Strategies for Conversions through Effective Affiliate Landing Pages - Part 2 (Directing Visitors Who Want to Buy)

In Strategies for Affiliate Landing Pages Part 1 we discussed the idea of a value added landing page, talked about two types of site visitors, and discussed strategies for designing a landing page for early buying cycle visitors. Now, I'd like to discuss strategies for those buyers who know exactly what they want to purchase.

You can usually identify these buyers by how they are arriving at your site. If they've used exact product names, or very specific keywords, then you can generally assume that they have already narrowed down their choice to this specific product. Now it's all a matter of directing the visitor to where they can make the purchase.  Your job as an affiliate is not to convince them to make the purchase, this must be accomplished by the merchant. If you are promoting a specific merchant, then you should already know that the merchant is able to convert visitors to customers.

Visitors who have arrived at your page from typing in a specific product name, or model number, are expecting to see that product clearly on your page. Header, title, bolded, make it very clear to the visitor that they have arrived at the correct place. K.I.S.S., or Keep It Simple Stupid. Don't clutter up the page with unnecessary distractions, banners, etc. Be concise and clear, keep sentences short, paragraphs short, and even use bullet points. Emphasize promotions or coupons that a merchant has available, and make the value proposition clear.

If you have a comparison on the page of the product from a few different merchants, highlight the value proposition for each merchant. Guarantees, free shipping, return policy, etc. The visitor knows what they want to buy, now they need to be directed on where to buy from. Give them the information to make a quick decision, and pass them to the merchant to close the sale.

And finally, but critically important, make a very clear, very easy to identify, call to action:  Click here; Buy here, Buy now.

Don't be afraid to test and try different things.  Try two different pages and alternate them. Does one convert better?  USE it. Good affiliate marketing takes effort, so don't be afraid to put forth the effort and build a couple landing pages and test them.

Recap:

• Product name/keyword featured on the page.
• Keep it simple.
• Emphasize coupons/discounts/promotions.
• Provide short value propositions if different merchants promoted.
• Clear, visible, distinct call to action

If you have any other tips or advise, or want to share successes, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

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Strategies for Conversions through Effective Affiliate Landing Pages - Part 1

Well there was a lot of hubbub that came out of he Affiliate Summit and Jason Calacanis' keynote talk. He called affiliates to the table, especially those with what he termed "thin landing pages." The warning that he sounded, is that some bad affiliates are polluting the well for everyone.

Granted, deceptive landing pages, cookie stuffing, deceptive redirection, misleading offers, etc., are polluting the well, however thin landing pages really are just poor business execution. Affiliates aren't paid on clicks, they are paid only when the sale is made, so if affiliates do not send pre-sold or targeted traffic to a merchant, the affiliate isn't going to be making any money.  As more people get into the affiliate business, and start building value added sites, these thin landing page sites will get driven off the map. This is a natural progression, the cream will rise to the top.

Now, how do you as an affiliate ensure that you are part of the cream that rises to the top? It's not a secret sauce, and it's not rocket science. One need only add some value to the buying cycle.  There are essentially two types of buying traffic, people gathering information and in the early stages of the buying cycle, and those who have pretty much decided and looking to make a purchase. Each visitor has different needs that must be met. You can get an idea on what type of visitor will be arriving at your site, based on where they are coming from and the keywords they are using to reach the web page. Let me provide an example, I run the program for Baghaus handbags. Now if someone arrives at a site using the keywords, "Celebrity Handbag", I know they are generally early in their buying cycle, and just shopping around for ideas or information. However, if they hit the site using a very specific handbag name, I can deduce that they are looking to purchase that specific handbag.

Visitors in the early part of the buying cycle should be directed to a different type of page that late cycle buyers. How can you add value to the early cycle buyers?  Here are some ideas:

• Show many different products listed and compared.
• Informative content / articles concerning the type of product or niche.
• Comparison chart

The important thing to consider is, "what is going to be valuable to your visitor, and convince them to make or return and make the purchase through your site?" Establish your site as an authority site for information about this product or niche for this visitor.

Let me tell you, slapping up a site with a ton of banners mish-mashed all over the place isn't going to get that done. Put yourself in your visitor's shoes. If you hit that type of site, how will it help you in making a purchasing decision? What value is it adding for you in the buying cycle?

On your site, add a "About Us" page and also a "Privacy Policy". Fill these in as well, to give your visitor a sense that your are running a real business, and are committed running a professional operation. I guarantee having these two simple pages will increase your conversions and return visitor numbers.

Next post, we'll deal with how to build pages for those late cycle buyers who are intending to make a purchase.

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Performance Marketing Support Group re-launches Monthly Teleconference for Internet Retailers and Marketing Professionals

Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, at 4:00pm Eastern Time, Allan Dick from Vintage Tub & Bath and Jeff Molander host a conference call to help e-marketing and e-commerce professionals find solutions to any issues or problems faced on a daily basis. Issues are discussed amongst peers, and advice will be offered from industry experts on the call.

This is a great opportunity to hear what your peers are facing, and listen to new insights on solutions to problems. The call on February 20th will center around the debate on how to balance paid search with affiliate marketing strategies. We at AMWSO are certainly keen to listen to the thoughts of other retailers and consultants on this very hot topic.

The monthly calls are a life blood for me. As the sole person charged with e-commerce marketing management at a mid-sized multi-channel retailer, I need a support group that speaks my language,

- Trish Tickle of Kitchen Collection.

Even after the call finishes, participants are invited to join a web based discussion group to network and continue helping one another. Trish continues:

Networking with other affiliate managers lets me find out about new ideas, explore and ask questions about things that I don t have time to research completely. Between calls we can email each other or the whole group about issues that can t wait until the next call. In fact, just yesterday we were discussing international affiliate marketing.

To sign up for the call, contact: Allan Dick at allan@vintagetub.com.

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Digging Deeper into the Affiliate Webspace with Syntryx

Affiliate marketing companies are starting to wake up to Syntryx, the game-changing data analysis tool that's been on the scene for over a year. A powerful data collection and mining tool, Syntryx allows users to scour the web sphere for high performing existing affiliates and potential affiliate targets.

What does Syntryx do?

The great thing about Syntryx: it is actually a search engine and web crawler. It crawls the web with an eye out for things affiliate recruiters, media buyers, and SEO experts would be specifically looking for. However, that's only part of the value, once all of the data is collected in the Syntryx database, powerful data mining and analysis tools are provided that allow users to judge the force (reach/traffic/value) of a domain, identify all the domains held by a particular webmaster or company, analyze what other offers or programs are being promoted on an affiliate's site, and this is just scratching the surface.

How can users benefit from using Syntryx?

It is pretty easy to dive straight in and started mining the database for affiliate sites in particular program niches. AMs can target sites that already have affiliate links based on keywords the site ranks for, or even search for same/similar niche specific affiliate links anywhere in web sphere. All affiliate managers know the well-known top affiliate sites, but now Syntryx allows affiliate managers to see if a particular affiliate has another less well-known niche site that might fit perfectly with a particular program niche. These are just a couple uses specifically related to affiliate marketing. Affiliate managers can now also provide valuable information to clients useful in  competitor analysis, SEO and paid search campaigns.

For our own clients we certainly see the value extracted from this tool when combined with expert and experienced analysis provided by AMWSO managers. We know our investment will be quickly returned with interest.

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Affiliate Marketing and using PPC and Organic SEO as Traffic Driving Tactics

I know no valid reason for not using both tactics to drive traffic to an affiliate website other than fear (don't know PPC, might lose money) or laziness (I get traffic via PPC, why should I bother with organic SEO?). Organic search results are obtained through time, building quality links back to the site, and page optimization. Time is really a key factor with organic rankings, as it generally takes time to obtain high rankings for a wide range of search keywords. Paid search or PPC is simply a marketplace for visitors. An affiliate submits an ad to the search engines and bids for placement, and buys clicks/traffic/visits.

Organic search results are viewed by consumer searchers as more credible than paid search advertisements. From a consumer perspective (be it a truly valid or not), the search company is an objective party assigning credibility to top search results by ranking them highly. However, it's not likely that any affiliate can rank in the top 3 or top 5 for the majority of keyword searches for their target categories across all of the major search engines. This is where paid search comes into play. An affiliate is still able to get onto the first page of results through a paid search listing for keywords they might not otherwise rank for organically.

When first building an affiliate site, one effective strategy is to immediately jump in with PPC ads to drive traffic to the site. This allows an affiliate to test things out (is the page converting, how well is it being received, etc?) WHILE the organic search placements are being improved through time and through link building. The important factor, when using PPC ads to drive traffic to affiliate offers, is to track, measure and adjust. Make sure your ad costs are not exceeding what you are making via commissions. Kristy at AffiliateStuff just gave us a great formula for figuring this out:

Avg Order Value x Avg Conversion Rate = Avg Sales Per Hundred Clicks x Affiliate Commission = Avg Earnings Per Hundred Clicks

Once you have your average earning per 100 Clicks, compare that with your ad cost for 100 clicks, and if the earnings are higher, then you're making money! If it's lower, then it's time to do some analysis, figure out which keywords are costing the most and converting the least, and either optimize the ads, or get rid of those keywords. Successful PPC marketing is all about trying, measuring, analyzing, and reconfiguring; it's quite a simple process that only seems complex at first.

Now, back to the original topic at hand, paid search vs. organic search. I've tried to build the case for using paid search and even delved into a tactic on how to do paid search. Now, to address those who are just slapping up quick landing pages designed only to funnel the visitor as quickly as possible to the merchant page, There really is no reason not to build that landing page up for organic rankings as well other than laziness. Half the battle is finished, the page is there, online, the affiliate link is set. Now, simply build some original quality content for the page, and start working to get links back to that page or site. Organic results are free, an added bonus that costs nothing outside of effort and creativity.

A well-rounded, diversified affiliate will employ both tactics to make their affiliate business a success. If you're neglecting one or the other, there are some great free resources out there through forums and blogs to help you build up your skill set. However, don't try to over analyze and over educate, the important thing is to dip your foot in the water and try it yourself. Experience is always the best education.

Excellent Learning Resources for SEO and PPC:

• Abestweb Forum
• SEOmoz Community
• SEOBook Blog and Tools
• Webpronews
• WebmasterWorld
• Digital Point Forums
• PPC Ad Copy Article - Marketing Experiments

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Top Converting Keywords for Overstock Jeweler Partners

From all of us at OverstockJeweler.Com we would like to wish you a happy and prosperous month of July! In this exciting update, we are pleased to bring you our Top 40 Converting Keywords list. (Please click here for the keyword list)

To keep your conversions as high as possible, always make sure you use the correct landing pages for your PPC campaigns. For example, the keyword "Tiffany fake" should land on http://www.overstockjeweler.com/tiffany-inspired.html ; the keyword "david yurman faux" should land on http://overstockjeweler.com/david-yurman-inspired.html, etc. It seems very obvious but many times we see partners putting up PPC campaigns and not taking the time to optimize them to hit the right pages.

If you new to Pay Per Click campaigns then take a moment and get up to speed by reading the latest article on AMWSO called "Getting the Most out of PPC".

If you haven't already, please join the Overstock Jeweler affiliate program here:

Cheers

Allen

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