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Amazon Affiliate Advice Needed!

by rcjohnson
18 replies
Hi,

Starting this thread to get a little advice. I have been reading for months on the different ways to "climb the ranks" in google and have been semi successful.

I created this as my first website:

thegarminforerunner310xt .com (space because I cannot link)

It has a decent amount of competition but still nothing that can't be overtaken with hard work. I have been making backlinks like crazy, mixing both dofollow with nofollow, and when I started to really dig into backlinks and make more, my ranking went DOWN! Haha so I am making my FIRST ever warriorforum post after being a lurker for months and months (couple of years), requesting a short review of the site that I started about 2 weeks ago.

I have not created articles yet.... I have been stopping myself from investing time/money into this area b/c this particular item seems dead and old. I make most of the backlinks with a phrase that is Garmin Forerunner 310XT.

For my first amazon product I think I picked an item that is out of date and too expensive. What are your opinions?
#advice #affiliate #amazon #needed
  • Profile picture of the author weblink29
    I like the website. It looks professional. It doesn't mess around. You know right away what the website is promoting. The only suggestion I would make is with your mailing list signup form. Tell them what they get when they signup. Maybe throw in a report for signing up. That watch ties in nice with fitness/jogging/diving.

    Welcome to the board and good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    You need to be careful about using trademarks in domains name, as people have been burnt doing that.

    The design of the site is rather unappealing. The background is dull and everything is towards the left of the screen. I recommend using a new theme and a lighter background to make for a better user experience.
    edit: the site looks better in Chrome, in I.E it looks wrong.

    If your site is only 2 weeks old, it could just be the google dance which moved it down the SERP's not your backlinking.
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    • Profile picture of the author rcjohnson
      Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

      If your site is only 2 weeks old, it could just be the google dance which moved it down the SERP's not your backlinking.
      Google dance?

      Thank you both for your advice, rather conflicting but still interesting that it appeals to one but not another. If you view it in IE is shoves everything to the left whereas Firefox is very centric and nice. I can't seem to fix this issue, no matter how many PHP If statements I add into the code
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      • Profile picture of the author ChrisGuthrie
        Best strategy is to not focus your efforts all on this site. If it's not very old just move onto the next site and come back to it a few weeks later and build more links then.

        The more natural the link building looks the better success you'll have (i.e. 1,000 in one day = unnatural)

        That's what I've done with my sites and I've had quite a bit of success with Amazon over the past few years.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
        Originally Posted by rcjohnson View Post

        Google dance?

        <snip>

        I can't seem to fix this issue, no matter how many PHP If statements I add into the code
        Personally I think the site is amazing for a first site. A couple or things are done beautifully. If you are messing around with the php, that is something I wouldn't bother trying myself. Of course I've stayed away from Wordpress, and I guess you have to get into php if you are going to do much with WP.

        The google dance usually refers to sites jumping around in the rankings when they are new.
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  • Profile picture of the author weblink29
    Ahhh....I just loaded it into IE and yea....you need to fix that ASAP

    In Google Chrome it looks nice
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    Nothing to see here folks.....move along.

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  • Profile picture of the author PPC-Coach
    Nice site, but 4 things I see:

    1.) You're going to have to give up that domain when they find it and ask for it due to trademark violation.

    2.) If amazon finds it, you won't get any commissions because they don't like that either.

    3.) Get rid of the image ads and adsense in the sidebar, those don't work and why would you create your own traffic leak on a site you're working hard to promote?

    4.) With SEO 2 weeks is like 0.000005 seconds of lifetime. Your site will bounce around a bit due to the google dance. If you go too aggressive with your backlinking, you'll end up in their sandbox too.

    just my 2 cents.
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    • Profile picture of the author rcjohnson
      Originally Posted by PPC-Coach View Post

      1.) You're going to have to give up that domain when they find it and ask for it due to trademark violation.

      2.) If amazon finds it, you won't get any commissions because they don't like that either.
      I see multiple sites in the #1-5 slots that are use similar style of a domain, I did not know that placing the name of the product in the link was not good . How should I be creating URLs. Say for example the keyword phrase I really want to shoot for is Garmin Forerunner 310XT, should I stay away from placing the words Garmin Forerunner in the URL name?
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      • Profile picture of the author PPC-Coach
        Originally Posted by rcjohnson View Post

        I see multiple sites in the #1-5 slots that are use similar style of a domain, I did not know that placing the name of the product in the link was not good . How should I be creating URLs. Say for example the keyword phrase I really want to shoot for is Garmin Forerunner 310XT, should I stay away from placing the words Garmin Forerunner in the URL name?
        Doesn't matter, they won't last, won't get paid and are not good long term sites. It may take a couple months but it will be either taken away OR commissions refused.

        Yes don't put anything trademarked in the domain name. Put the trademarked stuff in the directory name:

        GPSUnits.com/Garmin-Forerunner-310XT <-- That'll last forever and they can't touch it

        GarminForerunner310XT.com <-- short term, not a good idea
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        • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
          I think with regards to brand in the name as mentioned not a good idea and not adviseable, however I do have adsense on all my Amazon sites and I make a chunk of change per month from that, and while some Amazon Affiliates advise against it some also reccomend it, my advice is to test it and see what it shows you with regards to your site and then decide.

          Kickin it on Amazon

          Gaz Cooper
          Amazon Cash King
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    • Profile picture of the author celente
      Originally Posted by PPC-Coach View Post

      Nice site, but 4 things I see:

      1.) You're going to have to give up that domain when they find it and ask for it due to trademark violation.

      2.) If amazon finds it, you won't get any commissions because they don't like that either.

      3.) Get rid of the image ads and adsense in the sidebar, those don't work and why would you create your own traffic leak on a site you're working hard to promote?

      4.) With SEO 2 weeks is like 0.000005 seconds of lifetime. Your site will bounce around a bit due to the google dance. If you go too aggressive with your backlinking, you'll end up in their sandbox too.

      just my 2 cents.
      4) this is right, do not go too agreesive with backlinking it will cause much trouble for you. i have found that out the hard way.
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      • Profile picture of the author SpikeS
        I agree with previous people that you should concentrate on the niche that this product sits within...so for example, your site might be 'gpswatches.com' (or whatever people are searching for) and your 310XT review would sit within that domain. You could still rank for the Garmin keywords by having your permalinks set up so the page URL would look like 'gpswatches.com/garmin-forerunner-310XT' of course this is just an example and you should use whatever keywords you are targeting. A further bonus of this is that your site is no longer stepping on the toes of any trademarks etc..

        On other thing to note is, whilst you have lots of affiliate links in your review (which is good) and it looks aesthetically pleasing....it doesn't read very well. It is important to tell a story but, as a potential customer, do I really need to know (or care) you are a software developer who is an MMA fanatic? Your intro would be far better with something like:

        "When I decided to buy myself a GPS watch I thought it would be easy. Just go online or into the store and buy one. Oh how wrong I was! There's actually more to it than I realised! It can get quite confusing with all the features - and I'm a technology person! I decided to spend some time researching all the features and comparing different brands based to find the best GPS watch. I finally settled on the Garmin Forerunner 310XT as the best GPS watch on the market, let me explain why.."

        That's just off the top of my head but you'd be far far far better off with something like that. It reads easily, leads the person to a link or to read on and it is personal. People like content from other people! Read your own review and think 'would I buy this?'

        Other than that I think you did a decent job, for a first attempt. Keep trucking

        If you want exact direction on this amazon affiliate site I'd recommend Chris Guthries WSO.
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        • Profile picture of the author rcjohnson
          Awesome, this is all stuff I haven't thought about. I did send a decent amount of backlinks before my ranking was going all wack, and I hope that didn't affect my standing with google.

          SpikeS:

          I am by no means a polished/creative writer. BUT I had to try it for myself though and come up with something my first go around, so that when I pay someone to do it I know how much time/effort it will take for the cost. I really liked this paragraph haha, would you mind if I used it and added some more that flows with the same style of writing you are portraying?
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  • Profile picture of the author Leveragist
    If you want to create a source of long-term income, building a site based on just one product, especially a product that can become obsolete very quickly, just doesn't make sense.

    I would recommend building an authority/money site that is focused on a particular niche, not just on one product.
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  • Profile picture of the author focused
    Drip feed some content onto your site.
    And add the backlinks more naturally over time, rather than a frenzy to add a bunch all at once.
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  • Profile picture of the author rcjohnson
    Sweet, I was reluctant to start this thread but now I feel a bit relieved and more informed on amazon affiliate marketing.

    Thank to all and if anyone else wants to toss in their 2 cents by all means please, it all adds up
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  • Profile picture of the author focused
    Using a brand name in the domain name can easily result in you receiving a letter from the company's legal department asking you to desist because you have no recognized legal claim to use the name. So your always taking a chance when you employ a company name or product name in the domain name.
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    • Profile picture of the author 36burrows
      Originally Posted by beep beep View Post

      Using a brand name in the domain name can easily result in you receiving a letter from the company's legal department asking you to desist because you have no recognized legal claim to use the name. So your always taking a chance when you employ a company name or product name in the domain name.
      Which I think is stupid because all you're doing is increasing their sales
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