The Google Hammer Aftermath...

[Mike Hill]

Since Google slapped the hell out of all those affiliate pages has anyone noticed a steep decline in ClickBank sales?

Reason I'm asking is because there are a lot of affiliates who rely on PPC for sales. I guess Yahoo will get an influx of advertisers over the next day or two.

What are your thoughts?

Mike Hill

[Steven Wagenheim]

Mike, since I don't use PPC and don't rely on Clickbank for much, I have
been fortunate enough to not only not notice anything, but I'm also having
my third best month of this year...in the summer no less.

This is why I don't like relying on third parties for my business, which is why
I have finally started to submit articles to my own blog as well as EZA and
now, a few other directories. I am more diversified now than ever before.

Recent events, not just this last slap, but many others, have quite honestly
scared the crap out of me. I looked at my business model and realized
that I had way too much content on way too few sites. Sure, it's highly
unlikely that EZA will close up shop or ban me, but I've seen that anything
is possible.

This should be a wakeup call to everybody to diversify as much as you
can.

To begin with, don't just sell Clickbank products. There are so many other
affiliate marketplaces, and good ones too.

If you are a product creator, no reason you can't have multiple affiliate
programs for each product. Just make a different sales page for each
one.

If you put content up on the Internet, naturally get your own domains.
But if you're going to use third party sites, don't just submit everything
to one or two. There are plenty of sites out there that can bring you
decent results.

Sure, it's going to take a little more time out of your day, but the
alternative is waking up one day and suddenly finding out that all your
hard work just went down the drain.

Your own VRE is the best course of action, but if you rely on others,
rely on many others, not just one or two. One member today reported
how is one Squidoo lens was locked and all his income killed...in one
shot.

As for advertising resources, I know so many people tout PPC, but I still
think it's suicide to put all your eggs in Google's basket. I have seen no
less than 4 Google slaps in my 6 years of marketing online. This one isn't
even the worst believe it or not. The worst was when you could no longer
send somebody to a merchant's sales page as an affiliate. Suddenly,
PPC users had to create their own landing pages with decent content.
That was real culture shock to many, including myself who had had quite
a bit of success with one alternative health product just redirecting to
a sales page. Those days are gone.

So think about other ways to promote besides PPC, even if you think that
PPC is the "best" way. Many who thought that are now scrambling for a
way to get their income back.

Naturally, all the above are just suggestions based on what I have seen
over the course of 6 plus years. Each marketer has to do what they
feel is best.

I know what I'm doing starting tomorrow.

[ChrisBa]

Actually ironically enough - apparently Yahoo is starting a major crackdown tomorrow.

[Mike Hill]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Mike, since I don't use PPC and don't rely on Clickbank for much, I have
been fortunate enough to not only not notice anything, but I'm also having
my third best month of this year...in the summer no less.

This is why I don't like relying on third parties for my business, which is why
I have finally started to submit articles to my own blog as well as EZA and
now, a few other directories. I am more diversified now than ever before.

Recent events, not just this last slap, but many others, have quite honestly
scared the crap out of me. I looked at my business model and realized
that I had way too much content on way too few sites. Sure, it's highly
unlikely that EZA will close up shop or ban me, but I've seen that anything
is possible.

This should be a wakeup call to everybody to diversify as much as you
can.

To begin with, don't just sell Clickbank products. There are so many other
affiliate marketplaces, and good ones too.

If you are a product creator, no reason you can't have multiple affiliate
programs for each product. Just make a different sales page for each
one.

If you put content up on the Internet, naturally get your own domains.
But if you're going to use third party sites, don't just submit everything
to one or two. There are plenty of sites out there that can bring you
decent results.

Sure, it's going to take a little more time out of your day, but the
alternative is waking up one day and suddenly finding out that all your
hard work just went down the drain.

Your own VRE is the best course of action, but if you rely on others,
rely on many others, not just one or two. One member today reported
how is one Squidoo lens was locked and all his income killed...in one
shot.

As for advertising resources, I know so many people tout PPC, but I still
think it's suicide to put all your eggs in Google's basket. I have seen no
less than 4 Google slaps in my 6 years of marketing online. This one isn't
even the worst believe it or not. The worst was when you could no longer
send somebody to a merchant's sales page as an affiliate. Suddenly,
PPC users had to create their own landing pages with decent content.
That was real culture shock to many, including myself who had had quite
a bit of success with one alternative health product just redirecting to
a sales page. Those days are gone.

So think about other ways to promote besides PPC, even if you think that
PPC is the "best" way. Many who thought that are now scrambling for a
way to get their income back.

Naturally, all the above are just suggestions based on what I have seen
over the course of 6 plus years. Each marketer has to do what they
feel is best.

I know what I'm doing starting tomorrow.

Yeah for sure Steve, I have been spreading my content out as well. I don't use PPC but I do have numerous CB products and some of the sales have slowed a bit because some of my affiliates are screwed...

I imagine they will find a way but I think now more than ever it's vital to build lists to communicate with prospects and customers outside of the gate keepers.

I'm starting to ramp up my social networking a little more too.

Mike Hill

[ramone_johnny]

The time and energy involved with PPC (I think) can be better spent on simple and effective SEO strategies. Then again, I probably dont know enough about PPC.

It just seems like what worked back in 2004, is done with today. Every man and his dog is fighting over the same marketplaces and keywords.

Im with you Stevie - Article Marketing all the way!

[Rod Cortez]

Originally Posted by ramone_johnny

The time and energy involved with PPC (I think) can be better spent on simple and effective SEO strategies. Then again, I probably dont know enough about PPC.

It just seems like what worked back in 2004, is done with today. Every man and his dog is fighting over the same marketplaces and keywords.

Im with you Stevie - Article Marketing all the way!

I could not disagree more. The returns from PPC can be staggering if you know what you are doing. Another thing to mention is that PPC is just one medium of paid advertising. There's a warrior here who started out by buying 10,000 banner impressions about 5-6 years ago and now he's scaled up to billions and now makes millions. SEO works, but that also takes time and energy. My philosophy has always been to simply do what works, which is PPC, SEO, free publicity, Joint Ventures, etc.

@ Mike, I haven't noticed any signficant drop in my CB sales.

RoD

[thewizard]

On that note, Steven do you think you could share some other good affiliate marketplaces besides CB that you mentioned. Thanks!

[Mark Brian]

Is it only me or do you think Google is actually dropping the hammer on to themselves? I mean there's probably a significant number of affiliates that's bringing them a fat income and they're killing it.

[geolt7]

I am not against PPC but in my opinion it is not a very lasting strategy and is subject to many fluctuation even within the day. One day you find that your ad gets top spot and the next moment you are slapped. I did use PPC before and have to pay my fair share of "tution fee" to Google.

So my recommendation to you (if you looking for one) is to diversify your traffic sources.

[garyv]

Originally Posted by Mark Brian

Is it only me or do you think Google is actually dropping the hammer on to themselves? I mean there's probably a significant number of affiliates that's bringing them a fat income and they're killing it.

Actually the Google banhammer usually only comes out when the law forces it to. And in this case the FTC went after a lot of the fake review sites w/ a vengeance. So Google has decided not to give the FTC a chance at going after them for this.

Google has constantly been changing the adwords algorithm since the beginning. You just have to flow w/ the changes and learn to diversify. And if you get good at it, you'll start seeing these major changes as huge opportunities. These PPC slots that are emptying out are now going to be cheaper for those that are prepared to take them.

[Steven Carl Kelly]

I really don't sell or promote anything on CB, and I also didn't experience any Google hammer effects on any of my PPC campaigns, except that some of my quality scores went UP.

[Joe118]

I find it really strange that people are willing to jump through all these hoops and over fiery obstacles for google... Now for organic listings I might understand but...

HEY DAMMIT!

You're paying google -- you're the f'n customer. Tell them to take a hike!

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by Rod Cortez

I could not disagree more. The returns from PPC can be staggering if you know what you are doing. Another thing to mention is that PPC is just one medium of paid advertising. There's a warrior here who started out by buying 10,000 banner impressions about 5-6 years ago and now he's scaled up to billions and now makes millions. SEO works, but that also takes time and energy. My philosophy has always been to simply do what works, which is PPC, SEO, free publicity, Joint Ventures, etc.

@ Mike, I haven't noticed any signficant drop in my CB sales.

RoD

Rod, you're right. PPC is great if you really have a "handle" on it.

The problem is, that handle is getting harder to get a a hold of each year
that goes by.

PPC was not created solely for Internet marketers. It was actually created
for ordinary people who just wanted to promote their business. And for
non affiliates, that was and still is fairly easy. No problem sending
somebody directly to your sales page if it's yours.

But then affiliates got into the mix and wanted a piece of the pie. And
Google had no problem with that. And affiliates also didn't have to buy
$97 ebooks to learn how to use their system. It was easy. Hell, even I
made lots of money with PPC just sending people directly to the
merchant's sales page.

But then prospects starting bitching because every link for a particular
keyword phrase was going to the same sales page, no matter what
the ad was. There was no variety, no real choice. So Google made the
first major change...putting an end to sending people directly to sales
pages through affiliate links.

I'll stop there because you know the rest of the history. With each change
it became more and more difficult for a regular Joe to make some affiliate
sales.

Problem I have is that we "expert" marketers have forgotten what all this
was created for and have essentially taken the attitude that if PPC users
don't have a 10K education, they have no business using PPC, which is
fine for us because that means less competition.

But again, that takes me back to what PPC was made for and you weren't
supposed to need a PhD to use it.

If Google expects certain protocols for using a PPC campaign, then they
should spell it out, in spades and provide free, comprehensive, instruction
for both merchants and affiliates so there is no question about what
each person is supposed to do.

In the long run, this is better for everybody except those who sell PPC
products that end up outdated after 6 months anyway.

Google gets more affiliates using the system who know what they're doing,
which means more money for them.

More affiliates get to use the system, which means more successful
affiliates.

Prospects get a better user experience because each search provides
results that are optimal.

Utopian solution? Maybe, but I never believed that you had to be a
freaking Einstein just to use PPC.

[internetmarketer99]

It's *always* risky to have all your eggs in one basket. While I personally recommend focusing on a single business model, even that should be diversified. Multiple hosts, multiple sites, etc. And at the very least, if you're focused on a single narrow revenue stream, bank some savings and give some thought to a 'plan B' in the event that your business experiences a seismic shift.

Mark

[Bob007]

The post about the FTC crackdown hit the nail on the head. Google wants to stay ahead of the FTC so it is much more interested in protecting itself than losing some PPC revenue.

[BenjaminGates]

Did bidvertiser too do the same crackdown? I wonder. But their ctr is not so good as Google's.