Expanding your niche and using related keywords to attract more viewers.
So here I am researching my niche and finding things to write about. As I now have signed up for several affiliate programs I realized that maybe my traffic problems stated in my previous blog session before may not be due to a lack of commitment or even content, though more will come and will certainly help. I have a few new theories I am going to put to the test.
Maybe it's easier for me to understand using my own words than to listen to others and that's primarily why I'm writing these blogs. Maybe also to help others who are running into similar issues too and for other experienced members to jump in and comment. Those are the goals I have for writing these blogs and certainly many members obviously feel the same way with their own blogs. Anyways back on topic.
As I get deeper into my niche and brainstorming ways to incorporate hop links into posts, I have to not only decide how I'm going to get viewers to see what I want them to see, but also how to pitch my ad, whether to use a static landing page, where I want to get my traffic from, and to ultimately get them to click those links. Let me elaborate a bit.
Guiding viewers to my landing page.
It's nice to have people actually interested in what I'm putting out there. That is, it's nice to know the niche I'm doing could potentially be lucrative, but the first question I have for this blog session and hopefully some of you guys out there will be willing to jump in and answer, includes two parts. First, I have seen many successful affiliates out there who try to include a hop link in every post and evidently it seems to be quite effective. For those experienced out there willing to participate, here's one example of such a website I found.
http://www.greenthickies.com/resources/#how-to-start-a-blog
Who knows? Maybe this affiliate was once (or still is) a member of WA? Anyways, there's been alot of talk about how Google doesn't like websites that seem to have hop links in every post and please excuse me for sounding critical, but the affiliate for this blog seems to contradict what has been taught here on this particular topic. Is it only because her blog has already been well established? Even so, wouldn't Google punish even the most respectable affiliate for making the wrong publishing decisions?
As for the relation to the header topic, it's seems at first glance to be effective to try and incorporate links in every post rather than to create a bunch of links from within my own website which brings me to the second part of this question. When I write an article, naturally I'd want people to eventually find those links and hopefully with the informative content I provide, click through and buy stuff. If the above question is not true and it's best to provide links in ever other post, what would be the best way to link newer articles to links if your using a blog roll as opposed to a static landing page?
I'd like to try and get as much mileage as possible from a post with a hop link, but with every new bit of content you add, it would seem to make those posts with hoplinks that much harder for viewers to find. Would linking older posts with hop links within my site be recommended in this case? How would that effect desirability and traffic?
How to pitch your products (a.k.a Soft sell vs. Hard sell)
Ok, first of all, cudos to Nathaniell and Chris Cloutier for their informative webinar series touching up on this topic. For those who signed up to WA under Nathaniell will get this this as a 60 day member bonus. In the second part of their 3 part webinar series they talk about this and I listened intently. I'm still on the fence with this as I'm not sure if I want to take the hard sell approach or to make, "soft recommendations". For those who are interested just ask Nathaniell. I'm not sure if he'd want me to link this information or not.
For the style and approach I want to take my website, I'm still not sure which will be the best way to go yet. Has anyone ever tried both? Anyone who'd like to share I'd love to hear more on your style and strategies. Looking for some recommendations based on the style my webpage has taken so far but bear in mind and I do believe this to be true what others have said before that the direction you have planned isn't always the end result. Whatever works is what wins in my honest opinion.
Using a static landing page vs. a blog roll
Ok, here's another good one alot of folks here like to talk about. For my website I currently use a blog roll. I'm not sure that for the style I'm going for if this would be the best approach for my website or not. First of all, what if I decided in the future if there was mainly one product I wanted viewers to see and click to? Would it be that difficult to change from blog roll to static page whenever I wanted to? How would that effect traffic and rankings? Also it seems at first glance that maybe the theme I'm currently using (Expound) might be better suited for a static page even though it supports either.
I'm thinking of switching to a static page for the product I'm going to promote in the very near future and just have a page titled, "blog" to accomplish what I would want from a blog roll. Has anyone ever tried this approach before? If so, feel free to jump in and share!
Traffic, traffic, TRAFFIC!
Ok, I know by now I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but this one is so important for me at this point that I feel it deserves to be stomped into the dirt, thrown in the mud, and hung out to dry. The funny thing is that it required me to go back all the way back to Course 1, Lesson 7 to come to the revelation that websites are ranked on a post by post basis and not the entire website itself.
"100 pages targeted 100 keywords = 100 potential Google rankings."
This is why Kyle stresses very VERY heavily not to rush and to only proceed to the next level of training when you've every bit of information humanly possible. Reminds me of back in grade school when a teacher gave me an assignment and I rushed through as quickly as possible so I could go outside to play. "OK DONE!" as I quickly threw the papers on her desk and rushed away. We're not kids anymore. This is serious information being given to us to develop potential skills. DON'T RUSH! This was very critical information I missed because I was so busy trying to rank my domain and not using targeted niche related keywords. As it turns out, "healthysmoothieideas" gets less than 10 searches a month according to Jaxxy so this would explain why I have very little traffic even though, "healthysmoothyideas" is ranked #1 Don't make the same mistake!
This brings me to an important question concerning my latest discovery. As the subject matter for my website is "smoothies" obviously I want to find and post information related to "smoothies" but In certification course 2, Lesson 4 Kyle talks about writing content for your website rich with keywords and understanding customers within your niche. Those who know what I'm talking about and need a refresher can find Kyle's article here.
After months in the "trenches" and researching questions like, "who drinks smoothies? Why?" I've discovered that the majority are fitness and health enthusiasts. There are many people too who just like to drink smoothies for the taste and texture. I felt that I may have restricted myself to what I can talk about with my domain name of choice because not everyone in my niche are bodybuilders, not everyone who drinks smoothies really cares if the beverage is rich with nutrients. What if I wanted to expand?
Take for example bike riding. I like riding bikes. It appeals to nutrition buffs yes, but my website is not about bikes. What if in the off chance that If I were to create content about bike riding and perhaps even promoting products within this separate niche that my audience for these articles are interested in nutrition and smoothies too? It all goes with, "understanding your customer" like Kyle talks about. By understanding the lifestyle of those who like to drink smoothies can content from another niche actually be used too and thus expand interests for healthysmoothieideas.com? To me it just seems more efficient rather than just investing in tons of separate domains if you don't plan to flip your sites regularly. Who out there at WA has had success with this approach? I'd love to hear more!
Getting customers to commit (a.k.a click-thru and conversions)
Lastly, what I'd like to talk about is conversions, or getting people to buy stuff on my site. In Kyle's article,"The customer purchase lifecycle" what I've already know to be true with customers is that they rarely make purchasing decisions the first time they click on your hoplinks and by studying the 3 phases of the customer purchasing lifecycle, It becomes very clear to me on what effects converison rates based on the types of customers that would potentially visit my site.
- Research Phase
Considering an autoresponder for those customers still stuck in that first phase, but the problem for me lies in what I can offer to viewers to keep them loyal? I'll be completely honest here for a moment. I browse the internet all the time and I always land on some affiliate's page asking me to subscribe to their e-mail list. Although many times they do indeed offer valuable information, I never once subscribed to any list. Actually, the only list I'm subscribed too at the moment is Nathaniells' the guy who dragged me to WA by my teeth! (lol just joking Nate! :) This goes along with,"reverse engineering" your own browsing habits discussed in Kyle's article. Obviously, I wouldn't be a good subject to study if one planned to use autoresponders for their campaign. That being said, how effective are autoresponders for real and are they absolutely required for success?
- Decision Phase
As for the second phase of the customer purchase life cycle, the "decision phase" Kyle recommends to offer reviews and comparisons on similar products. Now many say it's never wise to write a review on products you never tried because it will certainly show if you've never actually tried a product. This is so true on so many different levels. I know this for a fact because as a customer myself I can sniff out a, "fake ass pretender" a mile away.
The thing is, to try a product requires you to purchase them. I'm in the business of making money not spending it and with one of the major products I'm going to promote on healthy smoothie ideas being a type of blender, I really have no need for more than one blender personally. I'm wondering if there's an alternate solution to this conundrum. What if the one blender I actually purchased I can write a review and then offer a competing product without actually writing a review? I'm brainstorming ideas here and any feedback on past experiences is certainly welcome.
- Purchasing/Action Phase.
As for the last phase, the "purchasing/action" phase, this one is the holy grail of traffic evidently and Nate and Chris talk about this briefly in their 3 part webinar series too. Not really much to talk about here as I have a pretty solid idea what to do for this one. write article with the "buy now" call to action in mind and just sit back and let Amazon fill my bank acct! LOL.
Final thoughts
Well, that's all I have for now. A preemptive thanks to all willing to provide feedback to all my questions and I hope this helps some of the newbies in the process. I've realized that these blogs are far FAR more efficient for helping me digest all this information rather than asking questions. This way I can kill 2 birds with one stone. Get ranked in WA helping others AND getting clarification on questions I have myself. Should have started doing this sooner! Questions are good for quickies, but writing blogs feels more like I'm having a long and good sit-down chat session with newbies and veterans. Feel free to PM anytime if there any questions to this approach.
cheers-
Lucas
Recent Comments
7
Hi Lucas, what a large blog you wrote. I had to read your post over twice to get the gist of it.
I definitely would not put "hop" or "bridge" links to buy something until I know the reader has been properly informed about the product. For one, I myself don't buy anything until I have thoroughly researched all the information I can on the product or service I'm interested in. Customers need to make informed buying decisions in order to be satisfied in the long run. Satisfaction leads to more trust, repeat sales and referrals. So for me it boils down to proper navigation of webpages to properly inform the reader.
I would rather sell to a properly informed reader than an uninformed one. The reason is because if I sell to an misinformed one, his expectations may not match what I am offering. This can lead to dissatisfaction, which could lead to a bad report.
As far as buying a product before you review it, this would be a better for you in the long run. Personally, I like the show and tell articles far better than just reading about the features of a product. I'm more likely to buy when I see it in action.
This is my take.
Hi Lemm and thanks for dropping by! I hear you on not adding hop links until you are ready to give your audience an informed decision, but what about if your intent is to give them the information they need right then and there? it's a common practice with PPC campaigns so why wouldn't it work with an authority/niche site using SEO?
As for product reviews, the blender I purchased and have been using for the past 7 months is called the, nutrabullet. Lots of things to talk about based on my experience with this product, but what consumers usually want I noticed are comparison reviews. I can talk about the pros and cons all day with the Nutrabullet but until I purchase one other say, the Vitamix, which many consider to be one of the Nutrabullet's chief competitors, it would be hard to get them to confidently make a decision. If I just post an honest review for the Nutrabullet for now, I'm wondering if I can just add a revision later once I get some buyers for the Nutrabullet. How do you think that could go? Again, thanks for your time!
cheers-
Lucas
There's nothing wrong with giving them information they need right then and there, and once you are satisfied you, then provide a hop link. I was under the impression that you wanted to put hop links on a lot more (if not all) of your webpages.
Many people don't realize that when they are promoting a product or service, it means that they should be willing to stand behind and support it. It not only leads to trust but repeat sales.
Let's suppose you own a company. Would you like to have misinformed salespeople that represent your company's products? Or would you rather have informed ones? Properly informed salespeople can properly inform customers. Qualified sales people will know how to match the needs and problems of customers to the solutions that a product can help solve, and present it (landing page) in a convincing way. The customers will go away knowing how to properly inform other people who will come to you (referrals). By that time, the customer should be hungry to buy (or hungry to find a hop link to click).
I beg to differ with you when it comes to people just wanting comparison reviews. Maybe if they are further ahead in the buying cycle and have read reviews of several products, yes. I use comparison charts also, but I usually need more information on the listed features to find out whether it can solve my problem or not.
You could list pros and cons of your Nutrabullet, but could it solve my problems. I cook a lot....here are my problems when I use a blender.
1. The foods often get stuck. I even have a Vitamix, and still it gets stuck sometimes. This is a problem to me. Can the Nutrabullet solve this problem. If so, can you demonstrate it?
2. Once it gets unstuck and turns things to liquid, it seems to blend for a little bit, then I notice that the top portion of the liquid is not getting blended. So have to still shake it or stir it a bit before blending it again. This is a nuisance to me.
3. I don't like glass blenders. Just one knock and there's a chip in it.
4. I don't like plastic either, because I would like to put hot liquids in them. Even with the glass, I'm not sure I can do it because the base of the blender is sometimes plastic.
5. There is a rubber ring sometimes that I always lose or wind up blending by accident. I don't want to deal with a rubber ring, and I don't want to deal with leaks either.
6. I would like to add additional ingredients while it is blending, but when I do, all sorts of ingredients splash out of the blender before and after I add it. I don't like that it splashes just about everywhere on the counter top and on the cabinets.
So far the Vitamix has been my best, but it is quite expensive. Can you present how the Nutrabullet can solve these problems?
The Nutrabullet may not solve the problems I listed above. But it may solve the problems listed by other people. Everyone has a different problem list. You can get a list of these problems by doing the research presented here by WA on why people buy. I'm currently looking at yahoo answers, ehow and the customer comments made at Amazon.ca.
I think I rambled too long...my apologies....
Your not rambling my friend, I read every last word and I'm going to take everything you've said seriously. I don't care how long your post is truthfully, the fact is that your providing me with alot of useful feedback is enough and I appreciate it! :-)
Anyways, alot of great points on why it's important to try before your recommend. True I'd rather take pride in knowing that I've tried a product first as it will help me to stand by my word and every conversion I could possibly get as a result would be that much more fulfilling.
So you have a Vitamix? Interesting that your not as satisfied as I would expect considering many reviews I've seen stating it's THE #1 choice. To be honest, even though I like my nutrabullet, there are plenty of reasons why some folks may not like it. I won't go into details here. You'll just have to wait for my article. ;) Many here who write reviews like to have several options and comparisons for each article of a certain type of product.
Some affiliates say it's a great way to build trust because it won't seem as if though your biased towards one product. That's my take on it. The thing is though, that's hundreds of dollars I'd have to spend to try multiple blenders and I can't imagine that all the affiliates out there I see try more of something they only need one version/brand of. Like blenders.
Let's say also for example an affiliate who's reviewing a certain smart TV they've purchased. It just wouldn't make sense to go out and buy several other TVs just to write a convincing review. It would be one thing if that affiliate has already tried several TVs/blenders and wasn't satisfied until they've found that one TV/blender that beats the rest but that's just not my case. You think maybe if I did invest in a Vitamix just to write a substantial review that maybe it could benefit? I'm an honest person but I just need the right angle is all.
I'm thinking that for now I could just write a review for the nutrabullet and include points as to why it works for me and if it ever croaks or if I want to give it away and try a Vitamix, I could just revise my article later to include a comparison. What do you think? I could be over thinking the whole process. I may be surprised how many people I could get into Amazon's doors with just the nutrabullet's cons too.
Affiliate platforms with lifetime cookies would be great in this situation. I'm going to look for others and not just Amazon. Probably wishful thinking though.
cheers-
Lucas
You are not alone in your thoughts about having to try every brand out there. It was somewhat of a block in my mind until I REALIZED that not everyone has the SAME needs, problems and desires. To illustrate what I mean, I'm going to tell you what I found out after researching Nutrabullet.
I took about 1 hour this morning to read a good chunk of reviews. I was pleasantly surprised to see how good the reviews were. I even learned about the Magic bullet and Ninja blenders. The review done on this page was an amazing review. The first review was an example of a review that would get interested to know more. He shared what made him SATISFIED. Then he shared some problem spots (rust and noise), and what he did to solve it. The review sounds realistic, down to earth and quite personal as if he's talking to you.
www.amazon.com/NutriBullet-12-Piece-High-Speed-Blender-System/product-reviews/B007TIE0GQ
I also read the negative reviews. I could get into how I evaluate reviews, but that is a whole different subject, and I only have so much time to write these posts.
If I were to make a buying decision based on that short time reviewing, I would say it was worth getting at that price (instead of the Vitamix. I bought the Vitamix not only because it was powerful, but because it seems to last. The Nutrabullet is powerful also, but the reviews gave me the impression that it does not have nearly as much endurance as the Vitamix, and what can you expect for the price). The conclusion is that it is good value (if not the BEST value) for the money.
Another advantage is that it is much smaller and lighter than the Vitamix. So as a customer, I would use this quite often if I wanted something quick, small quantities and to carry it to another place (like even a camping trip).
So as you can see, how different requirements can influence buying decisions, and all this without a needing to read a comparison review. I only mentioned the Vitamix, because I happened to have one, but if I didn't, that would only give me more impetus to by the Nutrabullet because of its LOW price, and many people buy because of the PRICE.
However, I would do more research before making a buy decision. Many people are not as thorough in research as I am. For one, I would research the company that makes the Nutrabullet, to see what they are boasting about it. Then I would do more reviews to see if customers were satisfied or not with what the company boasted about. Finally I would research prices and the reputation of the seller. (Sometimes though, during the research, I may find another product that is even better. You have to allow for these things).
If I'm satisfied with my purchase, I will go back to the seller for more purchases (repeat sells on his part).
Before I buy anything, I usually spend anywhere from a day to 1 month in research, depending on how expensive or sophisticated the product is. That's because I want the best, and I've had my share of being scammed and/or dissatisfied with my purchases.
(It took me about a week researching WA, before I joined it, by that time I was convinced it was not a scam. In short, the keys or principles of operating a successful business is the same - find a need, determine and research your market (which maybe divided into several market groups), research existing products or services that can meet the markets (by the time I finish this step, I also have a good idea of the competition), decide whether to make my own product or other company's product (based on competition), reaching your market, and finally how to deliver/communicate in an effective way to your market.
I bought into WA (the famous WHY question because it taught the online tools and techniques on how to do the above steps)
Do you want more people to feedback this post....it seems like I'm the only one. If so, I'll post to invite others to participate. I'm a bit surprised that your friend Nathaniel has not chimed in yet.
Thanks Lemm! Alot of great things here and I don't really know where to start! To begin with, thanks for your participation and feedback. This has given me a ton of insight on my approach already, so if you want to invite others to join the discussion at this point it's up to you. As for Nate, I know he's probably busy helping the newbies so I try not to bother him too much unless I feel it's absolutely necessary. There's plenty of folks here like yourself willing to provide their own experiences. I love group discussions though and hearing from others is always certainly welcome. Other newbies can certainly learn from our discussion too!
Honestly if this was a forum I'd make this a sticky but what you described is basically similar to Kyle's take on understanding your audience described in Course 2 where he talks about customer's in the research phase. Breaking down the research process for the nutrabullet has given me some perspective and I'll be referring back to this discussion on the tips you provided when I write my review this week.
Looking back when I signed up for WA, the research process you described for me wasn't all that different when I signed up. I'll just have to see what happens when I publish.
I'm just hoping that there's plenty of fish out there without needing an autoresponder at this point and hopefully too I'll get some eager customers looking to shop for things not even related to blenders (24 hour cookies) I can't count how many times I shopped on Amazon or Ebay for a certain product only to get sidetracked and buy something else! I'm hoping there are plenty of others out there with the same impulsive buying habits as me although others would disagree with this approach I'm sure because you really have no control over that kind of traffic
One last question remains. Keywords. When I do my keyword research for my nutrabullet article, of course it's probably going to have "blenders" in them somewhere. Checking Jaxxy and the WA keyword tool, I was surprised to see how much traffic and monthly searches just the word "blenders" can get with little competition. (in the ten thousands with a good QSR) Looks like gravy to me, but I should also be using keywords targeting the questions people have when researching blenders too right? For example, "cheap blenders" or "durable blenders". Whatever question I want to answer for my audience.
Anyways I'm going to being a draft tomorrow night so be sure to stick around if you want some updates on my progress! I need to do a little rearranging with my pages too. I've decided I'm going to separate reviews and recipes into separate categories when I post my review and also going to post another one of my experimental recipes and add some more ingredients to my facts page.
Also going to add a new blog entry focused on the topic of oxalytes found in green smoothies. There's a ton of articles on this and similar topics explaining why smoothies can be bad for you and this is just one example. Laying out my plans for you so you and others know what's ahead. The plan is to make make these additions to coincide with my review to add a little extra reading material for my audience.
Hope this is helping you in the process too. I know helping other folks can sometimes add some clarification with my questions and hopefully you are thinking the same way!
cheers-
Lucas
Thanks for your reply...I'll bookmark this post as well. Just finished reading the entire post again, because I want to invite others here.
In regards to keywords this is what I've learned:
1. Before I do any keyword research, I'd like to know what people are looking for (problems, needs and desires) and WHY. This information will give me ideas on which keywords to look up later. I use eHow, Yahoo Answers and Google Instant in that order.
2. If your website is new, it is better to obtain keywords with low search volume that you can get ranked with than to not get ranked at all with high search volumes. So I would search for keywords with as low competition (QSR) as possible. Kyle says less than 300. I choose less than 200 and less than 100 would even be better.
3. Once you get ranked for a number of low search volume keywords, you will likely get ranked for keywords with higher search volume and QSR. That's because your whole website is ranking.
4. I would choose long tailed or multiple word keyword phrase over a single one-word keyword like "blender". That is because long tailed keyword phrases reflect customers towards the last stage in the purchasing cycle.
5. I would also choose multiple word keywords because there are many other keywords inside it. For example the keyword phrase, "How to make a fruit smoothie" has "make a fruit smoothie", "a fruit smoothie" and "fruit smoothie".
6. I choose keyword phrases that make sense grammatically as when I am speaking. So I cross out "How make fruit smoothie", because it doesn't make sense grammatically, even if it may have low QSR.
7. The keyword should be in your catchy headline title of your webpage, preferably in your meta description tag, in the first paragraph, and no more than two other places spaced out towards the end of your content. If you have a photo or video, your keyword phrase should be in the title as well.
8. I would not worry about point number 6. until I have finished writing the entire article making sure that rich informative content is king.