Affiliate Marketing Apprenticeship Program - Lesson 3/13
written by Anthony Dinh
First, I’d like to say thank-you and congratulate you for joining my Affiliate Marketing Apprenticeship Program. You’ve taken the first step in the right direction towards building a successful online business and financial freedom. This 13-step program is your roadmap to wealth, and it’s jam-packed with invaluable information…no tricks or gimmicks here folks, just solid and proven methods that work! SEO (search engine optimization), copywriting and various internet marketing methods will be covered throughout the tutorial. I suggest that you read through it once, let it soak in, try it out, then go back and read it again because you’ll surely pick up something new that you missed the first time around.
Here’s a breakdown of each lesson for your convenience:
Lesson 1 - Set Your Goal
Lesson 2 - Find Your Niche
Lesson 3 - Keyword Sniping
Lesson 4 - Research Affiliate Programs
Lesson 5 - Build a Website Around Your Keyword
Lesson 6 - Incorporate Affiliate Links in Your Posts
Lesson 7 - Build Quality Backlinks
Lesson 8 - Submit Your Site to Web Directories
Lesson 9 - Submit Your Post to Article Directories
Lesson 10 - Add More Content and Build More Backlinks
Lesson 11 - The Waiting Game
Lesson 12 - Tweak Your Site
Lesson 13 - Scale Your Campaign
Before we begin with “Lesson 3 - Keyword Sniping“, please bookmark this page and subscribe to my full RSS feed as there are 13 steps, so you definitely won’t want to miss out! If you are just joining us now, be sure to go back and read “Lesson 1 - Set Your Goal“.
Affiliate Marketing Apprenticeship Program
Lesson 3 - Keyword Sniping
Now that you’ve selected the niche that you want to write about, the next step would be to “snipe” the keyword. When deciding on a keyword to snipe, some factors to consider are:
- The more specific and the more long-tailed the keyword, the fewer the competition, and the easier it will be to obtain a high ranking (i.e. “breast surgery doctor philadelphia” vs “breast surgery”).
- Your keyword should be searched at least 200 times a day, obviously, the more the better. There’s a bunch of keyword search tools out there, but I use WordTracker which shows daily search volumes, and it’s free! You can also use Google’s Keyword Tool if you already have an Adwords account.
- There are fewer than 1 million competing pages returned for this keyword in Google, obviously, the fewer the better. You can determine this by searching “your keyword” with quotes around it.
- The keyword has value to advertisers. Basically, anything that can be sold or has commissions has value.
- Select a keyword that is outside of the techie/internet world. Think of a keyword that your average teen or 70-year-old would likely be searching for. Doing so will not only leave you with fewer competitors, but it will also increase your conversion rate as people who aren’t as tech-savvy are more likely to click on ads.
Just to give you a few ideas and to get your mind going, here are some niches I would consider looking at:
(pest control, lawn care, hair products, acne treatments, teeth whitening, mortgages, loans, debt consolidation, home improvement, baby products, men’s/women’s health, weigh loss, etc.)
Bear in mind that questionable topics such as firearms, ammunition, butterfly knives, brass knuckles, concealable weapons, prescriptions drugs, beer and alcohol, tobacco or tobacco-related products, racial intolerance or gambling will not be not be supported by Google Adsense ads. Check out Google’s Program Policy for a full list.
The daily search volumes and competing pages figures mentioned above are just guidelines that I would stick to until you’re comfortable and have gained more confidence with keyword sniping. Once you achieve a #1 ranking for the long-tail keyword, then you can certainly focus on ranking for the bigger and broader keyword. One big advantage that you already have going for you is that most sites out there are targeting keywords with a single subpage. It’s much easier to obtain a higher ranking if you build a whole site(s) around a keyword as we will be doing in Lesson 5 - Build a Website Around Your Keyword.
To snipe your keyword using Google’s Keyword Tool:
1. first, login to your Adwords account and navigate to Tools->Keyword Tool
2. next, check the “Website Content” radio-button, enter the URL of the site you are going to promote, check the “Include other pages…” checkbox, and click “Get Keyword Ideas”
3. a list of keywords relating to the site you entered will be returned and organized in “groups”, click on the “Avg Search Volume” column to sort the list by highest to lowest search volumes
4. then, copy and paste the top keyword from each group into a text document
5. now search Google for forums where each of the keywords from step4 are being discussed by placing the “keyword” within quotes followed by the word forum: “keyword” forum
6. visit the first forum from the results list and browse through it, looking for additional keywords that are not included in your list. for example, if your list includes “weight loss”, then you wouldn’t add “weight loss excercises” since the phrase matches a keyword that’s already on your list. instead, you want to look for completely different keywords that are the subject of popular discussion threads with many user responses within the forum such as “yoga” or “pilates”
7. taking one word at a time, Google your entire list of keywords and copy down the URLs of all the Adsense ads displayed on page one of the results
8. take the resulting list of URLs from step7 and enter them one at a time back into the Adsense Tools->Keyword Tool->”Website Content” and click “Add all” which will add all the keywords to the selected keywords pane on the right-hand side
You will find that many of the resulting keywords are shared between some of the URLs you entered, but there will be some new ones as well. You now have a very powerful list of valuable keywords related to sites that are willing to pay for them! Click on the “Download these keywords” to your desired text or csv format for safe keeping…this is the list of keywords you will be using to build your affiliate site.
…Next >> Lesson 4 - Research Affiliate Programs
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Affiliate Marketing Apprenticeship Program - Lesson 2/13
written by Anthony Dinh
First, I’d like to say thank-you and congratulate you for joining my Affiliate Marketing Apprenticeship Program. You’ve taken the first step in the right direction towards building a successful online business and financial freedom. This 13-step program is your roadmap to wealth, and it’s jam-packed with invaluable information…no tricks or gimmicks here folks, just solid and proven methods that work! SEO (search engine optimization), copywriting and various internet marketing methods will be covered throughout the tutorial. I suggest that you read through it once, let it soak in, try it out, then go back and read it again because you’ll surely pick up something new that you missed the first time around.
Here’s a breakdown of each lesson for your convenience:
Lesson 1 - Set Your Goal
Lesson 2 - Find Your Niche
Lesson 3 - Keyword Sniping
Lesson 4 - Research Affiliate Programs
Lesson 5 - Build a Website Around Your Keyword
Lesson 6 - Incorporate Affiliate Links in Your Posts
Lesson 7 - Build Quality Backlinks
Lesson 8 - Submit Your Site to Web Directories
Lesson 9 - Submit Your Post to Article Directories
Lesson 10 - Add More Content and Build More Backlinks
Lesson 11 - The Waiting Game
Lesson 12 - Tweak Your Site
Lesson 13 - Scale Your Campaign
Before we begin with “Lesson 2 - Find Your Niche“, please bookmark this page and subscribe to full RSS feed as there are 13 steps, so you definitely won’t want to miss out! If you are just joining us now, be sure to go back and read “Lesson 1 - Set Your Goal“.
Affiliate Marketing Apprenticeship Program
Lesson 2 - Find Your Niche
When selecting a niche, I would start with something that interests you or that you’re knowledgeable about such as cars, sports, fitness, men’s/women’s health, lawn & gardening, wood-working, making money, arts & crafts, pets, baby products, debt consolidation, hiking/camping, traveling, etc. Picking a niche that interests you will make writing content for your page much easier. If you are unsure about what niche to get into, search forums, usergroups and sites like Yahoo! Answers to get some ideas of current hot topics that people are discussing and the kinds of questions that they’re asking.
Secondly, in order to succeed in the already saturated and highly competitive affiliate marketing business, I would recommend that you select a “micro niche” as to avoid having to compete with the giant marketers who are already monopolizing the broader niches. The more specific the niche, the fewer the competition, and the easier it will be to obtain a high ranking (i.e. breast surgery” vs. “breast surgery doctor philadelphia”). In order to identify your potential competitors, simply Google your long tailed “keyword” in quotes and examine the top 10 sites in the results. Alternatively, you can use the PageRank Search tool which will return the top 10 sites along with their page ranks.
Take a look at the sites and ask yourself, can you create a better and more informative site on this topic with more useful information by putting a new spin on it or by approaching it from a different angle? Also, do those sites have a high page rank of say, 5 or higher? If so, it will take a lot of time, effort and innovation in order to be competitive, but it certainly is doable. A couple other things to look for are, do the sites have the keyword in the page title and in the domain name itself? If not, then you may have a good chance of outranking them. 
Lastly, you will need to find out how many incoming links these sites have from external sites. Yahoo offers a nifty SiteExplorer tool which allows you to do this rather easily. The more authoritative the referring site, the more valuable the link due to Google’s weighting system. Simply type in the domain name and click on “Explore URL”. Next, click on “Inlinks” to filter for incoming links only, then select “Except from this Domain” and “Entire Site” to exclude incoming links from the site itself, but to include links to any of the site’s page, not just the default homepage or index page. If your prospective competitors have thousands of incoming links, then be prepared for an uphill battle because they will be very difficult to overtake in ranking.
…Next >> Lesson 3 - Keyword Sniping
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Too Lazy to Blog From Scratch? Purchase One from Sitepoint
written by Anthony Dinh
Before I built DiariesOfABlogger a little over a month ago, I contemplated the possibility purchasing an established site that was already generating some decent traffic and revenue, but just needed that extra little boost from a wide-eyed and eager newbie blogger like myself to pump new life back into it. You’d be surprised, but there are many blogs out there that have been abandoned by their owners due to personal issues, new business ventures, lack of time or simply because the owner just lost interest. Also, many blogs are built by serial domain flippers with the intent of making a quick sale a few months down the road. Whether you opt to build one from scratch like I did or decide to purchase an established one, here are some things to consider in weighing the pros and cons of each:
Advantages
- established traffic and RSS readers
- already generating revenue
- indexed and ranked
- aged backlinks
Disadvantages
- requires a lot of time and effort
- design not exactly the way you want it
- domain name not to your liking
- takes time to index and get ranked
- possibility of getting sandboxed by Google
- takes time to establish loyal RSS readers
After doing a bit of research, I stumbled upon Sitepoint. Not only is Sitepoint a marketplace where webmasters come to buy and sell domains, but it’s also a great resource site for web developers, offering an array of books, web kits, articles, scripts and training videos. The domains listed for sale range anywhere from just a few dollars to 5 figures. Some of the more notable blog acquisitions that have transpired within the past few months include MomsCashBlog, JohnCow and BobMeetsWorld. GamerzReviewz and DebtConsolidationBook, owned by blogging heavy weights JohnCow and Garry Conn, respectively, are two upcoming blogs that will be listed in a few weeks once the Cowpetition winner has been announced. If you’re leaning more towards purchasing a mature niche blog rather than starting from scratch, I would recommend you check out the following affordable sites which have great potential that are currently up for sale at Sitepoint. If you want an even bigger head-start, they also have a Premium Sites section with sites boasting higher page views and income for those of you with deeper pockets.
Description: This Small yet growing community is running on phpfox. The site was custom skinned for the tattoo theme. Also, I purchased a vbulletin license and integrated it with phpfox. The site gains visitors/members without any advertising, however I’m sure that with the right advertising (on places like tattoodles or others) that this place could grow exponentially.
I just recently emailed about 60-70 tattoo artists to start the process of link swapping. So far a few have agreed. But the opportunities are endless.
Established: Sat Sep 30 2006
Page views/month: 45,000
Monthly Revenue: 10
Revenue Sources: Adsense
Google Pagerank: 0
Uniques/Month: 1,200
Price: $1200
Description: USAblogger.us is an automated internet business blog, launched on December 28, 2007, This automated site grows rapidly without advertising. All new feed items are banked and stored for life! USAblogger.us was built with Wordpress system that allows complete control of the website. We are including the unique website with complete ownership, all source files, the outstanding domain name (free transfer with godaddy) plus hosting which is paid until December 31, 2008!
The website is outfitted with google adsense ads and CJ ads. This website is being sold as a turnkey business, therefore treat as no/minimal revenue and traffic.
Website Launched on: Dec 28, 2007
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Created on: Nov 2, 2006
Domain Expires on: Nov 1, 2008
Revenue Details: We estimate $10 to $150 in revenue with ZERO marketing. The site could earn $500+ per month with only 5 referral hosting signup via the link in the header.
Price: $249
Description: I’m selling this site because I have no longer time to update it. Site is not monetized, but I think there’s a huge potential with adding affiliate links to the products reviewed.
More information upon request.
Revenue Details: There’s only text-link-ads currently on the site and it has been there only a few weeks.
Traffic Details: 92% from other sites, 7% from search engines. Good rankings for keywords like funny gadgets, weird gadgets.
Price: $2000
Description: I want to sell this site because of this 2 reasons
- I don’t have time to update it every day
- I need money
I guarantee this site can bring more revenue and has very good potential. I can also provide screenshots.
Established: Mon Apr 30 2007
Page views/month: 6,000
Monthly Revenue: 120
Google Pagerank: 4
Uniques/Month: 3,000
Revenue Details: site currently makes money from the banners sold on the site.
Price: $1225
This is just a small sample of what’s out there, but if you really take the time to look, you will surely find one that falls within your niche. Many of these sites have great potential and are very interesting with great content, a loyal user base, high page rank and are already generating some revenue.
The reason I ended up building my own site is because I’m very meticulous and particular in nature, so I needed to have complete control of every aspect from beginning to end. Also, personal satisfaction and knowing that I did it myself was a big driving force. I wanted the challenge of being able to build a blog from scratch, generating traffic and eventually earning money from it. I accepted the fact that it was going to take some time to establish a loyal user base and the possibility of even getting sandboxed, and I was willing and prepared to put in the long hours that it would take to nuture DiariesOfABlogger into a thriving money making machine. Whether DiariesOfABlogger ultimately ends up succeeding or failing miserably, at least I will know that I was in control of my own destiny.
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How Frequently and How Long Should You Blog?
written by Anthony Dinh
One question we as bloggers have found ourselves asking at one point or another is, how frequently should I blog and how long should they be? This is a subjective question to which there is really no right or wrong answer. Everyone has their own valid opinion when it comes to this matter, you just have to find a balance and go with what works best for you.
Post Frequency
Whatever frequency you choose to blog, just be sure to keep it consistent so your readers know what to expect. At the moment, I myself can only find the time to post once a day during the week, so that gives me about 20 posts a month. Don’t post 3 times one day, then go for a whole week without posting. This erratic frequency of posting will confuse your readers, and it will become a guessing game as to when your next post will be published. You will end up alienating them and they will eventually stop coming. Also, once you get into a rythm, keep it up because once you stop, it’ll be difficult to get back into the groove. Personally, I recommend having no fewer that at least 3 posts sitting in your queue ready to go at a moment’s notice. That way, you can preschedule them for weekend editions, as well as have a safety net for when you can’t find the time to write because when life happens, it’ll be nice to not have to worry. Not only that, it’s a good idea to have posts ready to go for guest post opportunities that may arise on short notice.
Post Length
Don’t bound yourself to strictly long posts or short posts, or set a goal like 500 or 1500 words, etc. Just do whatever is natural and whatever makes sense for the topic at hand. If it’s just a quick random thought that takes only 100 words, so be it. Conversely, if it truly requires 1500 words to properly get your point across, then don’t be afraid that the readers will get bored because if it’s that good, they’ll read it! However, don’t write a book…not every post has to be a masterpiece or doctoral dissertation. If you think the post will be too long to read in one sitting, consider breaking it down to a series of more manageable posts. This will also save you from having to think of new ideas for your next few posts.
Stockpiling for Writer’s Block
As bloggers, we’ll all encounter the frustrating syndrome known as “writer’s block” from time to time, so it’s always a good idea to stockpile your posts for a rainy day, especially when you are in a writing mood and the ideas are flowing. I highly recommend having a notepad or your cell phone with you at all times, so you can immediately record or jot down ideas as they come to you. I know you’ve all had a great idea at one point and ended up totally forgetting about it because you didn’t write it down…I’m guilty of this myself! Even if you wake up in the middle of the night and happen to conjure up a great idea for a post, either get up and start writing while the idea is still fresh, or jot it down on a notepad at the least. You can also start a post in draft mode with a one-liner which summarizes your idea so you can go back and finish it at a later date. Visiting other blogs is also a great way of getting ideas to post about, but remember, use them for inspiration only, do not copy! You can also ask fellow bloggers to guest post on your blog to buy you some time until you can get over the hump. Finally, if you are really desperate for ideas, you can always recycle one of your older posts with a follow-up post by updating it with any new facts, figures or developments, etc. If the recycled post is old enough, chances are, you reader won’t even notice.
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I’m Not a Baby, Get Me Out of the Sandbox!
written by Anthony Dinh
DiariesOfABlogger.com has been up and running for about a month now and I’ve tried just about everything I could think of, but it’s still failing to get ranked by Google. I’ve come to the conclusion that my site has possibly been sandboxed by Google. I know I’m a newbie blogger and that my site logo is a baby, but enough already, get me out of the sandbox…whaaaaa!
Here’s a quick rundown on what I’ve already done.
- about 3 backlinked comments left a day on reputable blog sites
- sitemap submitted to Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com and DMOZ open directory for indexing
- auto ping list enabled
- domain link included on social network profiles (Twitter, MyBlogLog, Myspace, Digg, Entrecard, etc.)
- articles submitted to EzineArticles
- link exchange program with some blog sites
- relevant posts interlinked to each other, and links back to homepage
- H1 tags used on each post
- permalinks enabled to rewrite SEO friendly URLs
- page title formatted to “post title | site title”
Each day, Google is inundated with literally thousands of new sites and it has no way of knowing the trustworthiness of these sites, so in order to maintain the integrity of its index, Google sandboxes these sites until it’s able to analyze and filter out all the spammy sites that are of little or no value. From what I’ve been reading, apparently a site can be sandboxed for anywhere from 3 months to a year, and there’s nothing you can really do but sit and wait…very annoying! 
Hopefully, I will be free from the confines of the sandbox soon so I can run and play with all the other fellow bloggers.
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