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Amazon Affiliate Questions and More

by Long Beach Nathan
13 replies
Hi. I've made some mistakes with starting article based-affiliate type sites in the past, so now I want to get off on the right foot. I had a site in the past that I was going to use for amazon associates, but I never got to that stage because of problems with traffic, etc.

One question I have is hosting. I'm wanting to buy the baby hosting package again on hostgator and get a domain from godaddy.com. Then, as I complete that site and get ready to add more, I want to add those sites onto the same hosting package, and from what I understand, those are technically listed as subdomains of that first domain that I'll purchase. So my question is, if I get a domain name related to a certain niche and then later on I begin to add other add-on domains that are in other niches, will the SE's see that those sites are subdomains of a site with a totally unrelated name and therefore discriminate against those sites?

Also, I had a question about checking my page 1 competition for keywords. I've been using yahoo site explorer to check backlinks, and pr checker to check the PR for the sites which are currently on page 1. I just got through checking for a keyword where most of the sites have little or no inlinks, and only a couple of the pages even rank at all, but they rank at 4/10. There's some relevant ads on the side, so I know the keyword is being targeted. My question is, outside of buying something like Market Samurai, is there anything else I can do to assess competition before I plunge in? I may invest in something like that soon, but I'd love to just get out there and make something work first.

And does amazon associates accept most site owners as long as they're not from one of the prohibited states? Should I go out and get the domain, hosting, and then apply for Amazon, or should I finish the site and then apply? I'd like to be a part of their program but if not, I know there's still eBay and other methods.

Thanks.
#affiliate #amazon #questions
  • Profile picture of the author Archon
    Hi Nathan

    I use hostgator for all my review sites as add on domains. They are ranking well with no problem. They are their own domain, not a subdomain. So there is no link to my first site. For example its myreviewsite.com..not myreviewsite.dogbarking.com

    I would suggest signing on to amazon first, it only takes a few minutes and you should know shortly.

    Besides YSE, I use majestic seo to check links and checkbulkpagerank.com to see the page ranks for each of my competitors links.

    Market Samurai is a bit slow for me. Following the above, which is free has been working well to check the top competitor links. You can also try traffic travis, which will give pretty much the same results as market samurai. The free version will let you see if they have h1 tags, number of links, pr, name in domain etc. Then check the links in bulkpageranks. All free.

    Hope this helps
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    • Profile picture of the author Gail_Curran
      You need a working website before Amazon will approve you. It doesn't have to be the main site you plan to use for Amazon products, but it has to be a site that you could put Amazon ads on (no p0rn, gambling etc).
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    • Profile picture of the author LynnM
      Originally Posted by Archon View Post

      Hi Nathan

      You can also try traffic travis, which will give pretty much the same results as market samurai. The free version will let you see if they have h1 tags, number of links, pr, name in domain etc. Then check the links in bulkpageranks. All free.
      A second vote for the free version of Traffic Travis, the seo analysis section. It's very handy.
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      • Profile picture of the author TigerRaging
        i personally hate using amazon. I rather just sell my own product from the site than dealing with their crap and stupid commission rates
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  • Profile picture of the author designerjack
    I don't think you got much to worry about with search engines. Because you are growing your network with related sites in the beginning. But besides that, you should realize Google owns different networks that are unrelated to the 'search industry' and I don't recall Search engines saying anything about your hosting account being a factor.

    Honestly, just put 120% action into this and you'll be fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author newgenlead
    You can use Name Cheap for buy domain or hosting. Amazon had closed my account because of I stay in CA ... poor to me and people stay there
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    www.tipstradingforex.com
    www.samplesfinder.com
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      Start building a list as soon as you can. By consistently providing value and unbiased reviews, your subscribers will feel more comfortable in ordering high ticket products based on your recommendations. This could happen even before your sites rank in the search engines. Just be sure to never put affiliate links in your email - it's against Amazon's TOS. Instead, send prospects to your website.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Franklin
    Even if you don't have a site, the fastest way to get approved with Amazon Associates is to go get a Blogger blog. Make your blog revolve around any subject that lends itself well to Amazon promotion on the blog (sports, health, celebrities, etc.). Setup 2-3 short posts on your blog (even PLR is fine for content) and then go apply and list your blogger blog as your website.
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    • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
      Originally Posted by Archon View Post

      Hi Nathan

      I use hostgator for all my review sites as add on domains. They are ranking well with no problem. They are their own domain, not a subdomain. So there is no link to my first site. For example its myreviewsite.com..not myreviewsite.dogbarking.com

      I would suggest signing on to amazon first, it only takes a few minutes and you should know shortly.

      Besides YSE, I use majestic seo to check links and checkbulkpagerank.com to see the page ranks for each of my competitors links.

      Market Samurai is a bit slow for me. Following the above, which is free has been working well to check the top competitor links. You can also try traffic travis, which will give pretty much the same results as market samurai. The free version will let you see if they have h1 tags, number of links, pr, name in domain etc. Then check the links in bulkpageranks. All free.

      Hope this helps
      Alright, thanks. So you're saying that even though you have your sites as add-on domains within the same hosting plan, they're not considered as having anything to do with your initial site, right? Good. And thanks for the suggestions; I'll be sure to check that stuff out.

      Originally Posted by designerjack View Post

      I don't think you got much to worry about with search engines. Because you are growing your network with related sites in the beginning. But besides that, you should realize Google owns different networks that are unrelated to the 'search industry' and I don't recall Search engines saying anything about your hosting account being a factor.

      Honestly, just put 120% action into this and you'll be fine.
      Thanks!

      Oh, and as far as competing with different levels of PR....I've found keywords where some of the competition on page 1 is not even a PR 1, and some is as high as a PR 6. Do any of you have sort of a rule of thumb about the highest level of PR you can compete with using a simple review site? Also, a lot of these sites are ranking for a related term that's not even the keyword they're showing up for in the search. Would this mean that a good targeted site with the exact keyword, not just in the domain and page names but in the content as well, stand a decent chance of going up against some of those sites and beating them?

      Just thought of something else too. I've been searching the Google keyword tool using "Phrase" selected. Should I be using Broad match instead? It's been my understanding that if you use Broad, that's going to get you irrelevant results, but when you select phrase, does that actually mean that many people are supposedly searching using quotations?

      Thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author DR's Fynest
        Originally Posted by Long Beach Nathan View Post

        Alright, thanks. So you're saying that even though you have your sites as add-on domains within the same hosting plan, they're not considered as having anything to do with your initial site, right? Good. And thanks for the suggestions; I'll be sure to check that stuff out.

        Correct. Each new website you build on an addon domain will be treated separately.


        Oh, and as far as competing with different levels of PR....I've found keywords where some of the competition on page 1 is not even a PR 1, and some is as high as a PR 6. Do any of you have sort of a rule of thumb about the highest level of PR you can compete with using a simple review site?

        There really isn't any "rule of thumb" per say. It's all about how strong the competition is on those top 10 spots. Some people will tell you to never go for a keyword where the first page has an average PR of 4 or more.

        Also, a lot of these sites are ranking for a related term that's not even the keyword they're showing up for in the search. Would this mean that a good targeted site with the exact keyword, not just in the domain and page names but in the content as well, stand a decent chance of going up against some of those sites and beating them?

        IMO, it's much more important to properly assess the competition. As you mentioned, a lot of the sites ranking in the top 10 aren't even optimized for the actual keyword/product name you're targeting.


        If your site is better optimized both on-page and off-page, you should be able to beat these PR6 pages you're talking about.


        Of course, there's no telling how long it'll take you. Consistency with your promotion (linkbuilding) and good, optimized content will be key.

        Just thought of something else too. I've been searching the Google keyword tool using "Phrase" selected. Should I be using Broad match instead? It's been my understanding that if you use Broad, that's going to get you irrelevant results, but when you select phrase, does that actually mean that many people are supposedly searching using quotations?

        Personally, I only work with EXACT match. Broad is too... um, broad? And "phrase" is just plain STUPID IMO. People DO NOT search using quotation marks. All that search tells you is how many pages are indexed that mention the words in that "phrase" somewhere on the page. Not too helpful if you ask me.

        Thanks.
        I am not even dropping an affiliate link, but if you'd like a good training course on how to build and rank Amazon Review sites, you should check out Michael Franklin's coaching WSO or Jan Roo's video course (don't know if this one is still open).
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        • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
          Alright, thanks for all the input! I'm starting to realize assessing the competition may be even more involved than I had thought.

          One thing that does worry me though is that you say you always use exact match. My confusion comes from the fact that I believe most people just type the words into the search box. If I select [Exact Match] in the external keyword tool, wouldn't that refer to the number of people actually typing brackets into the search bar on Google? Or does that instead refer to the number of people actually searching for those keywords (if so then I don't understand why broad search is there at all)? Do you mean that you use exact match for both the Google Keyword tool and the Google search? Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author traveller555
    Hi Nathan, I believe the exact match refers to what people are typing into the search box.
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    • Profile picture of the author chumpschimps
      I also use exact match as a more accurate measure.

      Broad match gives results for your keyword in any order with extra words added, eg a search for 'blue widget' would also give results for blue boxed widgets, a blue widget, widgets in blue, etc

      Phrase match shows results for your keyword in the same order but with other words added, eg a search for 'blue widget' would also show a new blue widget, red and blue widget, blue widget with green stripes, etc

      Exact match is the most accurate because it shows the exact number of searches for your exact keyword, eg 'blue widget'
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