Do you think it may be worth it to invest in some paid SEM?

Hello Peter,

We are selling on line products preferably clothing. Yes, you are right that we also have some budget issues and as much as possible we do not want to throw cash unless we are sure.

There are many providers like DW who wanted to help. But as what I have said our budget is only limited and we cannot allow mistakes to occur or else we're dead.

Do you think investing in a third party---a good idea? If not, do you know any alternatives we can perform? I am looking forward to your reply. TY

Hi sam f,

The problem with your post is that it assumes that the poster is doing affiliate marketing. I see nothing in his post that indicates that he is choosing a niche for affiliate marketing purposes.

I could be wrong but the OP seems to have a particular business that he is trying to promote, perhaps it is his own business and his only concern. Suggesting a different niche would not be useful advice under those circumstances.

@kennelsnout,

Paid Search ads is the quickest way to discover which search terms are the best to target, regardless of whether you plan to focus on organic or paid ads.

Paid search provides you with the most useful data at the quickest pace, and with the most precise controls.

The obvious answer it seems to me is to test initially with paid search and then use that data to form a plan going forward. If you can run a profitable PPC campaign then there would be no reason to discontinue that campaign while you also pursue an organic marketing campaign.

Generally speaking, the more competitive the niche, the more likely it will require paid advertising to effectively compete.

Having said that, search advertising is very competitive, it takes a long time to learn how to run a highly effective ad campaign, so make sure you consider that if you are new to paid search advertising. You may want to consider hiring an experienced campaign manager or agency that has a good reputation. Same goes for SEO, there are a lot of costly mistakes that you are likely to make as you learn the ropes, so consider that in whatever path you take going forward.

HTH,

Don Burk