Archives for April 2007

Q: I just got an email from a merchant stating that a bunch of affiliates are violating their bid cap policies on both Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search. How could they determine that without the bidder’s permission and without violating privacy policies of the PPC accounts?

A: I’m not sure what this particular merchant is doing, but I’m still using the same old, unscientific approach of checking to see whether affiliates are ranking higher than me.

In general, when I’ve had this rule in effect, I’d bid a penny higher than the bid cap, so if affiliates were turning up higher I’d give them a call to say, “What’s up?”

Presumably, the affiliate is bidding higher than the bid cap.

While this method may not be foolproof, it’s an indicator. If any affiliate manager has a more involved way to do it, I’m not aware of it.

Q: I have a question about self-replicating Web sites… how effective are they?

A: My recommendation would be to avoid self-replicating Web sites. For the most part, I’ve seen them offered through Multi-Level Marketing schemes, rather than affiliate programs.

However, there are certainly some affiliate programs that do have them.

Anyhow, these self-replicating Web sites are geared towards people who don’t have an ability to create a Web site or any sort of presence online themselves to promote affiliate links.

These sites are so homogenized and non-unique that I would say to stray away from them.

Instead, build up your own unique experience online to sell whatever product or service it is that you are promoting. I think you’ll find that this approach is more lucrative for you.

Q: You have called out some of the “free ringtone” scammers, but the guy that runs Elite Retreat is the worst of all. Look at his forum at sprintusers.com/forum. Those sponsored ringtones are not free – why haven’t you called him out? Is he your friend? Is what he’s doing OK? Because if it is I want to do it.

A: “Janet” – I replied to the e-mail you used to submit your question to try and get more details, but it was fake and bounced back to me.

Anyhow, I’ve reported on folks that were bidding on terms related to free ringtones after some cursory searches in Google and Yahoo! There are most assuredly many more people breaking the rules than I’ve come across. I didn’t look too deep to find my examples.

As far as Lee Dodd’s SprintUsers.com forum, I am guessing you are referring to the Google AdSense ads near the top of the page, as they are focused on ringtones. If that’s the case, it’s Google who determines the ads served.

I have AdSense on the AffiliateTip.com homepage (where my latest blog headlines are featured) and there may well have been free ringtone ads displayed there at times – triggered by the content of my headlines.

As far as why I haven’t “called him out”, I am not aware of anything forbidden on his part.

Is he your friend?

Yes.

Is what he’s doing OK?

As far as I can tell.

Q: With the Affiliate Summit coming up in London, I’m curious as to which British band is your favorite?

A: That’s a sort of random, non-affiliate marketing question, but I’m game. I am still living in the 80’s when it comes to a lot of my favorite music – stuff I picked up on from the old MTV show, 120 Minutes (Sundays at midnight back in the day).

I would say the Smiths are/were my favorite group. Not just among British bands, but all over. Now don’t mistake that with being a Morrissey enthusiast. He’s had some good singles as a solo act, but it was all about his voice with Johnny Marr’s guitar.

Now if I could go with an individual, I’d say Billy Bragg. Whether it’s the early 80’s folk-punk, the more rootsy Woody Guthrie stuff or whatever, Billy is just fantastic.

Anyhow, since the door was left open here, I felt compelled to give a brief performance of each. For your listening pleasure, I’ve belted out “Greetings to the New Brunette” from Billy Bragg and “Bigmouth Strikes Again” by the Smiths.

And I do have an affiliate marketing tie-in here to bring it all on home. Back at Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas, I got a gift from Liz Angus, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Studeo. It was the American Idol Singer’s Advantage kit.

It’s a vocal home study course to help mold raw talent like myself into the likes of Sanjaya Malakar. They’ve got an affiliate program for it at IdolAffiliates.com – promote it while it’s red hot in the ratings.

Q: Is the use of blogs considered one of the better ways to succeed in affiliate marketing?

A: There isn’t really a single answer here. It really depends on what topic you’re covering and what products or services you hope to sell.

I’d say you should go with blogging as an affiliate if you don’t have an ability to design a Web site. You can get setup with WordPress and install a theme to get a look and feel that works for you.

If you plan to write content that would include recommendations, I think a blog would be an ideal venue for you.

Otherwise, there are a wide variety of affiliate types out there that work in varying degrees depending on the vertical you’re focused on.

There are traditional content sites, as well as comparison shopping, coupons, rewards, etc.

Successful affiliates are also using e-mail and pay per click search engines. And there are a variety of ways you can leverage Web 2.0 as an affiliate, such as social networks, podcasts, and video.

I would say that you should go with the method that is most comfortable for you, as it will be more likely for you to stick with it if you like what you’re doing, whether it be a blog, social network, e-mail list, or whatever else.