Affiliate Marketing | Bulbwired.com

Improve your site Link Popularity

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Link Popularity is one of key area to increase your site page ranking and search ranking. Incoming links are just like votes in election for your website however there is point as we have to emphases on quality links rather quantity. Valuable links are like 100 of poor links equals to 1 quality link. In this article, I would like to explain how differentiate quality links and how to get them which will effect and improve and strengthen your website ranking.

Mistakes in Link Building
It is never too late to focus on the right direction to get qualified incoming links. Here is few mistakes those may follow by SEOs, Link Builder or website owner and webmasters.

1- Focus on Quantity than Quality: It is the quality of incoming links that will bring your website at 1st page so always you should look for qualified incoming links rather quantity.
2- Link Exchange or Reciprocal Links: Link exchange or reciprocal links should be avoided.
3- Ignorance of Check and Balance for Links: If you don’t check and balance your listings periodically, you may lose your hard gain incoming links
4- Purchase Bulk Links: Search engines become very intelligent these days, you can’t make them fool by purchasing bulk links, because search engine check your incoming links frequency as well with time
5- Paid Links: Paid links can be very healthy but if they are used as a part of the strategy, if you have no idea of how many paid links you are going to have, that can upset your link building campaign.

Do You Have Categorized and Simplified Database?
In link building campaign, your database is your key to success; it is the backbone of your overall link building strategy. If you have a poor database, which is not categorized and simplified, you can’t be comfortable from your link building strategy.

Try to have categorized and simplified database, make a master database with following mentioned fields.

Important Fields for Master Database for any Link Building Campaign
1. URL
2. Direct Link (Direct Link of Submission or Registration)
3. Industry Type (Show Biz, Construction, Telecommunication…)
4. Link Type (One Way, Reciprocal, Paid)
5. Link Style (Anchor link, Title Hyper Link, URL Link, Vote Link)
6. Link Period (1 Year or Life time)
7. PageRank (1, 2, 3…10)
8. Title Limit (Characters Limit)
9. Description Limit (Characters Limit)
10. Keywords Limit (Characters Limit)

Insertion & Update Your Master Database!
Your master database (structure) is ready, now You need to make it valuable by inserting data to it, it requires an on-going updates. Don’t let anything go away as it can be used for your current asa for new projects

Tags: Adwords, Affiliate Marketing, Affiliate networks, Article Marketing, back links, dofollow, dofollow blogs, Email marketing, Google, Google site map, keyword research, link building, MSN, On page, On Page optimization, On Site, pay per click, PPC, SEM tips, SEO, SEO College, SEO tips, SEO training, Site maintence, Social Media Marekting, Yahoo Search Marketing
Posted in BackLinks | 0 Comments

Benefits of an Industry Certification (SEO)

Monday, May 18th, 2009

SEM Industry Training: What are the Options?

By Kalena Jordan

The State of SEM Training

Search Engine Marketing is the hottest new career to sweep the employment sector. There are literally more jobs available than there are marketers to fill them, hence the high salaries. Traditionally, SEO/SEM has had a long, steep learning curve, so there is currently a large supply/demand gap.

The growth of the industry has underscored the need for faster, more flexible training options. The demand for trained SEO/SEM staff has accelerated the launch of online training programs in the past three years. The spread of misinformation and the growth of dodgy SEO practices have also highlighted a need for best-practice industry certification.

Advantages of a Career in SEM

Here are the major advantages of having a career in search engine marketing:

1.   The search industry is hot, hot, HOT!
2.   SEO considered one of four jobs on the cutting edge
3.   The pay is (usually) fantastic
4.   You can learn it all online
5.   You can be your own boss
6.   Search marketing has the WOW factor
7.   The demand is strong and growing
8.   The industry is hip and groovy
9.   The skills are portable and global
10.   Job satisfaction is high

SEM Training Options

If you decide to start that career in search engine marketing, you have numerous training options open to you:

- Do It Yourself (DIY)
- E-books and online manuals
- Books and offline manuals
- Conferences and seminars
- In-person training
- Online courses

Let’s go through these training options one by one.

Do It Yourself (DIY)

You could try to learn search engine marketing on your own, by conducting your own research, reading widely in webmaster forums and honing your skills on your own sites via trial and error.

The advantages of learning SEM on your own are:

- You can set your own timeframe
- It’s generally inexpensive
- You have the satisfaction of acquiring skills on your own

The disadvantages of learning SEM on your own are:

- There is a very long lead time
- You will be faced with conflicting and unreliable information sources
- There is only a limited ability to network with peers
- Research is time-consuming
- You won’t know what works and what doesn’t until you trial it
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

E-books and Online Manuals

There are plenty of e-books and manuals about search engine marketing available online.

The advantages of learning SEM via e-books and manuals are:

- They are generally inexpensive
- They are readily available

The disadvantages of learning SEM via e-books and manuals are:

- They are generally considered lower quality than training
- There is no interaction with your peers
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM e-books and manuals include:

The SEO Book by Aaron Wall

The Nitty Gritty of Writing for the Search Engines by Jill Whalen

SEM: The Essential Best Practice Guide by Mike Grehan

Books and Offline Manuals

As with online versions, there are just as many physical books, CDs and offline training manuals available to persons wanting to learn search engine marketing.

The advantages of learning SEM via books and offline manuals are:

- They are usually inexpensive
- They are readily available

The advantages of learning SEM via books and offline manuals are:

- The information dates quickly
- There is no interaction with your peers
- You’ll have no proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM books and offline manuals include:

Search Engine Visibility by Shari Thurow

SitePoint’s SEM Kit by Dan Thies

Building Your Business with Google For Dummies by Brad Hill

Conferences and Seminars

As search engine marketing has grown as an industry, so too have the number of conferences and events dedicated to it.

The advantages of learning SEM via conferences and seminars are:

- They offer cutting edge information
- They often provide access to search engine staff
- They give you the ability to network with peers

The disadvantages of learning SEM via conferences and seminars are:

- You must travel to the venue
- They generally provide no training material
- They can be more expensive than other options
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM conferences and seminars include:

Search Engine Watch’s Search Engine Strategies

Webmaster World’s PubCon

Search Engine Land’s Search Marketing Expo

Australia’s Search Summit

In-person Training

Just as the number of conferences relating to search engine marketing has grown, so too has the demand for in-house training in SEO and SEM subjects.

The advantages of learning SEM via in-person training are:

- It generally includes step-by-step instructions
- Training material is usually provided
- Verification of subjects studied is provided
- You have the ability to network with your peers
- Some form of certification is generally given
- University credits are sometimes available
- Certification may be recognized by potential employers

The disadvantages of learning SEM via in-person training are:

- You must travel to the venue
- The information can date quickly
- It can be more expensive than other options

Examples of SEM in-person training include:

Bruce Clay’s SEOToolSet

Jill Whalen’s SEM Seminars

Search Engine Bootcamp

Elite Retreat

Online Training Courses

It’s not always viable or affordable for webmasters to attend conferences or training sessions at a venue other than their home or workplace. For these reasons, the demand for online training in search engine marketing subjects has skyrocketed.

The advantages of learning SEM via online training courses are:

- Courses are available 24/7 from any location worldwide
- Training materials are provided
- They are usually cheaper than venue-based options
- They generally include step-by-step instructions
- Courses are self-paced and interactive
- Certification is provided
- A knowledge benchmark is required to qualify for certification
- Verification of subjects studied is provided
- The lesson materials are updated regularly
- University credits are sometimes available
- Certification is usually recognized by potential employers
- Training institutions can assist graduates with employment

The disadvantages of learning SEM via online training courses are:

- They can be more expensive than other options
- There is only a limited ability to network with peers

Providers of online training courses in search engine marketing include:

Search Engine College – http://www.searchenginecollege.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=291_1_aaid_2

Benefits of Industry Certification

When it comes to industry certification, there are various schools of thought in the SEM industry. Some suggest certification is simply not necessary, others state that SEO/SEM has no official industry standards, so any certification is meaningless, still others insist that certification is becoming increasingly important to potential employers and persons seeking careers in SEO and SEM.

If you’re skeptical about the value of industry certification, ask yourself these questions: Will you be looking to hire search marketing staff over the next 12 months? Would you prefer to hire search marketing staff that hold industry certification? Will you be seeking a job in the search industry over the next 12 months? Do you think holding industry certification would give you an edge over applicants applying for the same jobs?

Here are some advantages to having industry certification in search engine marketing:

For Staff:

- Proof of subjects studied and skills acquired
- Ability to promote certification on web site / CV
- An edge over other applicants when applying for SEO/SEM jobs.

For Employers:

- Ability to hire based on a proven skill set (e.g. ability to set up a Yahoo! SEM campaign quickly).
- Ability to impress clients with certified status of staff.
- Reassurance that search engine-approved methods are used.
- Less on-the-job training is required.

To Sum Up

Everyone has a different learning style, so don’t assume one method will work for you. Don’t rely on a single source of training for your search engine marketing needs. Attend conferences, purchase books, take a course, network in forums and DIY when you can to acquire a broader knowledge base.

Finally, remember that training should always be supported by hands-on SEO/SEM experience so get those hands dirty!

About the Author:

Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as running her own SEO business, Kalena manages Search Engine College – http://www.searchenginecollege.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=291_1_aaid_2
- an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses
and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and
other Search Engine Marketing subjects.

Tags: Adwords, Affiliate Marketing, Article Marketing, dofollow, dofollow blogs, Email marketing, Google, SEO College, SEO tips, SEO training
Posted in SEO | 0 Comments

All Backlinks Are Not Created Equal

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Ok, we all know backlinks are a huge part of determining your site worth to most search engines. Each backlink to your site is a vote for it. Backlinks are the building blocks of SEO itself. We’ll look into what should be on your mind as you are acquiring backlinks.

The first intuition is to see how many you can get. That’s just one piece of the whole backlink pie. Search engines like Google have been around some time and have a lot of brilliant minds working for them. A higher quality backlink is worth more towards higher search engine rankings.

Some things to consider about backlinks:
1. Age affects all backlinks. Google specifically weighs a backlink more with age. Backlinks gain in weight over time until after around 6 months they reach their full weight. Basically, it means that the effort you do building backlinks will be worth more and more.

2. Anchor text is hugely important. The words on the backlink itself from the other site also play into it appears the other site views your site. When the keywords you are optimizing for are used, the link gains a much higher quality. The thing to watch out for here is that the text is varying. Google picks up on when all of you backlinks have the same exact text.

3. Getting backlinks from sites with the same theme as yours will benefit you much more than non-relevant sites. This makes sense since a link to your health food site from a car site about old Mustangs isn’t going to do much for a visitor, so it won’t for Google either.

4. The better the reputation or Page Rank of a site that links to you, the higher quality it is. Fairly obvious. If CNN or Slashdot linked to you, that one backlink would likely outweigh all your other backlinks together.

5. The physical location of a backlink on the page can also be a noteable factor for search engines. Google in particular lends more weight to links the higher towards the top of the page. If there is surrounding content the links appear more natural so they are valued higher.

Reciprocal links are always the hot topic when talking SEO. The truth is, reciprocal links are still alive and going well. Reciprocal links between websites with similar themes is natural and expected. Though I have read many many times of claims that reciprocal linking is dead, rest assured that quality reciprocal links are not going away anytime soon. Google for instance has its sights set on backlinks that were bought, and from link farms where 5 minutes after paying some money you have thousands of sites pointing to yours.

While there are many other factors such as the age of your website and how much content is on your website, those will be left to another article.

Backlinks are indeed the cornerstone of getting a website established on the Internet. Without enough backlinks visitors won’t know your site exists, and search engines will put little weight to your website resulting in a further loss of potential traffic, which could make or break your site. The key is to go out knowing what backlinks you want and spend enough time to make your site known. Properly setup, your backlinks will keep your site popular with visitors for a long time to come.

Tags: Adwords, Affiliate Marketing, back links, Google, keyword research, link building, links, SEO, SEO tips, Site maintence, Social Media Marekting, Yahoo Search Marketing
Posted in SEO | 0 Comments

7 Reasons Why 87% of Affiliate Marketers Don’t Make Money.

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

If you are a work at home beginner then being an affiliate is THE most lucrative means to start making money fast. But being an affiliate and being a successful affiliate who’s making money are two different things. You’ll be surprised that 87% of affiliates don’t make more than $175 a month. Are you one of these struggling affiliate marketers? Here are 7 reasons why you could be among those who don’t make money.

1) Saturated Market

One of the most common mistakes that many affiliates make is to join an affiliate program that promotes a product that targets a highly saturated market. That means that the target market you are trying to sell to is full of others who are trying to sell the same thing. Areas such as “internet marketing” and “website traffic” are areas that relatively new affiliates should be weary of since it’s very hard to sell anything in these markets unless you’ve already made a name for yourself. Stay away from these highly saturated markets and find “niche” markets that you can easily dominate and promote to. This will greatly help you make a profit.

2) No interest in product

This is a mistake that many affiliates do without knowing it. They simply join an affiliate program because it’s “cool” or because someone else told them to. And they figure that by being an affiliate they will get the same benefits. Don’t be fooled. If you don’t have a personal interest in the product you are promoting you won’t put in the effort to actively promote it. And this will ruin your chances of success. If you like what you promote, then it shows through your websites or your written words and this positive influence is transferred to your prospective buyers as well. Make sure you join an affiliate website that promotes a product that interests you.

3) Low profitability

Many affiliates join an affiliate program simply because the payout per sale is huge. Often a single sale might pay you $99.00. And you think it’s a good product to promote. But you forget the fact that to earn $99.00 you have to sell a product that’s $299.00. Thus a single sale could be hard to make as compared to a much lower priced item. Therefore concentrate on joining an affiliate program that pays a higher percentage yet has a product price that is low or moderate. A 50% commission of a product that costs $50 is a good deal because you will be able to sell more of that product that the high priced ones.

4) No pre-selling

Many affiliates simply advertise their affiliate URL. They put their entire faith on the main affiliate website that they are sending people to. Thus your success is in someone else’s hands. Why take the risk? Why not pre-sell the idea of the product and get the prospect into a buying mood by preparing them for what they will find at the affiliate main site? A well constructed product review can be the ideal pre-sell for any product. Advertise your website that reviews the product and let the prospect visit the main site via your website. Once you “prep” them up, the sale is far more easier to make.

5) No Link cloaking

As I mentioned before, many affiliates use their affiliate URLs in advertising. This means that their affiliate Ids are plainly visible to anyone who wants to replace it with their own and thus steal a sale from you. Thus you must employ some form of link cloaking or encryption so that your affiliate links don’t get stolen or hijacked. Why chance it when you can prevent link theft?

6) No focus

A common mistake of an affiliate is to join an affiliate network and start promoting ALL of the network’s products at once. This “shot gun” affect can shoot down your profits simply due to the fact that you have no focus and thus your advertising efforts are wasted. Always pick one or two related products and maintain your focus. This way you can tune your marketing efforts without the other product cannibalizing your profits.

7) No targeted traffic

And lastly the most common mistake is to have no targeted traffic. Website traffic means nothing unless you get targeted traffic. Simply joining click exchanges or traffic exchanges will not make your affiliate checks soar. You simply MUST employ methods of FREE targeted traffic generation and keep generating traffic in this manner if you want your profits to increase as well.

There you have it. If you can avoid those 7 mistakes, then you will become a Super Affiliate that finally earns the kind of money you’ve always dreamed of.

About the Author
Khemal Dole owns and operateshttp://www.PaychecksDirect.com, a completely FREEservice that teaches many beginners and evenexperts how to work at home. Sign up for his FREE 14 day Work At Home Beginner’s Course and learn how real people make money from the internet.

Article source: http://www.contentdragon.com/content/business/small-business/7-reasons-why-87%25-of-affiliate-marketers-don-t-make-money/

Tags: Adwords, Affiliate Marketing, Affiliate networks, dofollow, Email marketing, keyword research, SEO tips, Social Media
Posted in Search Marketing | 0 Comments