How Do YOU Build Your Amazon Sites?

42 replies
I'm just curious how you guys build your Amazon sites. Do you go niche or general?

I personally like to choose a broad category, say Home & Kitchen, and then write reviews on products in several sub-niches, such as Bedding, Kitchen & Dining, Furniture, Bath, Home Decor and so on, instead of just focusing on Furniture, for example.

My conversion rate hovers at around the 8-10% mark, so I don't think that focusing on just one sub-niche makes you look like anymore of an expert.

What do you feel the advantages and disadvantages of both methods are?

EDIT: I messed up. I meant a category such as "Air Tools" in the Home Improvement section, which features a range of different products, such as Air compressors, blowguns, caulking guns, nailers, saws, screwdrivers, sanders & grinders etc.
#amazon #build #sites
  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    Niche, and even the "sub niches" you mention are too broad IMHO. My "reviews" are also often more about intangible benefits than just a review of the product.
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    • Profile picture of the author jimvol
      Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

      Niche, and even the "sub niches" you mention are too broad IMHO. My "reviews" are also often more about intangible benefits than just a review of the product.
      I think this is the best strategy for the OP's given market. Write an article or a review that appeals to many people. In the OP's niche, it really applies to everyone; RV'ers, home makers, campers, dorm kids, etc...

      However, if the article is too broad it will not get views, so even though the store is broad the articles need to target a specific sub niche.

      I hope this helps some.

      Jim
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  • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
    I don't see why others are saying that you're going too broad. That's pretty close to the structure I follow.

    Domain - Related to the primary niche. (Computers, for example.)

    Categories - Ultra portables, gaming laptops, business laptops, budget laptops, gaming desktops, budget desktops, etc.

    Posts - Reviews for different products within each category.
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  • Profile picture of the author Head Minion
    Have you tried being product specific ? If you stuck to a few high-ticket new releases ... the commisions would be larger and there is usually a lot more content from the manufacturer with the higher end stuff to fill your review with.
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    • Profile picture of the author ochaim
      I'm not sure there are distinct, long term advantages of building narrow niche sites. For every new niche, even under the same broad niche, you're forced to start over from scratch building a new site and re-establishing the site's activity to the search engines.

      With a broad niche site, you get to go into all the subniches that you feel is relevant. And personally, I feel it provides a better experience for the user once you have enough content. I think the sub-niches reinforce the broad niche to the search engines trying to make sense of what the site is about.

      Seeing how google is bolding synonyms for your keywords in the search results, it's kinda hinting that it is trying to read between the lines, or at least trying to assign value to relevancy this way.

      What does the 8-10% conversion rate mean? That % of your visitors buy? Or is the the ctr to amazon from your site?
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      • Profile picture of the author dreamtoreality
        Originally Posted by ochaim View Post

        What does the 8-10% conversion rate mean? That % of your visitors buy? Or is the the ctr to amazon from your site?
        The 8-10% conversion rate is the percentage of products bought relative to the amount of clicks. My Amazon CTR is pretty poor - about 15-20%.
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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          I have found that email promotions can significantly increase conversion rates. Specifically, I build lists of buyers, then promote additional relevant products. For example, if someone were to buy an air tool, they would most likely be receptive to additional incremental promotions of other air tools, a better air compressor, and eventually perhaps even heavy industrial equipment. You may be leaving a fortune on the table by not building email lists of your buyers.
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          • Profile picture of the author Maecenas23
            Generally, I am going for authority sites which are starting from 15 pages at the beginning. Each of my projects have 1 content writer who is writing almost on a daily basis. I am going to small and not saturated niches but with high prices.

            I am sacrificing the conversion for a better commission value/sale rate.
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            • Profile picture of the author ochaim
              Originally Posted by myob View Post

              I have found that email promotions can significantly increase conversion rates. Specifically, I build lists of buyers, then promote additional relevant products. For example, if someone were to buy an air tool, they would most likely be receptive to additional incremental promotions of other air tools, a better air compressor, and eventually perhaps even heavy industrial equipment. You may be leaving a fortune on the table by not building email lists of your buyers.
              I just added an opt-in to to one of my sites, not sure of what to offer, but noticing I'm getting a lot of entries using "2013 product reviews" I'm offering updates on when new products come out. What kinds of things are you offering for the opt-in?

              Originally Posted by Maecenas23 View Post

              Generally, I am going for authority sites which are starting from 15 pages at the beginning. Each of my projects have 1 content writer who is writing almost on a daily basis. I am going to small and not saturated niches but with high prices.

              I am sacrificing the conversion for a better commission value/sale rate.
              Sounds like a well oiled machine there! Those 15 pages are all reviews or includes info articles as well?
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              • Profile picture of the author myob
                Originally Posted by ochaim View Post

                I just added an opt-in to to one of my sites, not sure of what to offer, but noticing I'm getting a lot of entries using "2013 product reviews" I'm offering updates on when new products come out. What kinds of things are you offering for the opt-in?
                What I do is put opt-in forms on every stand-alone product sales page. I don't do "reviews" at all. In addition to the name and email address fields, I include an additional field for the Amazon transaction number or receipt. Buyers must enter their Amazon receipt number to get on my lists. They can opt-in for additional niche information, tips/demos for using the product, relevant additional/new products, etc.
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          • Profile picture of the author AHayes183
            Originally Posted by myob View Post

            I have found that email promotions can significantly increase conversion rates. Specifically, I build lists of buyers, then promote additional relevant products. For example, if someone were to buy an air tool, they would most likely be receptive to additional incremental promotions of other air tools, a better air compressor, and eventually perhaps even heavy industrial equipment. You may be leaving a fortune on the table by not building email lists of your buyers.
            How do you get emails from Amazon buyers? Unless you are just referring to building a list from potential buyers who are visiting the site.

            Sorry to jump your thread, but I wanted to ask a question in regard to improving ctr. If using a theme like Pro Review theme there is a button next to each product labelled "Visit Website". In your experience, would it be better to have a button that says something like "Buy on Amazon"?
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            • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
              Originally Posted by AHayes183 View Post

              How do you get emails from Amazon buyers? Unless you are just referring to building a list from potential buyers who are visiting the site.

              Sorry to jump your thread, but I wanted to ask a question in regard to improving ctr. If using a theme like Pro Review theme there is a button next to each product labelled "Visit Website". In your experience, would it be better to have a button that says something like "Buy on Amazon"?
              Contextual links are the best way to get people to Amazon and you do this by writing engaging content with leaders that encourage them to click through to Amazon.

              It really surprises me the number of Amazon Affilaite sites that have NO TEXT LINKS in their review article.

              We all know Amazon are great at selling people and many products we see on our sales sheets we are not even promoting so the most important thig is get that click thru to Amazon and using text links works GREAT and you can easily write and use links that are natural to click on for example.

              The XYZ widget has over forty five 4 star reviews which covers all the positives and a few negatives and by spending just a few minutes going through these real customer reviews will give you a solid basis for you to decide if the XYZ widger is the right one for you.

              Both those text links subconsciously are screaming click me use them throuout your article and watch your click thru rates soar.

              Kickin it on Amazon

              Gaz Cooper
              Amz Training Academy
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              • Profile picture of the author zonkow
                Originally Posted by Gaz Cooper View Post

                Contextual links are the best way to get people to Amazon and you do this by writing engaging content with leaders that encourage them to click through to Amazon.

                It really surprises me the number of Amazon Affilaite sites that have NO TEXT LINKS in their review article.

                We all know Amazon are great at selling people and many products we see on our sales sheets we are not even promoting so the most important thig is get that click thru to Amazon and using text links works GREAT and you can easily write and use links that are natural to click on for example.

                The XYZ widget has over forty five 4 star reviews which covers all the positives and a few negatives and by spending just a few minutes going through these real customer reviews will give you a solid basis for you to decide if the XYZ widger is the right one for you.

                Both those text links subconsciously are screaming click me use them throuout your article and watch your click thru rates soar.

                Kickin it on Amazon

                Gaz Cooper
                Amz Training Academy
                These are good tips Gaz.
                How many affiliate links do you put in a review?
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                • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
                  Originally Posted by zonkow View Post

                  These are good tips Gaz.
                  How many affiliate links do you put in a review?
                  I dont go crazy on the links else its too spammy best to selectively choose where to put the text link using a nice sentence that entices them to click on it.

                  Less is more if you do it the right way they will have to click on the link as you will have peeked their interest and once they click you are cookied in.

                  Kickin it on Amzon

                  Gaz Cooper
                  Amz Training Academy
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            • Profile picture of the author myob
              Originally Posted by AHayes183 View Post

              How do you get emails from Amazon buyers? Unless you are just referring to building a list from potential buyers who are visiting the site.

              Sorry to jump your thread, but I wanted to ask a question in regard to improving ctr. If using a theme like Pro Review theme there is a button next to each product labelled "Visit Website". In your experience, would it be better to have a button that says something like "Buy on Amazon"?
              This was referenced in my post#18, as well as extensively in many other threads regarding article syndication as a marketing model. My marketing system is based on a simple but highly scaleable outcome; authoritative positioning within a niche and directly recommending one specific product/solution at a time to my readers. Rather than using the "traditional" product review and ranking in the SERPs method, I make extensive use of marketing automation combined with integrated CRM to fulfill lead generation and pre-sales functions. Site ranking and SEO are nowhere near the horizon.

              I don't even see a prospect until there is an established level of measured engagement on the marketing side. Nothing begins until a purchase is made and the buyer opts-in for the CRM process. My focus is on directly engaging quality prospects who are already up to speed on the decision path within their own buying process. In effect, this alignment of marketing to the customers' buying process results in far higher conversion rates than the more recently hatched monolithic marketing system.

              Traffic is generated almost exclusively through extensive content marketing in online/offline publications which are widely read by targeted audiences. Much of the sales resistance is ameliorated and pre-sales education favorably impacts prospects' decisions over the competition. Once a prospect enters our system through an initial purchase, the integrated multi-channel marketing process continues with frequent customer engagement and repeat sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author dreamtoreality
    I made a mistake. I've now edited it to what I meant in the first place.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tmill
    I used to make amazon affiliate sites until they banned me from their affiliate program for living in California. This has recently been lifted, but after that I just haven't had the motivation to try their affiliate program again. I made about 8 sites for their affiliate program and was promoting them all with seo and videos. I had made about $100 commission before they shut cali down.

    The structure I took was pretty specific. I would target a specific brand of something like samsung televisions and then do reviews for the different televisions they sold.
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    I used to go niche, but it seems like an expensive way of going about things because of having seperate domain costs for each niche.
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

      I used to go niche, but it seems like an expensive way of going about things because of having seperate domain costs for each niche.
      Subdomains are an alternative. Ex:

      dogtraining.thereviewsite.com
      gardening.thereviewsite.com
      fitness.thereviewsite.com

      etc..

      People will debate how well subdomains rank vs traditional domains. But it's a more affordable alternative to having to constantly register new domains. Especially if you're on a budget.
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      • Originally Posted by JSProjects View Post

        Subdomains are an alternative. Ex:

        dogtraining.thereviewsite.com
        gardening.thereviewsite.com
        fitness.thereviewsite.com

        etc..

        People will debate how well subdomains rank vs traditional domains. But it's a more affordable alternative to having to constantly register new domains. Especially if you're on a budget.
        One of the sites I linked does that to good effect.

        Check out

        TopTenREVIEWS Expert Product Reviews

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  • lol people saying you're going too broad.

    Tell that to these sites:

    Consumer Reviews, Product Ratings, Compare Best Prices | Review Centre
    Digital Photography Review
    Product Reviews and Reports - ConsumerSearch.com
    Consumer Reports Online
    Product Review Australia - your reviews on products and services on the Australian marketplace
    Consumer reviews on Movies, Cars, Bikes, Mobile Phones, Music, Books, Airlines, Restaurants, Hotels & more - MouthShut.com
    TopTenREVIEWS Expert Product Reviews

    Making millions is not good enough of a reason to go broad?

    You're capping your potential by going extremely niche. You are also capping the sites social capability or completely killing it altogether. Google ranks pages, and if you were to notice often ranks sites who don't even use the main keyword in their URL a lot of the time. These are sites with recognized branded names that have created pages in the thousands or higher and Google has applauded them for it, and they aren't that niche!

    Apart from dpreview which was started many many years ago and got in just at the right time for a very competitive product (cameras) that there are thousands of to review. Most people go for lesser known products that are less in number.

    I say you can go niche, but at the very least give yourself room to be able to do hundreds of reviews if not thousands. Why cap yourself and have to start with another site?
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  • Profile picture of the author raffman999
    The main domain name has an authority-type feel, then I use categories and page/post titles to further break the niche down.
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  • Profile picture of the author ratracegrad
    I think it is better to build niche sites than broad. Plus build multiple sites promoting high priced items and low priced items that people buy frequently.
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  • Profile picture of the author sirtiman
    Air Tools for guns? How about the visitors reaction or feedback? I hope they just buy and not only smile
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  • Profile picture of the author Manoj V
    Whether you go niche or general what matters is whether you have good content on your site that will engage visitors. The trouble with going niche sometimes is that you may feel that you are running out of content. On the other hand if it is a niche in which you are interested or a niche in which you have a good knowledge you may never run out of content.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Originally Posted by dreamtoreality View Post

    I personally like to choose a broad category, say Home & Kitchen, and then write reviews on products in several sub-niches, such as Bedding, Kitchen & Dining, Furniture, Bath, Home Decor and so on, instead of just focusing on Furniture, for example.
    ^^^^^^^^
    This is how I typically do things. Also, I prefer to use domain names that mirror that of what I would call a brick and mortar shop. For example, if I wanted to target power tools, I'd stay broad (power tools) or even go broader (home improvement) and call it something like PacHarbor.com or PHPowerTools.com.

    There's just something inherently more trustworthy about PacHarbor.com vs cheapestpowertoolreviews.org.
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      ^^^^^^^^
      This is how I typically do things. Also, I prefer to use domain names that mirror that of what I would call a brick and mortar shop. For example, if I wanted to target power tools, I'd stay broad (power tools) or even go broader (home improvement) and call it something like PacHarbor.com or PHPowerTools.com.

      There's just something inherently more trustworthy about PacHarbor.com vs cheapestpowertoolreviews.org.
      That's pretty good advice too. A lot of people insist on creating long, drawn out EMDs which don't even really have much of a benefit anymore. (If any.) Something short and semi-official is going to look a lot better to your visitors.
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    • Profile picture of the author AHayes183
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      ^^^^^^^^
      This is how I typically do things. Also, I prefer to use domain names that mirror that of what I would call a brick and mortar shop. For example, if I wanted to target power tools, I'd stay broad (power tools) or even go broader (home improvement) and call it something like PacHarbor.com or PHPowerTools.com.

      There's just something inherently more trustworthy about PacHarbor.com vs cheapestpowertoolreviews.org.
      That's certainly true, but once people get to your sites, surely they know straight away that it's a review site? Also, how does this choice of domain affect your SEO? I suppose if you're going broad rather than niche it isn't as important as it used to be.
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      • Originally Posted by AHayes183 View Post

        That's certainly true, but once people get to your sites, surely they know straight away that it's a review site? Also, how does this choice of domain affect your SEO? I suppose if you're going broad rather than niche it isn't as important as it used to be.
        I really don't think the domain name choice is important regarding SEO anymore. I think you should focus on a domain name that makes sense for your visitors and website.
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by AHayes183 View Post

        That's certainly true, but once people get to your sites, surely they know straight away that it's a review site? Also, how does this choice of domain affect your SEO? I suppose if you're going broad rather than niche it isn't as important as it used to be.
        I WANT them to know it's a review site. That's the whole reason it exists and they are the types of terms I target. When employing my strategy of targeting products that are low competition, domain name plays almost zero role in SEO. The one thing I don't do it use EMDs.
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  • Profile picture of the author WordpressManiac
    I think you should focus on one product type for example fridges and then build reviews of different brands, colors etc.
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    • Originally Posted by WordpressManiac View Post

      I think you should focus on one product type for example fridges and then build reviews of different brands, colors etc.
      NOOOOOO! Unless you're passionate about the product, and you WANT to write about it because you have good information and experience, I really don't recommend building sites like that as a business, because it's more hassle then it's worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author AHayes183
    Fair enough. I still think domain names play an important part in regards to SEO, but not as much as before after the last updates, and less so if your niche is broad. Good insight into trust-ability though regarding choosing a name.
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  • Profile picture of the author CsabaSzücs
    I follow the steps of these ones:

    Markus Daniels
    The Easiest SEO Workshop
    How To Build Authority Sites Workshop
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  • Profile picture of the author Jensha
    Been following the discussions here and got an idea. Does it work with Amazon if I just make pictures of gadgets in one niche? Say I have an amazon niche site with just eye glasses, shades and just put pictures of them there and add up new ones along with their price tags instead of making reviews about them. Ever tried that?
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    • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
      Originally Posted by Jensha View Post

      Been following the discussions here and got an idea. Does it work with Amazon if I just make pictures of gadgets in one niche? Say I have an amazon niche site with just eye glasses, shades and just put pictures of them there and add up new ones along with their price tags instead of making reviews about them. Ever tried that?
      Sounds like your thinking along the lines of a Pinterest Jensha but as Wolfii asked you need ot be thinking about where you will be attracting your traffic from because a site like that you can forget organic traffic.

      Kickin it on Amazon

      Gaz Cooper
      Amz Training Academy
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by Jensha View Post

      Been following the discussions here and got an idea. Does it work with Amazon if I just make pictures of gadgets in one niche? Say I have an amazon niche site with just eye glasses, shades and just put pictures of them there and add up new ones along with their price tags instead of making reviews about them. Ever tried that?
      You need some content. Even if it's just a general overview of the product. (With a little bit of pre-sell thrown in.)
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      • Profile picture of the author redstanford
        Originally Posted by JSProjects View Post

        You need some content. Even if it's just a general overview of the product. (With a little bit of pre-sell thrown in.)
        bump - this thread has a lot of good stuff
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        • Profile picture of the author Jensha
          Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

          @Jensha....

          How do you plan on getting traffic? Are you planning on driving traffic that consists of people ready to buy?
          Something like that... I guess.

          Let me put an example of what I think.

          Let's say I bought or created a micro niche site for $5 or $10 that only sells shades or cameras.
          Then I put some of the pictures there of shades with a buy button and a little description about them.
          (Though I think it's the picture that would really sell in a product like that).
          Then spread backlinks, either paid or by hiring a VA to spread it on forums blogs and social networks.
          Some traffic and hope for the best.
          Boom.
          I know there should be specifics about this but I think it's better if we just stick with this overview on what I'm thinking.

          Originally Posted by Gaz Cooper View Post

          Sounds like your thinking along the lines of a Pinterest Jensha but as Wolfii asked you need ot be thinking about where you will be attracting your traffic from because a site like that you can forget organic traffic.

          Kickin it on Amazon

          Gaz Cooper
          Amz Training Academy
          You really think so? Even if I spread my links of it to social networking sites?

          Originally Posted by JSProjects View Post

          You need some content. Even if it's just a general overview of the product. (With a little bit of pre-sell thrown in.)
          Yeah I'm thinking about that too but not a product review for each.
          Maybe just a thumbnail picture, then a short description of it below and at the bottom of that the buy button.

          What cha think?

          Thank you for your answers, I'm really looking forward for more.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    @Jensha....

    How do you plan on getting traffic? Are you planning on driving traffic that consists of people ready to buy?
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    If you use images and a 2-4 sentence UNIQUE description of each, it MIGHT work if you target low-competition products. Stand up a site, commit to testing for a month or two and try it out and see. At the very worst, you will learn something. I recommend no fewer than 50-100 products though as a good sample size.
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      If you use images and a 2-4 sentence UNIQUE description of each, it MIGHT work if you target low-competition products. Stand up a site, commit to testing for a month or two and try it out and see. At the very worst, you will learn something. I recommend no fewer than 50-100 products though as a good sample size.
      Agreed.

      And it'd be interesting to see if 2-4 sentences would work. I've never even tried since it's not really too tough to put together descriptions that are, at the very least, a few hundred words.
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