Comments on: A Big Mistake Almost Every Affiliate Makes…

By: Investing & Passive Income

Investing & Passive Income — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:15:57 +0000

good advice. i’m trying to learn more about aff marketing. thanks!

By: michalska

michalska — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:57:03 +0000

hi amit and happy holidays! i know you write about building massive keyword lists, but i notice that on my ad campaigns only a few predictable keywords are getting ads. all my “creative” keywords are not showing up for ads, let alone getting clicked on. please enlighten me!

By: The True King Carlos

The True King Carlos — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:36:55 +0000

Hey Amit, Joe say hi

Warm Regards,
The True King Carlos

By: Daniel AB

Daniel AB — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 07:10:49 +0000

Hi Amit,
i’m your Super Aff. Acc. Member, now started active reading your blog, you have the great idee and super info in this blog

Thank You

Daniel AB

By: DamnDomainer

DamnDomainer — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:05:29 +0000

Amit,
I just started reading your blog a few weeks ago, but now I am hooked! You write great info, and I am inspired to one day have a black AMEX myself too!

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:32:34 +0000

“Now as an affiliate your goal is to have your ads on the bottom of the first page for these high converting keywords, where you’ll pay a fraction of what the advertisers in the first 3 positions are paying.”

Amit, what is your definition of “bottom of the first page” ?

By: REC

REC — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:14:50 +0000

You may get more clicks in first position, but the serious buyers are in the 3 plus range. Even in SEO first place is not always the best stuff. Some of the worst web pages are SEO to the max and are just crap. People just seem to gravitate to the 4 plus range.

By: Gagan

Gagan — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:06:27 +0000

This is something I can’t understand. Sometimes I get more clicks when my ad is on 6th-7th position and sometimes when its above 3. But I believe, people always like checkout all the links before taking any action. Even people who are in “buy” mode like to click around before buying. You might get more clicks if you’re on position one but you stand a high chance of converting if you are lower in position because a person will most likely go through all the links before buying.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:21:26 +0000

I agree with yeikow, and I find it puzzling why an advertiser would be content with being in 3rd-8th place.

Unless you’re competing again Fortune5 companies who use search as branding vehicle, you should be #1 on
_ALL_ of your converting KWs (you always STRIVE to be #1 irregardless). The ad with the _BEST_ CTR, OVERALL QS, and BID will rank #1. What’s interesting is that the OVERALL QS and CTR have EXPONENTIALLY more impact on your position than CPC. Thus, you should be shooting for the highest QS possible (eg. $0.01/0.02 min bids) and ad quality (test, test, test, continually keep pushing up CTR).

Although some will argue that high CTR shouldn’t be you’re primary goal, I disagree! If your landing page and offer have been thoroughly tested and converting well, then it just a function of traffic volume. Therefore, you should be trying to get as many clicks as possible, especially if you know those KWs convert! Thus, position #1.

Now, if your QS and CTR SUCK, then yes, you will be paying big $$$ and still remain in a poor position. But NEVER SETTLE WITH “GOOD” QUALITY SCORE – you need to find a way to make it “Great”. Unfortunately though, one part of QS algo that is out of your hands is the QS associated with THAT KEYWORD across ALL of Google’s advertisers, and it is nearly impossible to get it from “Good” to “Great” (note: nearly, not impossible). Regardless, if the word is relegated to “Good” land, you are still on a level playing field with the rest of your competitors regarding that keyword. In this case, bid up to the position that is most profitable, IF YOUR QS AND CTR ARE ALREADY SKY-HIGH!

Here’s an example that I have personally experienced. I compete in one industry where I personally know most of my competition, and talk to them regularly. For one of my high-performing KWs, I pay $0.03 a click in position #1, while my next competitor is paying $0.50 in position #2. THIS IS NOT A JOKE; they ask me all the time how I can afford to be bidding that high on the KW!

Thus, AD QUALITY and QUALITY SCORE should be your * #1 * focus. Watch your position continually INCREASE while your bids DECREASE. Don’t settle for the bottom of the page and picking up the scraps. Sure, your overall ROI _COULD_ be slightly less, but if your making more total $$$ at the end of the day, WHO CARES!

Would you rather have 300% ROI, $600 profit, or 100% ROI, and $2500 profit. I think it’s a no brainer.

-J

A must-read article that is a little dated but still relevant:

http://www.revenews.com/davidandrews/2006/11/moe-larry-curly-explain-googles-quality-score-calculation.html

By: Amit

Amit — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:48:18 +0000

Max : Either bid higher or setup a simple landing page and/or test your offer on MSN or Yahoo.

Yeikow : It all depends on the keyword. In most cases you want to be on the bottom of the first page to get the best margins. I prefer having a low maintenance higher ROI campaign to one that produces high net profit but requires constant attention.