What is affiliate marketing and how do I get started?
What is affiliate marketing and how do I get started?
Definition of affiliate marketing:
Affiliate marketing is taking someone else's product or service
and advertising it using your own affiliate website or link in
order to make money. The owner of the website/product/service
will pay you a percentage of each sale generated through your
unique affiliate link or website. Sounds a bit confusing, but in
reality is a very simple process with a win/win situation for
all parties involved and a fun way to make money online.
How to get started:
You have two options to consider when doing affiliate marketing,
whether to have a website or to simply advertise using your
unique affiliate link. Many affiliates will create an
informational website to be used as a basis for related
affiliate links. This can be a great option, due to the fact
that you would only need to advertise one website in order to
make money.
To go this route, think of something that you are passionate
about or something that is a hot topic right now. Once you have
determined your theme you need to decide on a website name. To
find ideas and keywords to be used as a URL, or domain name, I
would recommend using http://wordtracker.com to find appropriate
popular keywords related to your theme. It is good to use a
popular keyword as your website and domain name so that you will
rank higher in search engines.
Once you have your theme and have chosen a name, you need to
register your domain name and obtain website hosting. I
recommend using Yahoo for your website hosting needs. They offer
a free domain name and website builder that does not require
knowledge of html when you purchase website hosting. They also
allow you to pay monthly rather than having to pay a year in
advance which helps you save with upfront costs.
Your next step would be to build your website and fill it to the
brim with great information related to your theme. A great and
easy way to do this is to get articles from free article
websites like the ones listed below:
http://www.1st-in-articles.com/
http://www.advertisingknowhow.com http://www.amazines.com
http://www.articlecity.com http://www.ArticleHub.com
http://www.articles911.com http://www.articletrades.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com http://www.parentclicks.com
http://www.zongoo.com
Then, once you have a great website full of information about
your theme, your next step is to work on search engine
optimization. Do a search on Google for SEO and you will find
lots of free information on how to do this. You also need to
offer a free newsletter so that you can establish repeat
visitors.
When your informational website is complete and fully optimized,
submit it to all of the major search engines. Google's "submit a
URL" can be found under "About" Google. This is the main one and
the best place to start. Yahoo charges a fee to submit your
website to them so this would be something you could do later.
Now you are ready to start adding affiliate links to your
website so you can earn money! Sign up at these free websites
and find appropriate websites to affiliate with:
http://www.LinkShare.com http://www.CJ.com
http://www.ShareASale.com http://www.Clickbank.com
Also, add Google Adsense to your website for added revenue.
Advertise using Pay Per Click such as Google.com/Adwords and
Overture.com. Continue to add a page of information to your
website daily. The more information you have, the higher your
chances of ranking with more keywords on the major search
engines. Have fun maintaining your website and watching your
traffic...and your revenue grow! Affiliate marketing is a great
way to make money and your earning potential is almost endless.
Affiliate marketing is something you can get started doing today
to earn money online.