Here’s The MISSING LINK to Google Rankings, Traffic and Sales

byParthaB

4.1K followers

3 years ago

On the face of it Affiliate Marketing is actually a fairly easy concept.

You find a group of people.

You find out what they want to know.

You find out what issues and problems they have.

You provide them with fantastic information, products and services.

All of which answer their questions, and solves their issues and problems.

EASY.

But…

You know there’s always a BUT with me.

Did you know that the vast majority of us screw this up at the first stage?

The very first stage is the most important, and yet most people get this VERY, VERY wrong.

Basically, without doing the foundational stuff first, you are destined for failure.

Guess what?

GUILTY...

Yep, I’ve done it myself time-and-time again.

So, let’s get the FIRST STAGE right together.

Okay?

NO-ONE Cares About What You’re Interested In

So, I do my keyword research.

I find a phrase with decent “stats”.

I write the article.

And you know what, it’s the best article I could’ve possibly written.

I am so proud of this article.

I look at it lovingly.

This is some of the best work I have ever produced.

This article cannot fail.

Everyone is going to absolutely love it.

I look at the article over-and-over again.

I feel my heart flutter.

I get that warm feeling inside.

This is AWESOME.

I “pimp my article”.

Great images, videos, links to some of my other fantastic content.

I even link out to a few authority sites with relevant information.

This is just the most information-packed article that has ever been written.

I publish it.

I wait.

I wait some more.

Nothing.

A whole world of absolute nothingness.

What’s going on?

This is the best article that has ever been written in this niche.

Why is it not ranking?

Why is it not getting stampedes of traffic?

Why is it not producing truckloads of sales?

Do you want to know why?

It’s because I failed at the very first stage.

I did not take the time to “find a group of people”.

I did not take the time to “find out what they’re talking about”.

I did not take the time to “find out their issues and problems”.

Nope.

I simply did some keyword research.

And then I wrote WHAT I WANTED TO WRITE.

But, the sad truth of the matter is NO-ONE CARES ABOUT WHAT I’M INTERESTED IN.

I may believe that this is the most fantastic piece of information that people in my niche need to know.

This article contains EVERYTHING they would ever want to know (in my opinion).

But, unfortunately what I’ve done here is play to my own ego.

I’ve made myself feel good.

But, the fundamental flaw is that I haven’t considered what PEOPLE IN MY NICHE ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW.

What is Research Anyway?

The very first stage is to research your niche.

And to continue doing this ALL THE TIME.

Research NEVER ENDS.

But, what exactly does “research” mean?

For me, it means hanging out where people in my niche hang out.

I observe, I listen, I read, I take notes.

I’m not even thinking about keywords.

I’m not even thinking about article writing.

I’m not even thinking about video production.

And I’m certainly not thinking about traffic and sales.

Nope.

I am immersing myself in my niche by “spending time” with the people in my niche.

That is simply what research is about.

You find your gang.

You discover what they’re talking about.

You see what issues and problems they have.

You take notes.

And you do this over-and-over again.

I do this all the time now.

I typically have anywhere from 10,000-20,000 words in NOTES before I’ve even written an article.

Before, I’ve even considered what I’m going to write about.

These notes probably have enough information for my next 100-200 articles.

Once I start to decipher my notes I can then look at keywords and articles.

But, not before.

I’m Giving You All Some Homework

There are literally a million-and-one places in EVERY niche where you can “hang out” and conduct research.

Places where you can find a group of people, find out what they’re talking about, find out their issues and problems.

This is ALWAYS the FIRST STEP before you do anything else.

As you may be aware, I like to do things via timers.

I set a timer for X amount of time, and then I complete whatever task it is that I need to do.

I conduct research in my niche in the same way.

So, I’m giving you ALL some homework to do, while showing you how I conduct research.

You’re going to use the power of Google Search.

Okay, I want you to go back over to your websites and find three articles you’ve recently written.

Then note down the keyword phrase you were targeting.

Your research will work better if you’re not using generic terms.

You can even go to Jaaxy if you want and find some seed keywords.

But, something with a bit of oomph and flair.

So, not “Make Money Online” or “How to Lose Weight”.

Why not try “How to Earn $1,000 per Month” or “How to Lose 10 lbs”, etc.

If you’re new, even better, you can start off the right way.

Simply find 3 keyword phrases in Jaaxy that are related to your niche.

The stats don’t matter.

It can have a QSR of 1,000,000 and an SEO score of 10.

It can have 500,000 Traffic or less than 10.

It doesn’t matter.

You are basically looking for a phrase that is relevant to your niche, that’s all.

Okay, I’m going to use the “How to Lose 10 lbs” as an example.

I then set a timer for 30 minutes.

I go to Google search and I type in:

How to Lose 10 lbs + Facebook Groups

I then spend 30 minutes reading through what I find and taking notes.

I’ll note down anything I find interesting.

Things that make me go Hmmmm (Wasn’t that a song?)

Once the timer goes off I’m done.

I’ll probably have a bit of a break, a nice cup of coffee, and knowing me a 10,000-calorie snack (I’m ALWAYS hungry and I'm Always Eating, As You Can Quite Clearly See).

And then I return

I will then go to Google search again and this time I type in:

How to Lose 10 lbs + forums

And I go through the same process again.

The timer goes off, another break, another 10,000 calories, and I’m good to go.

How to Lose 10lbs + Quora

Bzzzzzz… Eat… Return to computer.

How to Lose 10lbs + Reddit

These are the only 4 real places I do any research to be honest.

But, there are literally thousands of other places online.

Basically, you will find out so much information.

From a personal perspective, I tend to find people on Facebook Groups and Quora to be a little naive, but still useful in terms of research.

In forums and on Reddit, the people are typically as rude as anything (so don’t get involved in a conversation if you’re of a nervous disposition or easily-offended, just read and take notes).

BUT, they are also as knowledgeable as anything too.

You can basically go through this process time-and-time again with “seed keywords”.

Simple 2-3 word phrases, or even 6-7-word longtail keyword phrases.

Just remember the + after the phrase

• Facebook groups
• Forums
• Quora
• Reddit

Okay, you don’t have to do all 4 searches on the same day.

Even 30 minutes at the beginning or end of your working day can provide lots of ideas.

Plus, this may just be the catalyst you need for some long-lost inspiration.

Simply find a phrase relevant to your niche, and then go and hang out where your “people” hang out.

If you sometimes find that the same questions are being asked again and again, THIS IS A CLUE.

Note down the question and then write an article answering the question.

Personally, I wouldn’t even bother checking Jaaxy (and perhaps not even the front page of Google for competition - I know, I’m a Rebel Without a Clue).

If I find the same question asked 10 times during a 30-minute research session, I’m going to write that article.

Because, I can guarantee that 100s if not 1,000s of other people are searching for an answer to that question every single month.

QUICK TIP: If you’re in the Make Money Online niche or promoting Wealthy Affiliate, go to the questions section here at WA.

You have the ability to click “See More Questions” multiple times, so in effect you could have a list of ALL the questions asked at WA in the last month, 2 months, etc.

Conduct research.

Take notes.

If you find the same question asked over-and-over again (just inside Wealthy Affiliate) then write the article.

If people at WA are asking the same question over-and-over again, you can bet your bottom dollar that thousands of others online are asking the very same question.

Now go do your homework.

Final Thoughts

You’ll actually find that producing content becomes easier if you ACTUALLY KNOW what the people in your niche are discussing.

So, ALWAYS complete the FIRST STAGE.

Remember, this isn’t about you and what you want to write about.

No-one cares about YOU (Okay, I care, if you want a group hug, just ask).

So, stop writing for yourself, and write for the people in your niche.

Go hang out where they hang out.

See what they’re talking about.

Learn what questions they’re asking.

Discover their issues and problems.

Use a 30-minute timer.

Use Facebook Groups, Forums, Quora and Reddit.

Eat 10,000 calories.

And very soon you’ll have so many article ideas you won’t know what to do with them.

And this is the FIRST STAGE to how you get Google Rankings, Traffic and Sales.

Thank You For Reading

Partha