Goyami: Affiliate Marketing and Search Engine Marketing Blog

Home > Weblog Columns > Goyami

About This Blog

Goyami - Named after Gooogle, Yahoo, and Microsoft, Goyami is a Paid & Natural Search Engine Marketing Blog! Covering Search Engine Marketing and Affiliate Marketing Industry News.

GOYAMI's
AFFILIATE & SEARCH
MARKETING GURU

Adam Viener
adam@goyami.com
( Profile | Biz | Archive )

Monthly Archives

« July 2006 | Main | September 2006 »

August 29, 2006

Yahoo Coupon and Cheap Deals Affiliate Marketing

Posted by Adam Viener

Last week I posted an article on ReveNews that sparked quite a bit of discussion. I pointed out Yahoo's new Coupon shortcut where they are pulling coupons and posting affiliate links to the stores offering the coupons at the top of some of their organic search results. I further hypnotized that this could be the beginning of Yahoo and other search engines getting a taste for commission revenues and indicated that I thought it could lead to them looking for more ways to turn the organic listings into commissionable links. The basic theory goes that since the search engines are just large publishers with lots of traffic, and since their goal is to make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for, and since they have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to maximize revenues, then it isn't too far fetched of a concept to think that search engines could identify which companies had affiliate programs available, and turn the standard "free" links that currently point to these sites into "commissionable" links. Why not get paid for the traffic.

Well as you can imagine this sparked a lot of discussion. At last count there were over 56 comments and growing daily.

Then today, I friend of mine pointed out a posting on Search Engine Watch's Blog saying they had discussed the coupon links with Yahoo and that Yahoo was aggregating coupons and rebates from multiple sources for these links. Additionally Yahoo let them know about a new shortcut that links to their internal shopping engine for search terms that include the word cheap, like "cheap plasma tv":

This is one more indication that search engines are starting to test using their search results to push traffic to revenue generating sites "and / or" internal monetized properties. This is what Google Base is all about as well.

Clearly the free lunch for merchant traffic via search engines will get harder and harder to come by, and search engines will continue to look for ways to enhance the user experience by manipulating the results to get customers what they want faster, as well as through sites and properties that will earn the search engines more money.

As much as people might like to argue about it, this is clearly the natural evolution of search engine results.

Is it the end of affiliate marketing, NO! Is it an opportunity for savvy affiliates and affiliate managers to cut specialized deals with search engines, ABSOLUTLY!

Comments (0) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Affiliate Marketing

August 21, 2006

Why Your Affiliate Program SHOULD allow Direct Linking by Search Affiliates

Posted by Adam Viener

Ever since Google changed their policy to only showing one ad per display URL there have been A LOT of affiliate programs issuing new policies forbidding affiliates for direct linking their search engine ads to their affiliate program. Honestly I think this has been a BIG mistake by affiliate managers, and has hurt many programs.

Vinny did a great write up outlining some of the issues in his Revenews article, "Search Agencies vs. Search Affiliates". If you haven't had a chance to read his article, I suggest you do so, I would consider this one a must read for any scenarios affiliate manager.

I have been communicating with an affiliate manager about this very issue, where the company has decided to now allow people to link directly to their url in search ads, and his comments were as follows:

For now, the company had decided to take this stand. I was told that our affiliates that do search marketing are not targeting the tail end but the head. If they were targeting the tail end, I was told that we would be more than happy but that’s not what’s happening.

My response was as follows:

I think what happens is that affiliates start by testing the head to see if it can be profitable, especially on brand and misspellings, once profitability is proven than and only then are these top affiliates willing to expend resources to building out a full scale campaign that targets the tail.
Even so, if you are paying for search marketing and are paying for affiliates, if they both bring in sales they should be able to compete to see who can bring them in most efficiently for the company. All things being equal if the company and the affiliate are bidding on the same terms and driving traffic to the companies site, ie same display url, the company should have the advantage since they are earning more for the sale then the affiliate is. In this scenario the affiliate’s ad will only typically show up either on terms where the company isn’t bidding, or where the affiliate’s ads are better performing.

Once you take the ego’s of the internal search teams and the profit goals of the outsourced search marketing agencies off the table and look at things from a maximization of the company’s total sales and earnings basis, this should really be a no brainer.

Google's latest update to their quality scores also provides an additional reason why companies should consider allowing affiliate to directly link to their sites. Since Google is looking at the ads and giving a quality score rating to the landing pages, the typical content links and quick landing pages that used to work well in Google are getting much harder. Affiliates need to build out more substantial sites with higher Google PR values if they want to have sites that are considered "Good Quality" by Google. When an affiliate is linking directly to the merchant's site through the affiliate links, Google is looking at the Quality and relevance of the Company site. In most cases, this should be a higher value than the typical affiliate search arbitrager will be able to achieve on their own. So by allowing direct linking, you could be reducing the cost per click for your affiliates, thereby giving them more room to promote your company on more terms or bid higher on terms they have found to produce.

Clearly allowing direct linking in your affiliate program combines with the right search affiliates should equate to more sales for your company.

Food for thought... I would love to hear your comments!

Comments (1) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Affiliate Marketing

Is Yahoo's Market Share Gaining on Google?

Posted by Adam Viener

comScore released their monthly qSearch analysis of the major search engine activity with the heading that Yahoo registers a moderate share gain for the 2nd consecutive month. When you look at the numbers, you see that from June of 2006 to July of 2006, Yahoo went from 28.5% market share to 28.8% market share. Yet a further look at the numbers shows that Yahoo is of 1.7% from July of 2005, dropping from 30.5% market share to 28.8%. I guess it's good to celebrate small gains, but let's not lose site of the big picture.

comScore also notes that Google's share declined 1% from the previous month dropping from 44.7% to 43.7% market share, however on a year over year basis they are up a whopping 7.2% from 36.5% in July of 2005, to a commanding 43.7% in 2006.

Clearly there may be some small monthly shifts in market share which "COULD" single a possible change in where the market is headed, but the year over year figures clearly show that the Google juggernaut is still rolling over the competition.

Comments (0) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: SEM Company & Industry News

August 16, 2006

Lead Generation, the next Frontier of Affiliate Marketing?

Posted by Adam Viener

Today we have a returning Guest Blogger, Lee Gientke:

Regular readers of the blog will know me from my posts about migrating from CJ to LinkShare and my subsequent love of LinkShare. Well I’ve done some migrating of my own to a company called LeadPoint. One of the reasons for my move was an immediate fascination with LeadPoint’s business model and my belief that lead generation is the next frontier for affiliate marketing.
So you are thinking, well here we go, Lee’s just going to push LeadPoint like a spammer pushing Viagra and Rolex watches. All I have to say is hold on a sec and hear me out.

Traditional lead-gen programs work by taking a lead and reselling it a number of times. Take for example, LendingTree, i.e. “When banks compete, you win.” If you are a lead-gen affiliate, take a step back and think about this tagline and ultimately your commissions. LendingTree makes their money by taking your lead and reselling it five times. Some lenders and brokers are willing to pay in excess of $50 for a refinance lead. So quick math says 50 times five is 250 less your commission of X leaves them with a big piece of the pie and you the affiliate a crumb to nibble on.

Now imagine that equation turned around with you the affiliate getting LendingTree’s share of the pie. If you are a smaller affiliate who generates one lead per day, you are thinking that’s impossible, no one will buy my leads other than LendingTree. If you are the affiliate who generates 500 leads a day, you are thinking I have enough leads to sell to a Wells Fargo or a loan broker but then I need to hire a sales staff to chase those guys but I don’t want the overhead to crimp my margins.

Enter LeadPoint. LeadPoint works very much like the NASDAQ or eBay in that we are a real-time trading floor where buyers and sellers – irregardless of size – can meet to trade their wares 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on a real time basis. This means that the small, one lead a day affiliate has access to major lead buyers like Ameriquest and Priority Student Loans and the big affiliate is able to offload as much volume as they can produce without the overhead and hassle of a sales force. LeadPoint maximizes and monetizes each transaction by selling the lead up to four times and charging a small trading fee off the gross revenues. In real terms, this means sellers net 30-50% more than any other lead generation programs. And as a marketplace, you will never be competing against us for ad space.

To help the seller, LeadPoint has come up with some really cool innovations to further monetize your marketing efforts. One of these is a toll-free phone number that will transfer your mortgage lead to a loan officer after the lead is qualified via a series of computerized prompts. Major media conglomerates like the New York Times are leveraging this technology to monetize space in both online and offline channels. But it gets better in that you don’t need to be the New York Times to do this. Can you say cable TV commercials with your phone number and URL advertising your new mortgage company? Or how about direct mail or print advertising? With LeadPoint at your side you can have a home-finance company and never talk to a single customer. The same applies for our other verticals.

By meeting at an exchange like LeadPoint, both the buyers and sellers interests are protected and maximized. The sellers benefit because LeadPoint is able to guarantee payment and maximize their revenue by selling the lead multiple times. The buyers benefit because they are buying leads that have been quality verified and the number of times a lead was sold is controlled. Lastly, everyone benefits because the cost to facilitate this exchange is low. In short, both sides get all the benefits of selling direct with none of the hassles.

So if you have dreams of a new Bentley and a house in the Hamptons swirling in your head, give me a call and I’ll get you going. We are now actively trading leads in home finance (English and Spanish language), debt management, student loan consolidation and some other B2B verticals with payday loans, automotive, and a dozen other service verticals coming by the end of the year.

Lee Gientke
Business Development Manager
www.LeadPoint.com
310/209-8662
lee.gientke AT leadpoint.com

Comments (9) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Affiliate Marketing

August 15, 2006

To Google or not to Google, That is Google's Legal Dilemma

Posted by Adam Viener

Has Google finally gone off the deep end? Now that Google has been accepted as a Verb the company has started looking at ways to protect their brand to make sure it doesn't become as generic as Xerox.

Apparently Google doesn't want to go the way of Xerox and have people saying things like "I Googled that hottie", instead they would rather say that "I ran a Google search on that hottie".

Hmm.... I think that the term "to Goggle" someone has pretty much been engrained in society at this point, and it's kind of like trying to stuff toothpaste back into the tube once it has left.

Maybe Google will sue Merriam-Webster for including the term in the dictionary.

Perhaps Google just want's to be on record as having put people on notice that they don't want to become the generic term that culture has already made them.

I'm going to go Google the term "Genericide", oops; I mean perform a Google search on the word "Genericide". Oh crap, I'll just Yahoo it.

Comments (0) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: ! Hot Topics

August 6, 2006

James Martell's Affiliate Bootcamp Training Course

Posted by Adam Viener

James Martell has recelntly announced he will be offeting his Affiliate Bootcamp training via the Internet. In typical James Martell fashion he has provided one of his professionaly written articles to explain the program and provide links back to his site:

By Kellie Fowler

James Martell to Kick-Off First Ever Online “BootCamp” Training Via The Internet: Students Build Sites from Comfort of Their Own Home in Engaging, -- One Evening Per Week, -- For Eight Weekly Sessions

The 8-week curriculum will be delivered one evening per week for eight weeks, with each "night-school" style class dedicated to one of the eight steps outlined in Martell’s top-selling downloadable Affiliate Marketer’s Handbook

More and more families are struggling with debt – be it escalating mortgages, credit card debt, or trying to save for a child’s education or retirement. The truth is that day-to-day living has become more expensive and keeping up is a battle, and most people have all but given up their dreams of finally getting ahead.

But this just doesn’t have to be the case.

In fact, there is a legitimate, proven way to make money – whether to simply supplement your current income or to provide a full-time income for you and your family, and it’s called affiliate marketing.

And perhaps one of the Net's longest running affiliate marketers, James Martell, who has been teaching his tried-and-true moneymaking techniques to people just like you for well over seven years, is now making his infamous live BootCamp training available via the Internet.

This means anyone can take advantage of this eight-week course to ensure they achieve financial freedom once and for all.

The first-ever Affiliate Marketers BootCamp Online "Night School" Edition will begin Thursday, September 7th, with Martell coming into your home “live” through an engaging, real-time online conference room. The 8-week curriculum will be delivered every Thursday evening for eight weeks, with each night-school style course dedicated to one of the eight steps outlined in Martell’s top-selling downloadable Affiliate Marketer’s Handbook.

Normally delivered in three consecutive days in Martell’s hometown of Surrey, BC (Canada), the BootCamp materials and live instruction have been further broken down to ensure online BootCamp attendees fully grasp each of the eight steps, and can have the time to apply these and ask Martell questions in the live question and answer sessions held at the conclusion of each evening course.

When asked about her experience at Martell’s most recent BootCamp, attendee Julia Mahler said this: “The past 3 days were truly amazing. I learned SO much, became re-motivated and re-inspired to continue my publishing business, I've lost sight of my dreams over the last couple of years - I can see them again now. Thank you!”

Martell, who, until recently, was not convinced that online classroom technology would allow him to effectively and efficiently deliver his instruction via the Internet, has earned quite a reputation as a teacher. His students fly from across the world to attend his three-day BootCamps and regularly report significant increases in their sales (and their paychecks) after jump-starting their online efforts with Martell’s eight-step methodology.

For Martell student Roman Gill, a true paid search expert, the difference can be seen in the development of his websites. “I received significant value in walking through your methodology to develop quality websites that rank high in the search engines naturally. Many things to absorb and try to implement our web strategy,” said Gill.

Martell student Laurie Watkins found Martell’s information top-shelf and his delivery to be exactly what she needed to get her online business on track and keep it there. “First class! Great presentation, excellent stage presence, (and) good use of time. Well done! Keep up the good work,” Watkins said!

And online BootCamp attendees are sure to concur, for Martell’s new online conference room will showcase Martell as he walks through the same videos he uses in the off-line BootCamp, with real-time audio and more.

Much like the original BootCamp, which started in Oct. 2005, the online BootCamp is targeted to new and experienced affiliate marketers alike, to those who already have Martell’s newly released Affiliate Marketing Handbook - "2006" (THIRD EDITION), and are looking for the extra push they need to get up and running, and to “newbies” looking to break-into this exciting and profitable career.

In fact, these are the very reasons the original BootCamp was started and why it continues to boast sell out crowds.

It all began when Martell’s students asked for something more. They wanted to spend time one-on-one with the successful affiliate marketer. But the demand far exceeded anything one person could handle and so Martell set out to teach to his infamous eight-step approach to a number of people at once, all the while maintaining the personal, one-on-one experience his loyal students requested.

And the BootCamps were a hit from the get-go.

But Martell continued to hear from students who were unable to travel the distance to his hometown or unable to take time away from family and other obligations, or who simply could not afford the trip and accommodations and therefore could not take advantage of the very offer they asked for.

So, back to the drawing board he went. And, once introduced to an online conference room that could be used to deliver his training in the same one-on-one atmosphere, while allowing people to attend from their homes (foregoing travel and expenses), he knew he had another BootCamp winner.

And, as expected, the response from students has been overwhelmingly positive, not only because of the convenience and affordable costs it allows, but because Martell’s online BootCamp packs years of his personal research, development, and experiences into eight evening sessions, making it a truly invaluable investment.

Attendees can expect Martell, who has tapped into more than 60 different industries and boats nearly 100 specialty shopping sites via the Web, to use his robust online conference room to show exactly how to:

Get And Stay On Track

Research Topics

Work with Web Publishing Software

Choose Templates

Plan Site Maps

Develop Keyword Lists

Use His Keyword Density Formula

Choose Merchants

Arrange Hosting

FTP to your Server

Submit to Search Engines

Work with Authors on Elance

Arrange Quality Inbound Links

Monitor Traffic

Manage Site(s)

Adjust to Online Change

And much more...

“Martell’s BootCamps are excellent, in depth and informative", explains BootCamp attendee Howard Hood. “Martell clarifies content in the manual and proves we all have the knowledge and abilities to succeed in affiliate marketing.”

For more information, and for class schedules, visit: http://www.affiliate-marketers-bootcamp.com/.

About The Author

Bill Schnarr is a successful freelance writer and a seasoned professional providing valuable insight and advice to those looking to work from home based business. His numerous articles offer real-life tips and techniques to those looking for a way out of the rat race.

Comments (1) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Affiliate Marketing

August 2, 2006

MSN AdCenter to Support Firefox

Posted by Adam Viener

As much as Microsoft would like to keep their customers using Internet Explorer, they have succumbed to the pressure to support Firefox, a browser owned by competitor Google, that is growing in popularity due to its speed and plug-in support. This could be a new trend for Microsoft, perhaps in their struggle to win the search war, they will neglect the browser war and assume they have already won.

On that note, I heard that Microsoft was thinking about force pushing an upgrade that would upgrade IE users to the latest version 7 along with their standard "Critical Updates" that some people have their computers set to install automatically.

Interesting times...

Comments (1) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Pay Per Click Management Tools

Virtual Affiliate Program Launches

Posted by Adam Viener

Second Life has been on for forefront of what I call Economy 2.0, where people are making real world cash buying and selling goods and services in the virtual worlds of massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). Today I received an email from Linden Labs, the makers of Second Life, indicating that they have moved to a totally virtual affiliate model. Here is how it works:

1. You have to have a Second Life account to be an affiliate of theirs.
2. Your new affiliate URLs will be tied to your Second Life Accounts
3. You will receive 1,000 Linden Dollars for each Premium account referred.

So no more US Dollar Payments for affiliates, you will have to play to be paid....

Interesting... Thoughts?

Comments (0) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Affiliate Marketing

August 1, 2006

One Good Idea leads to a Million Knockoffs

Posted by Adam Viener

I wrote an article on ReveNews about Joel Comm's 500Words.com site. I think Joel came up with an interesting concept and he did a great job of monetizing it and then farming out the code for a fee so others could duplicate the effort.

But one Good idea does lead to the knockoffs, and this little press release caught my eye today as the mother of all knockoffs. I especially like the headline "World's Biggest Internet Discovery Since the Internet Itself". Oh Brother... Top500Wordz.com isn't anything special... new or any kind of major discovery, it's just another implementation of Joel's code, and I hope Joel made some bucks off of it...

Comments (0) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Organic Search Engine Marketing & Optimization (SEO)

Deadline Approaching for Click Fraud Settlement Forms

Posted by Adam Viener

Just a quick reminder to those of you who haven't submitted your claim forms for Google's click fraud class action case. The deadline is Aug 4th, 2006. You only have a few days left!

Submit your claims at www.clicksettlement.com

Comments (0) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: PPC Search Engine Marketing | PPC Search Engine Marketing

About This Blog

GOYAMI's AFFILIATE & SEARCH MARKETING GURU

TOOLS

eBooks

More Resources

SEARCH NEWS SITES

AFFILIATE NEWS SITES

August 29, 2006

August 21, 2006

August 16, 2006

August 15, 2006

August 6, 2006

August 2, 2006

August 1, 2006

GOYAMI's
AFFILIATE & SEARCH
MARKETING GURU