You’ve been Panda’d
This Affiliate Blog has not been updated in a while. Mainly because Paul and myself have gone our separate ways and we now work on our own sites. We still have a handful of sites that we share earning us money each and every month and haven’t required any maintenance from either of us until recently. Our niche sites have been affected by the big G, and so have some of our own sites, so yes you can say our sites have been effected by the latest Panda updates. We can understand why some of them have been effected because of the lack of updates, but whats odd is how some are still OK and others have dropped their positions either a few places or even a few pages.
So now to get back those sites that were bringing us in an income we know its worth investing a little bit of money to get some external links back to these sites and hopefully they will regain their long time rankings (some for over 18 months at number 1 spot) and chip in to the pot.
One of the things we’ve experimented with on 1 of our niches was using a Blog Network, one we’re testing is called Build My Rank as can be seen on our sponsored adverts on the sidebar. We’ve read and heard other people using on the forums with some good results so we thought we’d trial it out. Its a great service and offers blog posts across their network of aged domains. Some of these blog sites will even have decent Page Rank. The post will go onto the home page, albeit for a short time as there are quite a few blog posts, but even if that helps bump our site for a short time, the results form commissions will pay for the content and service of using BMR. As the blog posts stay their permanently you also get to have a 1 way in content link from various blogs hosted on different ip addresses which will look natural.
We did about 10 articles for one niche and noticed it jumped from position 126 to 27 in a few days. Its now stablised after a few weeks at position 24 and just needs that extra push.
We’d recommend that you try out this if you have been affected by the Panda, as it may be a quick cheap option to regain your rankings. You get 10 free links to start with and if you sign up you can get 5 sites for only $59 per month. Outsource some content writers for as little as £1 per 150 word articles and make the most of the service.
The extra benefits I’ve seen on even new niche websites is it helps to index your site quickly. The automatically ping your posts so they get indexed quickly too, so your link should get picked up fairly quick.
If you find this helpful, please sign up using the Banner Ad on the sidebar, as we’ll get a commission for your sign-up 
Then let us know if it helped you and your panda recovery.
What are the Benefits of Joining Google Plus
UPDATE: the post is now half way dowwn the 1st page for the term ‘Benefits of Google Plus’ without any extra link building to that page. I’ve not checked the traffic stats properly, but I have seen an increase in visitors to the website. Also if you would like to follow me on Google Plus then check me out here: gplus.to/GaryYeardley
I recently did a post over on my other blog Webaholic.org.uk about the Benefits of Google Plus. I think its worth a read as I think all Affiliate Marketers and any that runs a Website starts to use it. Also if you need an invite, I’ll happily let you join and be happy for those Affiliate Followers too 
Sorry for the short post, its also to get that post on my other blog indexed faster. Bit of an experiment if you like. It’s already sat at no 10 for those title keywords last time I checked.
Enjoy
Eyewear.org.uk domain and website for sale
Eyewear is a great generic keyword domain, can be searched both as a single word or two words or with a hyphen. Eyewear was caught today with the view to selling either to the reseller market or to the end user. Although glasses of any type it is not something that you would think would sell online. But to be honest with the amount of advertisers paying for these keywords it shows there is a niche affiliate or AdSense site to make some cashola out of it. The site will suit anyone who knows about glasses and eye care such as contact lenses. If you think you can write about this topic, there is a lot of additional long tail traffic you can attract to this site.
The site is also perfect for any merchant or end user that has a business in selling prescription glasses or even designer glasses. They can use the keyword domain to bring extra traffic over to their main site.
There is always a need to wear glasses so this keyword is something that will last and not seasonal, however you can also target sunglasses too.
The exact keyword term for eyewear gets 1,600 exacts and approx 1,000,000 broad local searches a month. I don’t think this would be too difficult to rank.
Wearing Glasses has become more fashionable over the last decade so I would certainly be looking to develop the site with designer glasses and sunglasses if I had the time. I would also focus on providing useful information about eye car and how to care for glasses etc.
You can even target sports glasses.
Product prices range from providing accessories for about £5 to branded Glasses for about £550.
There is 1563 search results on EasyContentUnits for the specific keyword with plenty of merchants to promote
Oh and don’t forget 3d glasses very popular at the moment.
So in your search for eyewear online, check out the url http://www.eyewear.org.uk and it could be yours at the right price.
I am open to offers on this so please send them to gary@authoritydomains.co.uk
CashmereJumpers.org.uk for Sale
Cashmere is one of the freshest must-have fashion accessories for the stylish lady on the market today. Well for Winter. They are not cheap as well which makes it a good choice for an Affiliate Niche site.
As we haven’t got much time to develop this at the moment with bigger projects on the go, I thought I’d put it out there to any affiliates to see if there is any interest in buying this. This would suit a small product feed driven site.
Cashmere is one of those items that don’t tend to go out of fashion.
The exact keyword term for Cashmere Jumpers gets 2,900 exacts and 12,100 broad local searches a month. I don’t think this would be too difficult to rank.
Maybe an opportunity for someone to build a niche Cashmere Jumper comparison site as I don’t think there are many others already in this market.
Cashmere Jumpers can be dressed down with jeans for a casual feel or worn with suit trousers for the more formal appearance. So you can maybe cross sell those on site.
Cashmere has the added advantage of essentially being quite cool to wear in the summertime. A light-weight cashmere cardigan to throw on in a summers evening is ideal.
There are also plenty of cashmere accessories available. Scarves, gloves and hats made of Cashmere are good for UK winters.
So in your search for discount cashmere jumpers online, check out the url http://www.cashmerejumpers.org.uk and it could be yours for the right offer.
I am open to offers on this so please send them to gary@authoritydomains.co.uk
Great tool written by fellow affiliate for adding bike maps to Wordpress sites and mobile app
As an affiliate, a large number of you will use wordpress as a blogging platform or even as your core affiliate website.
The beauty of WordPress is that its totally free, comes with a great and easy to use CMS, and utilises plugins that can do just about anything you can think of.
Wordpress has a number of valuable features that you may find useful:
- Easy to change the look & feel of a site by simply changing the theme used
- Add your content quickly and easily, no HTML knowledge required
- User accounts allow you to outsource certain tasks
- Choosing the right theme ensures effective on-page SEO
- Plugins allow complicated code to be added to your site to deliver useful functionality, without any knowledge of PHP or other coding languages
But what next? What comes beyond using wordpress as the basis for your website? Google has always said that websites should be built with users in mind, naturally built sites with naturally generated links. Thus, as webmasters it is important to deliver good quality content. Content, however, is both interesting, uniquely written articles on a broad range of related topics, and functionality that users find useful. For example, the Walk, Jog, Run website [walkjogrun.net] provide running routes. It’s a free online running route planner that allows runners to see how far they have walked, jogged or run over a course.
So why is this important for affiliates? Link bait. If your website offers something that users find interesting, it will attract links from admiring webmasters. Links that are on-topic and relevant, two elements that are important in obtaining positive responses from the SE bots.
Route Finder
Another example of a site that provides a useful tool is Bikes.org.uk which has developed a Route Finder tool for cyclists, mountain bikers, walkers, runners and even sailers.
The Route Finder tool is available as a Widget, iPhone App, Android App and as a Wordpress Plugin. The wp plugin allows webmasters to embed routes into wordpress posts and pages. It is ideal for Wordpress Blogs dedicated to cyclists, mountain bikers, runners, joggers, walkers, hikers, swimmers, canoeists, sailers, motorbikers and anyone else looking for routes, trails or tracks, on roads, paths, trails or even on water.
Latest Google Algo change – How will this affect Affiliate sites?
With the recent news from Google about a big change to their algorithm and the way the rank websites, how will this affect small niche sites and affiliates? Ultimately Google’s Goal is to provide the most relevant and resourceful websites to answer the search queries. They are penalising sites with little or no unique content and giving kudos to bigger websites that have much more value in unique quality content. Fair doos. Lets just hope that a small niche site that compares blue widgets from blue widget merchants is not penalised as it does add value to the visitor. I’ts providing them what they searched for and more as saving them time shopping around. Sure these types of sites don’t have a lot of content or a big sites and updated regularly but they can be a good resource. Ultimately Google wants more from these sites but it will be interesting to see how this affects us Affiliates.
I think things like quality and amount of links to the site, the onsite seo and internal site structure and linking will still play a big part in ranking those websites, small or big. I think this change will simply eradicate those sites that are just duping content and throwing up tiny sites with no value.
When building you niche site, always think about the consumer, the visitor your demographic market and what value your site will be adding to them coming to your site. Think of Google wanting your site to be relevant to the search terms, the links to your site be organic and as natural as possible. Don’t go throwing hundreds of links a day just to try and force this. Market your website using social media and if you truly offer something unique then you will do well. IMHO!
Think the affiliate bug is catching – wife develops high tops site
At Christmas my wife gave up her job working for what was minimum wage in an effort to have a crack at this affiliate marketing lark that I keep banging on about. With the opportunities that are out there we thought it was worth her having a go as if she can replace her income and work the hours she needs to with the added bonus of still being able to pick the kids up from school and have school holidays then we thought it was worth the temporary drop in income while she gets up to speed. Well I have to day I am very proud of the huge effort she has put in. She now created her own websites, can add product feeds and has set herself up a nice portfolio of sites that are both interesting to her and have the potential to earn. The recent addition to the portfolio is her high tops site. I think this site looks great already and she is busy adding more and more content to make it a true resource for those looking for high tops online. Being an avid summer wearer of Converse high tops myself she already has her first customer.
Nintendo 3DS
Long time since I’ve posted as been pretty hectic with affiliate stuff and living life. Enjoying it though! I’ve been looking at the new Nintendo 3Ds and it’s options and man it looks to have some great options. My kids all got DSi’s for Christmas and like most parents when the kids are in bed I have a go and have been very impressed. I only have a go to free up some of the options for them so they can get further in the games you understand, yeah right! Looking at the new Nintendo 3Ds it will bring even more functionality to the handheld console market and these gizmo’s aren’t just gaming machines anymore. As well as 3D gaming it will offer a 3D camera, internet capability and other goodies. If you are looking for one then make sure you have a look at the Nintendo 3Ds specs and check out the best price here as well. If you get one let us know what you think.
Quick Update from Affiliate Project
2011 is full steam ahead with the team at Affiliate Project. We have been busy on various projects still trying to fit this all around our current work/family commitments so its still going to take a bit longer than it would be if we had full time resources but we’re doing well considering.
The month of January was a very good month on the earnings front for us and we had our 2nd highest month yet. Baring at mind some of our bigger sites http://www.slashprices.co.uk is taking a bit longer to rank as its not a keyword domain, but we are getting a lot more traffic and now we’re seeing more sales from the long-tail traffic which is great. We just need to continue the hard work and push along to compete with all the other Voucher Code Sites out there. We have been doing a few external articles like Great Discounts at Comet to see how this is improving things as well as regular link building, changing site structures to bring in more internal link juice and more promotional work like Social Marketing too. Its all very interesting and we’re steadily building up our business.
We’ve also been getting involved in buying up keyword domains which are expiring so that has been interesting too.
Who said Affiliate Marketing was easy, hey but its fun with lots of challenges.
I also had my 1-1 at work today and they asked me what I find interesting about my day Job. Well I was stumped to find an answer. Where as ask me the same question about this Affiliate stuff, he might not have got out the meeting room until the next day.
Also Paul and I are keen to find out when the Next Affiliate Meet-up is going to be, its usually about this time of the year up in London, with the usual free bar to meet like minded folk and talk shop. Keep us informed if anyone knows.
Social Networking for Affiliate Marketing Business Advertising
Do you run Facebook Business Page or Twitter Account to promote your Affiliate Business. If you don’t already then maybe you should consider it. I know its obvious but these social media channels are a great way to build up more interest in your business and to connect with the world for free advertising. But what if they suddenly decide they are going to start charging for this service. You will have already built up your customer base and they are networking on a daily basis to bring in a large percentage of your traffic to your website/s.
I recently watched the Social Network and found it very inspiring. One of the things that Mark Zuckerberg wanted desperately not to do was place loads of ads all over the site. So how was he going to monetise the site. This was a long term goal and one that has massively paid off.
So when you are considering running your business, bare in mind that advertising on these social networks might not always be free. Don’t rely on this as your only source in promotional methods.
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