Creating Your Own Web Site
When creating your own website, you will need to register a domain name first. There are a variety of services online that offer domain registration. For starters, you can begin here: www.register.com. With a quick search on Google, you will find hundreds of other destinations to register your URL.
Keep in mind - your domain is only registered for a pre-selected time period. If you do not renew the domain name, you will lose it. Registering for longer periods of time is generally less expensive over time than registering for one year over and over. While extensions such as .net and .biz are available, .com remains the most popular and recognized by consumers. If at all possible, be sure your domain name has a .com extension.
Once you’ve selected & registered your domain name, you will need a host for your Web site. The hosting company provides space on a public server, so your site can be viewed on the Web. Fees can vary widely depending on the service you choose.
Many affiliates select the simplest and therefore least costly hosting plan since there site will not require much bandwidth or storage space for their needs. A more economical alternative would be a virtual host provider such as EarthLink, Apache, et cetera
Most hosting companies offer design services as well as templates to assist in the creation of your Web site. It’s up to you how simple or complex you would like it to be. Some affiliate partners prefer to operate without the use of a Web site altogether. They simply use a domain name as a promotional tool, setting it up to forward to our Web site with their unique tracking URL. For someone who prefers to focus on promotion and not Web design and site maintenance, this is the most efficient and practical way to run their business.
About The Search Engines
How to get your pages listed
Every Web site marketer strives to get their site listed on the first page of the search engines for their target key words. An entire industry exists focused solely on trying to get pages placed in those coveted spots through Search Engine Optimization. But the single individual can achieve remarkable results by following some basic rules and staying abreast of changes in the search world.
1. Submit Your Web Site
In order to get your site indexed in the major search engines, your first step is to submit your website to as many directories as possible, beginning with the following:
Be sure to select categories similar to the theme of your website so that users will be able to easily locate your website once it is listed. Once submitted, approval times vary. Some directories will list your site in a matter of days, while others can take anywhere from two to three weeks or months. If you choose to utilize a paid directory, you should expect to see your listing appear within three business days.
You can submit your site to thematically-related forums, blogs and message boards as well. Also consider innovative, collaborative sites such as Wikipedia - a human-edited, communal encyclopedia See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.
Your web hosting service may also offer a comprehensive submission service that will automate the submission process, freeing you up to focus on other marketing tasks.
The goal is to get your site included in as many other web sites as possible in order to improve your listing in the indexes of the major search engines – Google, Yahoo and MSN. To learn more about Search Engine strategies, we highly recommend the following forums:
Search strategies vary – To determine yours, consider the two essential commodities and how much of each you have: time and money.
Content
Quality content is a key element to a successful site. Your content should contain keywords that relate to the terms that consumers would search for first when looking for information on satellite television services. To help you get started, we have a few basic articles on satellite television that you can use to populate your website. However, we HIGHLY recommend you only use these articles as basic templates. It is best to modify them as much as possible to make them fit the editorial tone of your Web site.
Link Building: Quality, Quantity and Relevancy
Some search engines rely heavily on the number of relevant links that point to your website to determine its ranking. The most important thing to remember when establishing links is that relevant links are more important than the number of links. You will reach and maintain higher placement with a few well placed relevant links than with hundreds of links that do not pertain to your website or content. Focus on obtaining links from websites that offer something of value to the consumer and avoid any link exchanges with link farms.
http://www.linksmanager.com
Pay Per Click Advertising on Search Engines (PPC)
There are several different search engines that offer the opportunity to have advertisements appear based on a visitor’s search terms. This allows you to position your ad in front of a highly targeted audience. You are charged each time a consumer clicks on your ad.
Selecting Keywords
A price for each keyword is assigned based on its popularity and the average number of daily clicks. You will find that some of the most popular, brand name keywords are simply too expensive to be cost-effective. That’s why it is important to be creative when researching the key words you will bid on. Some common strategies are:
- Utilize misspellings of common words
- Think like your audience! If you were searching for information on satellite television services, which search terms would you enter? Remember, you are paying by the click, so it’s important to target someone that is ready to buy.
- We place no restriction on the use of trademarks (with the exclusion of our own company trademarked terms); however, we recommend you check the editorial terms and conditions of each search engine before competitively bidding on the trademarked terms of our promoted services and/or products.
Other Search Engines and Opportunities
The Internet is full of opportunities for promoting your website, including such services as:
Promoting Your Program
Online Classified Ads
Just as with their offline counterparts, free online classified listings can provide an unexpected channel for reaching customers.
Discussion Groups
Discussion groups can create a great forum for promotion of your offers to consumers. Each forum has its own rules for advertising. Be sure to abide by these rules when posting any information or links – especially when including your signature.
The best way to excel at the discussion group model is to concentrate on becoming a valued contributor at each relative forum you visit. After you have established yourself and provided helpful, informative and constructive insight within the community – you will have established credibility.
This will translate to trust within the community and will help any promotion you make seem like a recommendation rather than SPAM or advertising.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to promote your offers to a wide variety of people. It is very important when you send an email campaign that your recipients have opted to receive email from you.
NOTE: Any email marketing must be CAN-SPAM compliant. To learn more, please visit: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm
If you are found to be promoting through non-compliant email efforts, you will be TERMINATED from the program immediately.
Banner Ads
In addition to placing our banner ads on your site to present the offer to your visitors, you may choose to expand exposure by making arrangements to post banners on other sites. Research the sites thoroughly before placing your banner ads. Be certain that your banner has the appropriate tracking link back to our site so you receive the credit for sales.
Pop Ups
While the advent of pop-up blocking software has impacted the effectiveness of pop-ups, there are still opportunities where the judicious use of ‘hover’ ads or ‘fly-in’ ads are not disrupted. These ads can be used to highlight special offers and compel more visitors to take action.
Email Signature
Adding a signature to your email can be a very effective way to unobtrusively promote your website or your current offers. Be sure the link is set up correctly to include your Affiliate ID.
OFFLINE MARKETING
Newspaper Classified Ads
Some of our affiliates have reported success with the use of classified ads in their local newspapers. These ads are relatively inexpensive compared to the number of exposures.
Flyers
In the Members Area of the Revenue-Allies.com Website, you will find examples of flyers that you may customize. Simply print and distribute to friends, family, coworkers and neighbors. Be sure to check your local laws before conducting any widespread distribution. Most communities have bulletin boards that can be used to display information. Check with your neighborhood association, place of employment, library and local grocery store. Simply post your custom flyer featuring our latest great offer and reap the benefits of exposure to a large audience.
Door Hangers
We have included the basic template for a door hanger which can be used to let someone know about our offers. Be sure to include your promotional code so you receive credit for any resulting sales.
Friends & Neighbors
There isn’t a single person who isn’t looking for a great deal and a way to save money. Don’t be shy about introducing our offers to family and friends. By simply supplying them with our toll free number and your promotional code, you can be well on your way to your first commission.