Can a Mini- or Micro-Site Loom Large for You?
Thursday, January 11th, 2007 at 5:32 pm by Matt Van Atta
It’s been said time and again that the best things can come in small packages. For many affiliate marketers, the website can be a “small package” that generates a big revenue stream.
But, say your original website topic has grown to include a number of products, services, and other options that you offer to your visitors. You may want to introduce a new product or service to your niche market, or you may want to regenerate interest in a current offering.
Or maybe you feel your site is not as fresh, or your knowledge of the market not as current, and you just need a new approach to see to what degree it reaches your target audience.
Building a micro-site or a mini-site can address these matters.
Reading up on these two concepts can be confusing. Some websites claim that the terms “micro-site” and “mini-site” are one and the same; and in many ways, they are. Just as the Internet evolves at a breakneck pace, so does the terminology associated with it; and this etymological evolution leads to the confusion.
In the beginning, when the Internet was created, a mini-site was known simply as a single sales-oriented page, intended exclusively to sell a product or otherwise entice the reader to take immediate action. Now, however, that same sales-oriented page (or collection of two or three pages) is known as a micro-site.
A micro-site contains the following features:
- A user environment that is somehow unique and autonomous from the main website.
- Either a single landing page or 1-3 pages containing the offer being marketed and perhaps a link back to the main website.
- A look and feel that is similar to the main website, or one that is distinct from the main website.
- Either a website URL it shares with the main website, or (more often) its own unique URL.
Such a site can be a launching point for a pay-per-click campaign to generate interest. Or, it could contain a great deal of SEO keywords, energy, and overall “wow factor” to draw attention.
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Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Affiliate Marketing Definitions
[…] In Part I, we looked at the characteristics of a “micro-site.” For Part II, we examine the related concept of a mini-site. […]