What is Affiliate Marketing and How Do I Get
Started?
by Monica FairclothDefinition 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.
Copyright 2005 Monica Faircloth
About Monica: Monica Faircloth is a freelance writer and a
work at home mentor as well as the owner of: www.TheMommySite.com, www.HomeBasedMommy.com and www.Work-Online.org.
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