The Ultimate Amazon Thread Mark 2 - Q/A - Good/Bad

[brchcar1445]

I wanted to post some earnings for some motivation. I understand that these earnings are not super high, but it's important to note that this is only about 19 days worth of earnings from 1 single site. Right now I have about 15 posts on this site and it's on a year old domain. I haven't paid any attention to the site because it's not been making any money. The other day I came across this thread and decided to check amazon to see if the products I was promoting was on Amazon. Sure enough, they were. On top of that, I was able to track down some long tail keywords associated with the niche and make some new posts selling stuff. When I came to the site it only had 3 posts on it, now there are 15.

Check out what Ive earned from the one site. Almost all the traffic is search engine.



This site was bringing me in about $30 a month with the current affiliate program I was promoting. Not horrible for one 3 post site, but this thread made me realize what money I could be missing out on. The old affiliate program was converting at a little over 1%... Horrible. I was making about 25% commission, so I knew going to Amazon was a gamble at around the 4-7% ranges. But I figured if my conversion rate went up, then who knows what could happen. So I changed all my affiliate links to amazon and added some fresh content. I literally had a sale for a $300 plus item the next day. To say the least, I was uber motivated. Even though my commission was not that high, just seeing a sale after just one day was pretty motivating. It was at this point that I knew Amazon was going to convert better. And it has been, I'm up to over $74, and I still have one item that needs to be shipped that will bring me almost to $80. Thats only about 20 days worth of commission from amazon.

That's all the good news, here's the bad news and where I am hoping to reach out to some people for help. I have always historically went after niches with VERY little competition. I want to expand on this site more before I move to a new project, it's obviously profitable. If I scale it up this site could potentially bring me in hundreds every month. I know a lot about SEO, I know what to do, but I get a little lazy and typically outsource my work. I decided that since the site was over a year old and doing pretty well, that I could probably skimp on the SEO service. I decided to go for one of those $5 link pyramid services. Just to see if I could get a boost. HUGE mistake. The day I got the report all my posts jumped way up in the SE, now I'm getting a trickle of traffic but not much. I have since ordered a more expensive manual submission service that I am hoping can bury all the crappy links I received from the other service.

My question is. Do you think this is just the serps dancing? My traffic was extremely steady over the last year. Almost a straight line, my site is in the fitness field so I see an influx at the beginning of the year, but other than that steady. Do you think my site is dancing because of the content Ive added or because of the crappy links. And is it likely that my previous rankings will return? Ive always kept very small sites and never attempted to use a bigger 20+ page site, but I really want this site to rank again so I can see what it's true earning potential is with Amazon. It's only been about 4 days since my ranking dropped, any advice and tips would be very much appreciated.

Danny, although there were a couple times I thought... Man what a jerk, when you posted something. (Not trying to be a jerk, I actually laughed, I think your awesome and I love your approach to this as a business.) You are really awesome. The amount of valuable information you have provided on this thread is not only motivating but invaluable. More than any e-book or video series could teach anyone. Your incredibly responsive and obviously like to keep this thread alive. And you do all this with no link in your sig and your not selling anything. So, you just really want to help people. That's so rare on this forum. You Danny, are the man. Keep it up.

Thanks!

 

[jessica7689]

Conversion Rates - All I Care About Is How Many People I Get To Amazon - and whether they buy something or not -- that's what I get paid on --> my Sites have been Optimized to Sell.

yesterday i got 176 organic clicks and only one sale... Am i doing something wrong?

 

[brchcar1445]

Jessica,

If your question was intended for Danny, then by all means you can ignore me. But I'd like to take a stab at your problem. I just read over the thread and learned a lot. I'm having problems ranking right now, but my conversion rate is right around 15%.

If I had to guess I would say it's one of two things.

1. Your traffic relevance to the products your selling. Is the traffic your getting ready to pull the trigger? Are they even really related to the product? Sending that many people to Amazon and getting one sale definitely seems like there is a problem.

2. Your not setting them up correctly. Did you write high quality very believable content for your review or page? Is it a review, or is it a how to article of some sort. If you were going to buy the product you promoting, would you find your page? You sort of have to be in the mind of someone who is looking to buy. Is your site answering questions for someone who is motivated to buy the product?

I think if you take a good look at these questions and analyze your site, you may be able to identify where the problem lies. Amazon does a pretty good job of converting customers, it's what they do. That low of a conversion rate makes me believe that the people your sending over aren't motivated to buy, or are the wrong type of traffic.

Hopefully that helps!

 

[jessica7689]

Jessica,

If your question was intended for Danny, then by all means you can ignore me. But I'd like to take a stab at your problem. I just read over the thread and learned a lot. I'm having problems ranking right now, but my conversion rate is right around 15%.

If I had to guess I would say it's one of two things.

1. Your traffic relevance to the products your selling. Is the traffic your getting ready to pull the trigger? Are they even really related to the product? Sending that many people to Amazon and getting one sale definitely seems like there is a problem.

2. Your not setting them up correctly. Did you write high quality very believable content for your review or page? Is it a review, or is it a how to article of some sort. If you were going to buy the product you promoting, would you find your page? You sort of have to be in the mind of someone who is looking to buy. Is your site answering questions for someone who is motivated to buy the product?

I think if you take a good look at these questions and analyze your site, you may be able to identify where the problem lies. Amazon does a pretty good job of converting customers, it's what they do. That low of a conversion rate makes me believe that the people your sending over aren't motivated to buy, or are the wrong type of traffic.

Hopefully that helps!

hey thanks for the reply, very informative. however, i have a system i go by and so far i've made 511.24 with that system... but this month sucks! i've changed nothing.

I just dont understand! The fact that they've clicked to go to amazon period, would mean that my content was quality enough to say "ok....click here to buy?" confused

 

[brchcar1445]

Jessica,

Honestly, could just be unlucky. If your conversion rates aren't typically that low. Maybe you will have a 20% over the next few days. Hard to say. If you have converted in the past with what your doing, you should be okay. I would just wait it out.

It could also be a trend depending on the niche. Is is a seasonable product? Maybe the time to buy is not now, it's more of a research period. As a consumer. That was just a stab in the dark, but another thing to consider. Take pools for example. I speak on experience personally with this one. I have been researching pools for my yard since October. I have read reviews and did my research. I had absolutely no intent to buy until just this month. Could be a similar circumstance?

 

[jessica7689]

Jessica,

Honestly, could just be unlucky. If your conversion rates aren't typically that low. Maybe you will have a 20% over the next few days. Hard to say. If you have converted in the past with what your doing, you should be okay. I would just wait it out.

It could also be a trend depending on the niche. Is is a seasonable product? Maybe the time to buy is not now, it's more of a research period. As a consumer. That was just a stab in the dark, but another thing to consider. Take pools for example. I speak on experience personally with this one. I have been researching pools for my yard since October. I have read reviews and did my research. I had absolutely no intent to buy until just this month. Could be a similar circumstance?

Some seasonal and general! Sooo, Your right! I guess its hit and miss for me this month.

 

[JMDCali]

Conversion Rates - All I Care About Is How Many People I Get To Amazon - and whether they buy something or not -- that's what I get paid on --> my Sites have been Optimized to Sell.

I don't recommend sending to generic Search Page - this is the problem with the Geo Redirect Stuff - it kills Sales .... you need to pick out a product - or a list or products or accessories to solve people's problems .. then provide trouble shooting or general information on the niche to bring in some extra visitors.

I remember reading earlier in the thread that you sent people to the Amazon search pages instead of product pages because the products are different depending on the viewers location? (not sure if it matters because most of our traffic should be from the US anyways?)

So which do you think is more effective in making a sale?
-Click here to view the highest rated fireplaces ----> *to Amazon search page*
or
-Click here to view the 5 Star G1000 fireplace ----> *to G1000 fireplace product page*

I know it based on our content/articles, but in your opinion which type of links do you think are better?

 

[Danny1111]

*** Note : I laughed when you said I can sound like a pain in the ass sometimes -- it's true I can be because no matter what I do in my life I always try to do it to the best of my ability .. so sometimes I can get carried away rambling on .. and I apologize for that - but it's just me .. LOL.

If I had 176 clicks to Amazon from one of my Sites and no Sales I would suspect something was wrong -- especially if you have a small targeted niche site -- if you have a larger Site and your rankings move around some and the keyword your ranking better for is not a buying keyword - then I could imagine that could happen ... I'd probably check in whatever analytics you have what keyword the people are using to get to my site and try to solve my problem that way. I always identify the products myself and link directly to them on Amazon - if they choose something else after that - no problem I still get paid.

The Geo Redirect for various countries goes to Search Page and this to me is very ineffective -- so I would never advise people to use a search page ... get people to invest their time with the product and they will spend the money -- that should be the reason they came to your site in the first place. Always remember there is a difference in traffic between Keywords -- if you rank for Wireless Routers - your going to get all kinds of traffic - and while extra traffic is nice - it all hinges on people buying in 24 hours ... but if your ranked for Wireless Router Reviews or Best Wireless Routers For Dog Houses (LOL) ... then you should be seeing a 10-20% conversion rate .. as its more likely people are further down the path of actually spending money.

 

[johnnyd77]

I think the main thing is at the end of the day this is a Real Business.

You have expenses / revenue and time management ... so you need to make sure you have the Skills to Create Sites / Manage Sites - but then ensure you run them like a business --> if one Site fails no big deal -- but always study what makes a good site - and how to maximize Sales from well performing sites.

Unlike alot of other short term methods for income generation - this one can be around for a long time - so you have to approach it with a different mindset -- no spamming / protect your Sites / Add Value / Customize and Provide Quality Content - as we all know Google is really tough on low quality Sites.

Thanks alot guys for sharing - and I hope you can continue to do so ... all the best today.

I totally agree. Also, do not be afraid to JV with someone that has the skills that you dont have. Thats what i'm presently doing and its working very good.

yesterday i got 176 organic clicks and only one sale... Am i doing something wrong?

Are you in the electronic niche?

I'm myself targeting electronic. I must say that my items are expansive tho. Conversion rate is around 1.7%.

 

[ShaneWZ]

Thanks For Sharing with us ShaneWZ -- > that's a good point .. everything is a learning experience but the main lesson is to always try to refine the process and make things better - and avoid any mistakes made the next time. It can really suck putting in all the effort and having to wait 2-3 months to see success .. but this is necessary if you want Google to provide you steady traffic -- moving too quickly with aggressive Seo can really hurt your Site.

Also if you are using any Tools to help you - that you think are worthwhile or not so worthwhile - then please feel free to comment on that as well -- as with anyone else.

I know what I like - but there's always alternatives that may be better.... so any comments on that would be good as well.

Thanks Alot.

Thanks for the advice. I think I still have much to learn in regards of SEO.
I use the same strategy to research keyword as most people do. I think the only tool I use is Chimprewriter. I use it to help me spin articles, never used automatic spin, mostly done by hand. So I just use the free version. BTW, Chimprewriter works really good.

 

[ranjim]

a quick question for danny or the other experienced members here. just bought keywords from a certain bst thread here. the stats/were as promised. but im kind of worried of my competition in the top 3 slots which are ebay, and other big sites. should i push through or move on to other keywords? a sentence or two would be highly appreciated! thanks!

 

[ShaneWZ]

a quick question for danny or the other experienced members here. just bought keywords from a certain bst thread here. the stats/were as promised. but im kind of worried of my competition in the top 3 slots which are ebay, and other big sites. should i push through or move on to other keywords? a sentence or two would be highly appreciated! thanks!

I don't see ebay and other retailors as big competetors. Those are all inner pages, they rank high mostly because they have an authority domain. And we are reviews sites, people tend to read reviews first than go to online store. But if they are sites like consumerreport, they will be more competetive.

 

[ranjim]

I don't see ebay and other retailors as big competetors. Those are all inner pages, they rank high mostly because they have an authority domain. And we are reviews sites, people tend to read reviews first than go to online store. But if they are sites like consumerreport, they will be more competetive.

thanks for that. on to content then!

 

[Danny1111]

those are there by default -- you do have to worry about the larger consumer sites though .. which doesn't appear a problem in this case.

 

[justme2013]

those are there by default -- you do have to worry about the larger consumer sites though .. which doesn't appear a problem in this case.

So if you see alot of big name ecommerce sites like walmart, target, macys etc ranking in top 10 search results would you tend to avoid that KW, even if they are very under optimised for KW & PR & Back Links etc?

 

[johnnyd77]

I would go against them.

Create a site a little more optimised for the keywords. Make the site structure meant for the type of user that you are targeting.

In short, make a site worth to be #1 for the keyword you are targeting. Aim for a better user experience that on Walmart or ebay (which are kinda ugly and not well made). Do not be scared to invest in customised charts, benchmark, ect.

If you're site is better than them, I dont see why you would not rank.

Regards,

JD77

 

[Danny1111]

Just a note - I got 3 Pm's in the last few days to look at peoples sites - and for the most part you guys seem to get it - use a slider / pick a nice theme etc

BUT

A Couple Are Using Straight Blog Themes : those blog type themes you must customize them.

Take out the Date : Take Out The Recent Posts -- Or change them to something else - Newest Reviews : Product Information --> just raise the standard from a regular blog site to a more professional website.

I really like sites that the first thing you see is a nice clean professional Logo and a matching Favicon ..... it makes your Site look so much cleaner/more professional than alot of Sites you visit.

Then the next part is - you got to provide the information people are looking for without scrolling all over the place to find it ... because those Blog type ones compared to Magazine style just give you one post at the top of the screen and every post pushes it further down the page where people can't see it.

My advice is to really find that nice template that lets you display your content well so you get more Clicks.

Anyway that's it from me today .. cheers.

 

[ShaneWZ]

Just got an order which item priced over $700. My current referral rate is 6%. So I will make over $40 in the next few days.
I also notice that some items havent been ship since ordered like 5 days ago. A little confused about this.

 

[Danny1111]

Depends whether the items are sold by Amazon or another Seller.

Amazon tends to ship fast unless the item is on backorder - or preorder

Other Sellers though take a few days to process orders ..... anyway don't sweat it - it will be fine ... this really is a great Affiliate Program to be part of.

 

[dikkill]

Danny what are your thoughts on outranking toptenreviews.com and cnet.com?Hard?Duing some new KR and came up on these as a competition, but are not optimized for the keyword.