GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 18 - October 2011

Getting over the barrier If you’re starting out but still procrastinat- ing, the process is simple and you should do this today. Pick a product Choose a territory Do some keyword research Decide on your target keywords Buy a domain Get hosting Install WordPress or Drupal Write or commission 200 words of content Get some backlinks . Done! ( Mail me when you’ve done it; we may be able to share some links! ) Cost: under $100 Time taken: less than half a day Note: It doesn’t have to be perfect now. It just needs to be live and accessible to search engine spiders. In a couple of weeks you’ll be able to assess where your site ranks in Google, particularly if you’ve picked a less competitive territory and bought a keyword-rich domain. As I mentioned, the purpose of this sec- tion is to demonstrate how simple the ini- tial process for starting a brand-new site actually is and reduce the psychological barrier to entry. Design, usability, infor- mation architecture, on-page SEO and link building can all come later. If you’re already established and have some reasonable rankings, then the chances are that you just need backlinks. Risk mitigation and safety in numbers Let’s say you’re an established affiliate, you’re driving great players and you’ve al- ready secured great rankings in Google. Having a second or third or fourth site is wise. You spread the risk across multiple sites. What would you prefer, one site gen- erating £1,000 a day or a thousand zero- maintenance sites generating £1 a day? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 There are several SEO benefits in having multiple sites: You become your own link network You’re spreading the risk Mitigated risk enables aggressive strategies There are disadvantages, too – for in- stance, if you’re building a brand or com- munity or your model is to be a publisher of news. Naturally this will not scale. If your approach is to be a thin affiliate – but thick enough to earn the favor of the Google Gods – then by targeting transac- tional keywords, which drive depositing players, you will be able to scale and de- liver the SEO benefits I noted above. It’s not an approach I’d recommend for sports, but for casino, bingo and to some degree poker, it’s a workable plan and indeed it’s how I personally roll as an affiliate. I guess you could interpret this as a black hat strategy of burn and churn; however, I’m actually talking about a sustainable moderate-risk approach. You could, how- ever, paint this approach with any shade of grey or indeed black. The properties which don’t make it to page one and don’t drive players can also be monetized. Just add news or an articles section and sell links embedded within content supplied by link buyers. Use the money you earn from selling links to buy links to your link network and your money sites. Get yourself to the affiliate conferences; make lots of friends and link exchange your way to riches! With multiple sites you’ll have plenty of bargaining opportu- nities, which will ultimately power your money sites(s) and juice up your network. The key to this is structuring the network, which is a topic for another time. If you plan to run sites in emerging mar- kets or foreign territories, then work out joint ventures with hungry, smart SEOs in those territories. They will make the whole plan totally scalable and add amaz- ing value to your business. Local knowl- edge is priceless. 1. 2. 3. Making the decision Again I should reiterate that none of this has to be perfect; it can be perfected later. I re- member a conversation with the founder of a large tour operator. I found it refreshing to learn that he’d started out with a one-page site focusing on one phrase, “Amsterdam Hotels.” By the time the site was ranking, it didn’t even have a single hotel listed, let alone the functionality to book. He skipped the affiliate process completely, began con- tracting hotels, launched an affiliate net- work operating in 11 languages and was then bought out for a stack of cash. The point I’m making is, don’t let your quest for perfection get in the way of prog- ress. Pontificating and theorizing will not build traffic, but action will. Focus on profit-producing activities first. Publishing content and getting links are the twomost important activities required. Once your site’s content is indexed, then link acquisition becomes the only remain- ing profit-producing daily activity. Do it! Remember . . . Don’t let your quest for perfection get in the way of progress. If you see a guru in the road, turn and run the other way. Become your own link network. If you have any specific questions e-mail me directly at paul@mediaskunkworks.com or follow me on Twitter @paulreilly or stalk me on foursquare at: foursquare.com/user/paulreilly • • • • • Paul Reilly has worked in Search Marketing for over 13 years and has earned multiple awards and honors. Today Paul is regarded as one of the U.K.’s most influential SEOs, and is the first port of call for most iGaming brands. He is the founder of mediaskunkworks.com, a new- generation service provider which has built its reputation on innovation and optimized methodologies which dissect the traditional agency model, replicating success, building world- class, in-house teams and providing outsourced think-tank and creative problem-solving services. 14 SEO Psychology for Affiliates