It’s some time since my last post and during that time things have been moving at a hectic pace.

My affiliate activities while still an important stream of income now play second fiddle to my first faltering steps as a merchant, in November Gluten Free Food Products Limited was born and the last 2 months have been a steep learning curve with premises, equipment, stock, Vat reg, e-commerce website, credit card integration and a million other things to sort out, thankfully I have haven’t had to do it alone and my wonderful girlfriend Mandy is also my business partner and we have embarked on the adventure together.

My internet marketing skills and Mandy’s inside knowledge of Coeliac Disease means we cover a fair few bases.

We have now soft launched and are waiting for the trickle of orders to become a torrent, full launch comes this Saturday when we are handing out leaflets and samples at our first food fair as an exhibitor so if you happen to be in Leeds pop over to St Chads and give us some support.

Crossing the divide – a new adventure

Guest post by Kayleigh-Ann Smith (Kaz) my feature writer on several of my websites.

Hello!!

I am Kaz and I go by the nickname Luna – I am a bright haired, pierced and tattooed writer and I want to write for you!

I write all sorts of stuff ranging from fashion, health & beauty for Fashion Style You   lingerie for Beautiful Lingerie and my own stuff, adult fan fiction (I do wish to put emphasis on “adult”) for an LJ I share with some friends at http://twinks-n-kinks.livejournal.com.

If I don’t know about something I will head off and see if I can educate myself before saying I can’t do it and even then I would give it a good go first – you learn by doing, and if you don’t try something new, or go outside of your comfort zones then sometimes, things just do not get done.

I like to write about my own experiences too, when it applies – I dye my hair a lot and when using new products I like to do reviews on them; same for make-up I have done a piece for FSY about mascara’s and if they live up to the expectations we have of them after seeing the adverts.  It went down pretty well as did the video review and companying article about a hair colour stripping product – I actually ended up shaving off my hair and saved a lot of people doing the same.

I don’t just stick to the guidelines – I like a good debate and a piece I wrote on ear piercings on babies and the use of piercing guns sparked off a good debate which still ebbs on (in a civilized way) it also educated many people who didn’t realize there was even an alternative to piercings guns etc.

Writing is all about ideas, views, education & debates and as long as they stay friendly; it is all good.

As well as writing about things I like to take pictures of them too.  I like to take pictures of anything and everything from architecture to flowers and people – though architecture and flowers etc. are my favourites as they can’t pull a “diva strop” and can always hold a pose!  I always have a camera of some sort on me; more recently I got an iPhone4 and promptly got the instagram app – I’m snapping away at everything!

I am a proud Modified Doll – https://www.facebook.com/themodifieddolls – and do charity work with them, through photoshoots and fashion as well as “spreading the word” about our months chosen charities and out monthly magazine.
I am a friendly and funny creative type – and I like to think that comes through in my writing, I can add a funny twist to something, make it a little more laid back or I can be deadly serious; it all depends on the subject matter – feel free to get in touch by e-mailing me at glitterluna@hotmail.co.uk or adding me on MSN at the same address… or if you feel like it, you can “Ping!” me my ID is miss_luna – I look forward to hearing from you!

Selling Myself !!! – content writer looking for work

Guest post by David Merry a Director at online live casino CastleCasino.com and manages the affiliate program marketing. You can find out more about promoting CastleCasino.com at www.castleaffiliates.com.

Reliable tracking software holds the affiliate industry together, without it we wouldn’t be able to put any faith in the programs which we promote and rely on. Regardless of the confidence which you have in your affiliate software operator it is always best to get another third party perspective, something which Google Analytics allows you to do in spectacular fashion.
Even if you have 100% faith in the tracking capability of your affiliate software, the greatest benefits come from the mountain of extra data analysis opportunities it provides you with. As a quick example to entice you to read further, you may naturally assume that the 100 clicks you send per day to your merchant come predominantly from a particular keyword you get 2000 visits for; however you may discover that actually they come from a keyword which only sends 500 visitors – therefore enabling you to shift your focus and allocate your budget better based on accurate statistics. In short, you could spend less money and make a lot more. What have you got to lose?

How to implement:

In order to allow Google Analytics to start tracking your outbound affiliate clicks as goals you need to complete the following:

Step 1: Assign a tracker to each link.

You will need to input an artificial tracker to each link that you want to track, which is created by tagging the page with the _trackPageview() JavaScript function. As an example, if you wanted to log every click on a particular link to www.keithbond.co.uk as a page view for /G1/keithbond.co.uk, you would add the following attribute to the link’s tag:

Although adding a tracker to every link is long winded initially it can be speeded up using a find and replace source code tool. From that point it becomes simple and second nature to include the JavaScript tracker when building a link. Please note, the G1 included in the link stands for ‘goal 1’ and just helps me categorise, you can add whatever you like.

Step 2: Use the JavaScript generated tracker as a goal

The task is now simple, simply add the tracking link to your Google Analytics goals section (Website Profile > Edit). Using the code above as an example you would add the following:
/G1/keithbond_co.uk

This should be added as a URL destination with head match selected in Google Analytics.

Simple!

How to use the tracking

Once the process that I have outlined has been implemented you should start to receive data reported as goals within hours.

The most basic report you will find is an overview of the goals which have been completed and the conversion rate. This doesn’t help analyse anything in particular however may give you insights into trended data, for example which date of the month are your conversion rates generally the highest.

Next browse the traffic sources section in your Analytics and break it down further to the traffic sources list. Then click on the ‘Goal Set’ tab and you will be greeted with exact click through percentages that every single source has given you. This should help you identify which sources are actually earning you the money and sending traffic to your merchant. Remember that traffic levels is just a worthless number, it is the traffic which converts which pays the mortgage.

You can also use this same method with the keywords which you rank in search engines for, allowing you to identify the consumer intent of those visiting your site through them. Remember, you can now filter out all of the keywords which are sending you non-converting traffic and allocate budget into what earns you money.

As my last example (from the millions I have!) you can even break this down into territories. The example below shoes me that people from Spain seem a lot more inclined to click on this particular brand – all I have to do to improve conversions for this is to include this brand on the Spanish versions of our sites. Simple, yet effective.

I think you are starting to get the point, try it out for yourself and see what is and isn’t working for you!

Tracking affiliate clicks as goals with Google Analytics

Guest post by Joe Williams of SEO Training

“A man can’t see, he can’t fight” [Terry Silver – The Karate Kid III]

Insightful words from Karate Kid villain ‘Terry Silver’.  A principal so profound it can be applied to just about anything, including online marketing. To compete in your online industry, you need to see what works and what doesn’t [a man can’t see, he can’t fight].

So, how do you know what works?

It’s all about successful actions on your site or the ‘conversions’ your visitors take which help drive business. This could be an enquiry (lead), sale, download, subscription, newsletter signup or anything else which helps reach your goals. This is something I often highlight in our SEO courses.

Google Analytics Goals (and how it’s got a whole lot better!)

Google Analytics allows conversions to be tracked as goals. Once a goal is triggered, you can see what contributed last to its success e.g. Affiliate, SEO or PPC, and whether a referring keyword was involved. This is really useful but often there are many referring traffic sources and many keywords that assist in any one conversion.

So only knowing the last referrer is a bit like Terry Silver attempts to blind Karate Kid. You can’t see the whole search journey and this makes optimisation (or fighting) difficult. Much more difficult.

The Rise of Google Analytics Multi-Channel Funnels

Read more about it here.

Knowing the whole search journey and allocating assists for conversions has been around for a while but only for premium web analytics packages which small businesses and often affiliates can’t afford.

Well, Google has now made this feature free for all. And this makes everything a whole lot easier to plan and optimise in your online marketing efforts.

Every wandered why brand keywords convert so well? Customers must know who you are. But those that only recently discovered you are likely to have found you another way first and now using Google Analytics Multi-Channel funnels you can find out how! A super handy feature.

Google Analytics, Conversions, Multi- Channel Funnels & Karate Kid III

Guest Post by Mitch O’Connor

Building a niche site can be an effective way to build your business and generate profit. A niche site helps to develop your professional profile and may eventually become a popular source of authoritative content. Unfortunately, developing such a site cannot generally be done overnight. Instead, you might think of the project as a long-term mission, much like one featured in a James Bond film. In order for this mission to be successful, you must first complete several “objectives.” Think of the task in this methodical way can make it easier to build an attractive, successful niche site.

Gathering Intel

Whether you’re a webmaster or James Bond, collecting intel helps you prepare for opportunities in the future. One way to do this is to see which keywords and phrases associated with your niche are searched for the most. For instance, the owner of a site specializing in Halloween costume masks and props might consult Google Insights for Search to see various information regarding that topic, including top search terms, rising searches over time and regional interest. Likewise, you can use the Google AdWords keyword tool to view various suggested keywords for a given phrase related to your niche, as well as details regarding competition and monthly searches for your selected phrase. Making use of valuable data such as this can mean the difference between success and failure for your mission.

Another way to gather intel is to collect and catalog email addresses. While these addresses may not be used immediately, it is a good idea to keep them for use on future marketing opportunities. It is important to remember that each email address you collect represents a potential customer

Spying

Just like 007 keeps tabs on his many enemies, it is important to regularly research your competition and determine what appears to be working for them. Rather than copying the successful strategies of your rivals, however, you should focus on developing your site in such a way that you manage to outdo them. Of course, you should be careful not to get completely caught up in beating your competition; doing so can easily cause you to over-strategize without actually getting your site off the ground. Just like 007, sometimes you just need to pull the trigger.

Occasionally your rivals may not be all that successful. If you notice that your competition all suffer from low PageRank and poorly optimized content, think about ways in which your site might be able to avoid this. Some niches are less commonly searched than others, and if you are not confident that your site can easily jump to the top of the rankings, you may wish to consider a new niche. Even if you think your site will be able to easily demonstrate superiority over its competitors, you should spend just as much time and effort developing it. Even when 007 knows he has his opponent beat, he does not leave much to chance.

Testing

James Bond is constantly making use of new and interesting gadgets that allow him to better deal with obstacles, complete various objectives and finish his mission. Likewise, niche site builders should regularly test new tools and experiment with different approaches. Most likely, the first attempt you make at creating your site will not be successful. It is difficult to predict whether the design, content and other features of your site will be optimal for your market, so it is important to test new ideas. If your site is doing worse than you had hoped, try experimenting with new buttons, headlines, copy and other such elements. Just as 007 and his arsenal of gadgets occasionally reinvented to fit modern times when new instalments in the James Bond series are released, so too should you be able to adapt your site with the latest technology and techniques to meet market demands and attract visitors.

The 007 Guide to Creating a Niche Site

Twitter

I had a chat recently with Graeme Sandwell (Director at Paid on results and the genius behind their technical innovations which are widely copied but seldom equalled) and he pointed out that Internet Marketing Blogs UK was no longer updating it’s twitter account and when I took a look I found it hadn’t been for a number of months, shows how off the ball I have been of late.

Well to cut a long story short Graeme kindly helped me to get the site tweeting again, more about that in a future post, but massive thanks to Graeme.

The Cull

I took the opportunity while sorting out Internet Marketing Blogs to cull the blogs that hadn’t been updated for quiet some time and in all removed around 40 the remaining channel list is here. If you are no longer on the list of bloggers and wish to be re-added once you become active again give me a shout (contact form) same goes for any active UK focused Internet Marketing / Affiliate bloggers who would like to be included.

Please note that in the main merchants and agency’s who predominantly blog product newsletters appear here and not in the main feed.

Internet Marketing Blogs cull and return to Twitter

Digital agency Azam Marketing are hosting a fun networking & comedy evening in central London on Friday 17^th June, and the guest list is now open for any affiliates, marketers, web design, SEO and PPC specialists, agencies and network staff who would like to attend.

The event is being hosted at the Highlight Camden Comedy Club in central London, and along with their sponsors FreeCashback.co.uk, Ministry of Paintball and DiscountCodes.tv, Azam will be providing attendees with free entry, free drinks, exclusive goody bags and hopefully lots of laughs courtesy of stand up comedians Stuart Goldsmith, Sean Grant, Mick Ferry and Danielle Ward. Doors open at 17:30pm with dancing ‘til late.

The comedy event will be a great chance to network with some of the biggest players in the online industry, but tickets are limited so email invites@azamevents.com to secure your place today.

There’s also the chance to win an exclusive prize ahead of the Azam Marketing event by submitting your best gags on the Azam Facebook page or tweeting your jokes @azammarketing (keep it clean please!)

For more information and venue details see http://www.azamevents.com

Join Azam Marketing for a Networking & Comedy Evening

Guest post by Christian Arno of Lingo24

It might be surprising to learn that English is not quite the top dog many people think it is when it comes to online search. Other languages, like Chinese, are catching up, and naturally most people will always search in their native language.

Research shows that consumers are much more likely to buy from sites written in their native language, which have a local top-level domain and which display their currency. That’s why you need your website to be translated into the native languages of your target markets, if you’re serious about attracting customers abroad.

But once you’ve had your web content translated for your target countries – preferably by a professional translator rather than a machine – then what? In order to attract customers from abroad you also need an effective SEO strategy, including correctly localised and researched keywords.

Brainstorming

A good place to start, when it comes to finding those important keywords that drive traffic and attract customers, is the keyword research that you did for your English site. If you haven’t done that yet, time to start! Translate your English keywords into the language of your target market. Next, come up with related terms and synonyms in English, if you haven’t already, and translate those too.

This is a good time to bring in a native speaker to make sure there are no embarrassing or incorrect translations. Using literal dictionary translations is risky due to the fact that keywords often involve idiom, colloquialisms and other language quirks. You could get a direct keyword translation from a dictionary, but a native speaker may inform you that no one actually says that in real life, and in fact they’re more likely to say (or search for) something entirely different – this is invaluable information.

Subtle differences are important to bear in mind – don’t forget that the language spoken in Spain is not exactly the same as that spoken in Mexico and Argentina, despite the fact they are all Spanish-speaking countries. This is why it’s always better to create country-specific sites for all your target markets, rather than language-based sites.

A native speaker will also be able to tell you whether the correct keyword to use is an adoption from English, as is often the case with technical terms – German in particular makes use of many adopted English terms.

Analyse

Now it’s time to apply some statistics to this keyword list and find out whether anyone is actually searching for these terms. Google’s free keyword tool is good for this. The golden combination for keywords is those keywords that lots of people search for, but which not many people are using. It’s quite a hard combination to find, especially in English, but the good news is that there is less keyword competition in languages other than English.

Using Google’s keyword tool, choose a combination of short-tail keywords and more specific long-tail ones. These will be used in your web content and any Pay Per Click advertising.

You can’t rely on Google alone, though, especially in markets abroad. Whilst it’s the main go-to search engine for most English speakers, in some countries other search engines are dominant, so you’ll need to repeat the keyword process using tools in engines like Baidu (China) and Yandex (Russia).

It’s best not to guess about search marketing strategies for foreign search engines. If you’re not from the country you’re researching, and are not familiar with search marketing for that country, why not ask someone who is? It’s the fastest and most reliable way to find out.

Search engine tools won’t do everything for you, though. There is still a strong element of trial and error and refinement required to target the most effective keywords.

Reflect and refine

Choosing your keywords is not the end of the story. Once your list is ready, it’s time to let your keywords loose online and see how they perform. Use analytics tools to see which keywords are driving traffic and attracting conversions, and which ones are simply not working. This will tell you which ones to get rid of and which to keep. Check what your competitors are up to keyword-wise as well. Keyword research is an ongoing process that needs to be constantly monitored, revised and refined. You need to be checking the performance of your keywords on at least a monthly basis.

Overall strategy

Of course, keywords are not the be-all and end-all, and they work in tandem with other strands of overall SEO strategy. When you’re localising your website for markets abroad you’ll also need to think about issues such as design, images, colour, hosting and accessibility, as well as link-building and Pay Per Click – but those are topics for another article.

About the author

Christian Arno is the founder of professional translation agency Lingo24, experts in the foreign language internet. Launched in 2001, Lingo24 now has over 150 employees spanning three continents and clients in over sixty countries. In the past twelve months, they have translated over sixty million words for businesses in every industry sector. Follow Lingo24 on Twitter: @Lingo24.

Tips for Multilingual Keyword Research

404

Page not found

The page you requested cannot be found on the server

Basically its an invite to the user to hit the back button and disappear from the website, also its a potential sale lost.

On the high street if a product is sold out its place on the shelf is soon filled by something else, so why not on the web.

Simply revamp the 404 page to say something like:

We are sorry but the product you are looking for is currently not available,

however here are some similar items.

Then list a few items from the same category, this will make your site more sticky and improve the chances of converting the visitor to being a customer.

The potential of 404 pages is limitless, you could add a search box, a full list of departments, brands, ranges etc etc.

Take a look at your site statistics how many 404′s are you generating?

What if just 1% of them was converted to a sale?

Merchant 404 Pages – Get Creative and Increase sales

Guest article by Oliver Ackers of www.SimplyFreeGadgets.com

As you may already know, getting into affiliate marketing can be quite daunting, and is hard to get going in the correct direction, and then most people will usually give up anyway. Well here’s something that may help you get your foot in the door with a little more ease. Often referred to as, “Freebie Sites”, “Referral Sites” and so on, these sites are very easy to use and to understand, that anyone can use them.

So usually, to get a sale through an affiliate, you need to make a website and promote it, and hope people will click through and buy things for you to get your commission, but with this there’s an extra incentive. The main thing that will hooks people to these sites is the opportunity of getting a free gift, which can be one of the latest gadgets on the market. This instantly gives you an easy audience to target, as there are new gadgets being released all of the time, the Kinect has just been released, and there’s always new Apple gear coming out. So you could even get a Free iPhone

So to complete one of these sites the first thing that you need to do is sign up to the website, and then complete an offer that the freebie site is advertising. These offers are the affiliate part of the website, as when you sign up, the freebie site will get paid a certain amount, which is about (£/$)20 on average. Then you need to refer some friends to the website to do the same thing. So say you’re going for a Nintendo Wii, which costs around £180, this would mean 9x£20 = £180, which will pay for your gift. Then the gift is usually ordered from Amazon, straight to your house.

You don’t just have to get free gifts though, you can of course request for a bank transfer, so you’ll get the money instead!
So as you can see, this is a much more attractive version of affiliate marketing, because instead of just advertising a company alone, you can advertise getting a free gift instead, and in the long run, you are pretty much getting all the affiliate money that you have earned through them. The way they make their profit is usually on people signing up, completing an offer, maybe referring a few friends, and then giving up. Don’t be one of those people! Make something of it! Make sure you get your Free Xbox or anything else that you want!

To get going, just go to www.SimplyFreeGadgets.com

Affiliate Referral Websites – Getting a Free Gift