pick a subset of the large list - the main keywords that are increasing sales - and track them. To best select your keywords, use the words that are ranking high for traffic and revenue in your PPC campaign. Then you can easily measure success by watching for words that climb or drop in search-engine rankings.

Revenue: One might think that measuring Revenue is the easiest way to determine if your SEO is working. But you need to do it right. You can't just put up the new pages and start tracking money coming in. Revenue is the mos... Read More →