Google Hates You and Your Affiliate Review Site and This is Why...

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  • SEO
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It doesn't matter if you are promoting your affiliate/review sites with AdWords (like I do) or trying to go the SEO route. If ANY of the points below apply to you or your site, you really need to stop complaining about how Google hates affiliates and re-think what you are doing if you expect to build a long-term, sustainable business online.

If you are trying to get your site approved by Google Adwords, the points below are even more important as it is pretty well-established that the AdWords team hates poorly-designed affiliate sites (and for good reason). Addressing the points below will allow you to avoid the dreaded "bridge page" and "site policy" issues that plague most affiliate and product review sites.

If you are trying to rank well via SEO, these points also apply since many of them are closely tied into quality signals that Google uses to rank sites.

Without further adieu, let's get down to why Google hates you....


Your content just plain sucks


A 50-word "product review"? Really? If you expect Google (especially the AdWords team) to take you seriously, how about adding some worthwhile content? It doesn't even need to be a lot. It just needs to be focused and legitimate.


Your content is scraped/copied from other sites & offers no value

This is similar to above. If I land on your site through an AdWords ad that I saw or via a search result, I'm not impressed with the fact that you copied Amazon's product description word for word. I've already seen their product reviews and you just look like an idiot.


Your "product reviews" include 5 lines of crap that do nothing for the end user

If you are going to do a product review, please, at a minimum, add your own spin to it and make it worth reading. Basically repeating "this product is great" over and over is useless.


You don't care about the feedback of your users

Provide your visitors with a way to provide their own feedback - it goes a long way toward legitimizing your site.


You give your visitors no options


A site with a scraped product description, scraped reviews, and 20 affiliate links to the same site can hardly be considered useful. Provide your visitors with options - similar products, alternate vendors, additional content, etc.


You offer no nifty tools to your visitors


Give your visitors something they can use. Cool comparison tools, custom searches, calculators, etc. are all things that will keep visitors coming back. Google will also smile upon your site more often.


You sound desperate since you practically beg for clicks


A few well-placed affiliate links are all that is necessary to generate high CTR without sounding and looking desperate.


Your ego is running the show


Traffic is always good, unless you are paying for it. Stop trying to impress people with how many visitors your site receives when in reality, only 1 in 726 of them actually buys anything. Stop targeting broad terms like "laptops" in your AdWords campaign and learn how to target "buying keywords". I, personally, would rather see 10 visitors to my site per day if 3 of them actually buy something.


You believe TOS equates to "rough guidelines"


NEWSFLASH! THEY DON'T! Terms of Service are exactly that. Stop making yourself out as a martyr. Follow the rules and you will become successful.


Your landing page includes 50 affiliate links


As I mentioned further up, a few strategically-placed affiliate links will suffice. More is not always better.


You spell like a first-grader


For Pete's sake, edit your copy! Why would I buy anything from a site that looks like a first-grader put together? If English is your second language, that's okay - just get someone to proof-read it for you. If English is your first language, grab a freaking dictionary or at the very least make use of a spell-checker.


Your design sucks because you've put forth zero effort


Look at Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc. Their sites are professional-looking (because they are done by professionals). However, that doesn't mean you have to hire a web design company for your product review site. That being said, you do need to put forth some effort so your site looks presentable. Before you make your site live, just ask yourself if your site is a place YOU would buy from. Better yet, ask a friend or family member for feedback.


Well that’s everything! Those are the reasons that you cannot get your site approved for AdWords. Those are the reasons you are having trouble ranking. Those are the reasons your site is not converting.
#adwords #adwords & affiliate #adwords acount suspended #adwords coaching
  • Profile picture of the author donhx
    Nothing you have said indicates that Google hates anyone. It indicates that people who take a non-professional approach are purposely getting in Google's face.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by donhx View Post

      Nothing you have said that Google hates anyone. It indicates that people who do the wrong things are purposely getting in Google's face.
      Hi Don. That was actually the point of my post. The post title is actually tongue in cheek.
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      • Profile picture of the author donhx
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        Hi Don. That was actually the point of my post. The post title is actually tongue in cheek.
        "Tongue-in-cheek?" Oh. Okay. Ha ha.
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      • Profile picture of the author MarketingTorch
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        Hi Don. That was actually the point of my post. The post title is actually tongue in cheek.
        I got that immediately, and was chuckling at the title as the post was opening, mentally adding my own tag, "Google Hates You and Your Affiliate Review Site... and your little dog too!"
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Originally Posted by gujjuboy View Post

    Thanks for the info.
    Do you think that google will find that i am using affiliate links even if use any URL shorten like blt.ly?
    I don't think Google necessarily cares that you use affiliate links although I have seen "some" evidence that affiliate links "may" affect ranking.

    I use link cloaking plugins on all of my sites and they seem to do OK.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Worner
    Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

    You sound desperate since you practically beg for clicks[/B]

    A few well-placed affiliate links are all that is necessary to generate high CTR without sounding and looking desperate.
    Could you elaborate a little further, cheers.

    Chris

    P.S. Couldn't help notice your signature, don't be surprised if this thread gets deleted.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by Chris Worner View Post

      Could you elaborate a little further, cheers.

      Chris

      P.S. Couldn't help notice your signature, don't be surprised if this thread gets deleted.
      I would hope it wouldn't. I put some time into the post. It's not like I threw a 3-line post up or anything. The eBook in my signature is even free.

      Getting back to the original question though:

      I see so many sites where the entire area above the fold is engulfed with graphics, ramblings, etc. Although it's common sense to some, many fail to recognize the sheer importance of placing links/monetization "above the fold". Paying attention to your visitors' screen resolution stats can also play a large role in determining what "above the fold" is.

      In addition to "above the fold", folks need to carefully consider the wording and context that surrounds links. You can nudge people to click links without screaming in their faces that you are an affiliate.

      EDIT: I would be remiss if I didn't mention the heatmap that Google published. Use it! Your links should be in the dark orange area in the middle above the fold.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Thanks Ken. That's exactly what I was shooting for. However, the message is dead-serious. Too many people complain how Google hates affiliates without really understanding why they are having problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrea Wilson
    I have not looked in advertising through adwords yet but there are many horror stories in getting approved. Your points can be my checklist when i try to get into Adwords.

    Andrea
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by Andrea Wilson View Post

      I have not looked in advertising through adwords yet but there are many horror stories in getting approved. Your points can be my checklist when i try to get into Adwords.

      Andrea
      Yes, there are lots of horror stories about AdWords and affiliate sites. However, I never have any problems with the sites I build. You just have to think about the user when building one.

      If you can present your affiliate site as more of an ecommerce site with good content, the AdWords team will be surprisingly open to it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gail Ogden
        Do you mind telling what link cloaking plugins you use?


        Is there any way you point out an example of an awords website that Google likes?


        By the way I agree with Google in that when I land on an adword website I want it to be what I bargained for when I clicked the ad.
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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by Gail Ogden View Post

          Do you mind telling what link cloaking plugins you use?

          I use a few different Amazon plugins. Some of them include link cloaking. Which ones do and which ones do not escapes me at the moment. I'll see if I can dig them up later if I'm still awake.
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  • Profile picture of the author 4morereferrals
    Google has an odd way of showing it

    Google is doing a LOT of hatin' ... alas it's a lot of page one sites.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by 4morereferrals View Post

      Google has an odd way of showing it

      Google is doing a LOT of hatin' ... alas it's a lot of page one sites.
      Yeah, that's a whole other issue, albeit related. It really comes down to effort. Some just aren't interested in giving adequate effort.
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  • Profile picture of the author indiatext
    very thanks for sharing this information...thanks a lot...
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  • Profile picture of the author Onash
    Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

    You offer no nifty tools to your visitors

    Give your visitors something they can use. Cool comparison tools, custom searches, calculators, etc. are all things that will keep visitors coming back. Google will also smile upon your site more often.
    Hi,
    Can you recommed any tools that you use ?

    Onash
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by Onash View Post

      Hi,
      Can you recommed any tools that you use ?

      Onash
      The Google AdWords team has made it clear to me in the discussions I've had with them that they favor sites featuring user interactivity.

      Although I discuss a few in Affiliate Sites for AdWords (free eBook), I really, really like using AdSense for Search as it adds credibility, functionality, and monetization to my sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author peterhawkins
    as someone who regulalrly creates review sites i couldn't agree more. The whole point of creating a review site is of course to make money as an affiliate but also to provide a comprehensive review of the product. This means actually reviewing the product, testing it and of course offering a great bonus deal to buy through your affiliate link.

    I always contact a product vendor first and ask them to let me review it properly to make sure it is a good product who will help people, i also provide a FAQ page on my review site to help answer any questions my visitors may have and most importantly i offer a great bonus deal (not some PLR crap no one needs) but usefull tools that will help the customer succeed with the original product as quickly as possible.

    Do these things and the others like wolfmmill said then your review sites should rank well in Google espcially if you put the work in SEO wise.

    I personaly write aticles, submit to doc sharing sites, FPR sites and video sites and link them back to my review site. It works for me
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Too many people complain how Google hates affiliates without really understanding why they are having problems.
      If they are making any of the mistakes you mentioned in your original post then I think they deserve to fail. Besides, aren't most/all affiliate review sites designed just for the purpose of making money and lack any real, meaningful content? I would like to see any review site owners who have actually bought all the products they are 'reviewing'. Unless you are actually testing all the products and writing an honest review on every product then I think you are no different to those people writing content that "just plain sucks".

      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      I would hope it wouldn't. I put some time into the post. It's not like I threw a 3-line post up or anything. The eBook in my signature is even free.
      Maybe so, but you are still trying to push your website in the ebook. This is just a round-about way of doing things.
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        Besides, aren't most/all affiliate review sites designed just for the purpose of making money and lack any real, meaningful content?
        I'm not sure I'd say "most /all" review sites lack meaningful content but I would agree that many do and that's why you see horror stories about AdWords accounts being banned.

        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        Unless you are actually testing all the products and writing an honest review on every product then I think you are no different to those people writing content that "just plain sucks".
        I wold not agree at all with this statement. There are plenty of ways to create a very good product review without ever using the product. The devil, however, is always in the details. Context is very important as is what kind of interactivity, tools, and feedback options you provide to your visitors.
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        • Profile picture of the author WillR
          Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

          There are plenty of ways to create a very good product review without ever using the product.
          I don't agree. How can you write an honest product review without ever using the product? How can you review a movie without ever watching it? How can you review a restaurant without ever eating there?

          It's ridiculous, misleading, and thus why Google is trying to get rid of all the people creating these types of sites. And I hope they succeed in doing so.

          I don't want my friends or family being sucked in by these silly review sites that have only be created for the sole purpose of pushing product, nothing more.
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          • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
            Originally Posted by WillR View Post

            I don't agree. How can you write an honest product review without ever using the product? How can you review a movie without ever watching it? How can you review a restaurant without ever eating there?
            Like I said, the context in which you present the review information is what determines whether it is helpful or not. The visitor feedback polls and feedback options I include on my sites and on the hundreds of Web 2.0 properties I own clearly indicate users are happy with my information even given the fact that in virtually all of the reviews, I make it clear I don't own the product.

            However, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Thanks for the input.
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          • Profile picture of the author Treby
            So true,buy the product use it review it-I love rc helis and planes so I fly them and review them,the content flows well as know what I am talking about-good post
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            • Profile picture of the author Treby
              Remember the saying "Kiss" Keep it simple stupid-so say you have just bought a toaster oven,love it,works well for you after cooking 700 pieces of toast and 500 madras curries-then just get a pen and paper and write all the great features and bad points in your own words-get a good domain name-be careful using product names-set some posts up-write some great articles for ezine articles,spend $5 on Fivver for some back links-put Amazon text links on your photos and posts-be careful over doing widgets-should make a few dollars-imagine only $5 a day= near $150 per blog or site per month 20 sites -do your maths $3000-content is the queen not king of blogs-Cya
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          • Profile picture of the author cooler1
            Originally Posted by WillR View Post

            I don't agree. How can you write an honest product review without ever using the product? How can you review a movie without ever watching it? How can you review a restaurant without ever eating there?

            It's ridiculous, misleading, and thus why Google is trying to get rid of all the people creating these types of sites. And I hope they succeed in doing so.

            I don't want my friends or family being sucked in by these silly review sites that have only be created for the sole purpose of pushing product, nothing more.
            So do you expect an Amazon affiliate to buy every product which they are reviewing?

            Unless Google manually reviews all these sites, I don't see how they can possibly know if the reviewier owns the product or not.
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            • Profile picture of the author ElectronPlumber
              Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

              So do you expect an Amazon affiliate to buy every product which they are reviewing?

              Unless Google manually reviews all these sites, I don't see how they can possibly know if the reviewier owns the product or not.
              I always say that any review has to provide value to the reader. Rehashing product descriptions are useless. You don't need to own everything you review either. Look at Gizmodo or Engadget or the other 100 sites like it. They just talk about the stuff.

              My best Amazon affiliate sites do the following:
              1) Compares products on one page. I take a niche and pick out three of four similar products from the same manufacturer and actually tell what the different features for each price point and provide a recommendation for the budget vs the best.
              2) Bundles. If you are thinking about buying this thing, it doesn't come with batteries or extra blades or this really cool add on that makes it much better, don't forget to buy this with it.

              It's not rocket science. If you don't provide value, Google will eventually sink your site.
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              • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
                Originally Posted by ElectronPlumber View Post

                It's not rocket science. If you don't provide value, Google will eventually sink your site.
                This pretty much sums it up. Provide value and Google will leave you alone. Unfortunately, many (maybe even most?) affiliate marketers get this part wrong.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Barker
    You have a very good point here. Is it getting more and more complicated for Google to recognize an affiliate site. They are starting to crack down on this.

    One thing you can do is start a blog (wordpress.org), customize this blog for an SEO site and you can give that to google. Of course you can advertise your landing page, etc on your blog to point people in that direction.

    Again... Don't overload your blog with ads!

    Good Luck
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by Jeremy Barker View Post

      You have a very good point here. Is it getting more and more complicated for Google to recognize an affiliate site. They are starting to crack down on this.

      .......

      Again... Don't overload your blog with ads!

      Good Luck
      I wouldn't say Google is cracking down on affiliate sites in general. They are cracking down on poor-quality sites, many of which are thin-affiliate sites.

      I do agree with your statement about not overloading a site with ads.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Barboza
    Am I smelling a WSO here?

    Just kidding. I like your points and I agree with them
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by AlexBarboza View Post

      Am I smelling a WSO here?

      Just kidding. I like your points and I agree with them
      I actually considered a WSO but figured giving info away for free at this time was best. I utilize quite a few strategies that produce monthly income but saw a gaping hole concerning review sites.

      PPC is, after all, the fastest (and most stable) way to generate affiliate income.

      Thanks for the comments. Hopefully the info helps someone out there.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zachmo
      Originally Posted by AlexBarboza View Post

      Am I smelling a WSO here?

      Just kidding. I like your points and I agree with them
      lol. but he has some good points here but I don't agree with some.
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  • Profile picture of the author frank07
    Your view about Google as Google is a Angel, he will know everything. No, Google do not love or hate anyone, if you make your site with Google favor, they will bring you to top. Google is a machine, it makes by people, sometime he do not know what good or bad, that why we can see many crap website on top on search engine.
    But I agree with you about conversion, you or me went to their crap site and do not buy or clicks so they get less conversion than useful website.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by frank07 View Post

      Your view about Google as Google is a Angel, he will know everything. No, Google do not love or hate anyone, if you make your site with Google favor, they will bring you to top. Google is a machine, it makes by people, sometime he do not know what good or bad, that why we can see many crap website on top on search engine.
      But I agree with you about conversion, you or me went to their crap site and do not buy or clicks so they get less conversion than useful website.
      Google knows more about your site than you think, especially if you use Analytics. Since bounce rate is possibly something Google includes in its ranking algorithm, making a site user-friendly is important even if you aren't promoting via AdWords.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnsmart
    Well i think another good idea is to cloak your affiliate links
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by johnsmart View Post

      Well i think another good idea is to cloak your affiliate links
      Absolutely, especially if you are going the SEO route. I cloak mine even on my AdWords sites but I'm not sure that's really necessary.
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  • Profile picture of the author rvrabel2002
    Good post, but i think its even harder than you think. I once submitted a 40 + page review site that did not even have an affiliate link on it and was banned from adwords. The pure fact is that google does not like affiliate sites period. I know theres going to be a ton of guys that say "oh thats bs, you need to lead the visitor on a long path and provide substantial content, unique user experience, blah blah blah. I did EXACTLY that and they said "no way chief".
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by rvrabel2002 View Post

      The pure fact is that google does not like affiliate sites period.
      I know for a fact that this is not true as I VERY RARELY have any issues getting affiliate sites approved. I will agree, however, that Google dislikes THIN affiliate sites.
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      • Profile picture of the author rvrabel2002
        Dude, I am telling you, my site was not thin at all, its sole purpose was not to direct users to another site, and it was loaded with tons of content. They called it a bridge page.

        The only legitamate thing i can see being done is to collect leads for local small businesses as an affiliate, like florists or something.

        Google can be really hard to please

        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        I know for a fact that this is not true as I VERY RARELY have any issues getting affiliate sites approved. I will agree, however, that Google dislikes THIN affiliate sites.
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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by rvrabel2002 View Post

          Dude, I am telling you, my site was not thin at all, its sole purpose was not to direct users to another site, and it was loaded with tons of content. They called it a bridge page.

          The only legitamate thing i can see being done is to collect leads for local small businesses as an affiliate, like florists or something.

          Google can be really hard to please

          I don't know what to tell you. I've done 10 or 15 sites and none have been disapproved. I honestly don't see why people have such a hard time with it.

          Remember, they are disapproving your landing page, not your SITE as a bridge page. I suspect that your landing page that was disapproved included outbound links to just 1 or 2 domains OR the wording of your content was suspect.

          For example, setting up a kick-ass review site and then saying on your landing page "click here for more reviews" and sending people to Amazon will almost always get you tagged as a bridge page.

          Obviously, I can't say for sure without seeing the site but I'm certain I could find the offending issue in under 10 minutes. If the site is still live, feel free to PM me a link to it if you'd like me to take a look.
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  • Profile picture of the author rvrabel2002
    ok, just pm'd you. I would love to get this site back on adwords.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Rob...

    I'm gonna run back out and will only be available sporadically. I've sent over some recommendations.
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    • Profile picture of the author inter123
      Hi.

      I have been doing Amazon sites but they are generally unsuccessful to date. 80% of the site get to the first page only for it dissapear to the backwaters. The commonality with all these sites is that each page has about 20 affilaite links to Amazon and I am sure this has something to do with the rankings.

      Would you advise me to cloak the links or better if the user is sent to a page where they have the option of clicking to Amazon if they so wish?

      Cheers.

      Jim.
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by inter123 View Post

        Hi.

        I have been doing Amazon sites but they are generally unsuccessful to date. 80% of the site get to the first page only for it dissapear to the backwaters. The commonality with all these sites is that each page has about 20 affilaite links to Amazon and I am sure this has something to do with the rankings.

        Would you advise me to cloak the links or better if the user is sent to a page where they have the option of clicking to Amazon if they so wish?

        Cheers.

        Jim.
        Now that I'm back home, let me expand just a bit. The initial boost your sites are getting is probably a result of QDF. After the initial boost, your site settles into a more normal ranking. When that happens, the mass of affiliate links becomes more of a problem.

        I'd certainly reduce the number of affiliate links and also be sure to cloak them.
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        • Profile picture of the author seolearner09
          Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

          I'd certainly reduce the number of affiliate links and also be sure to cloak them.
          Hi

          How do I cloak my affiliate links?

          I have 1 to 2 aff links per page (400-700 words of content per page). At the moment, I am only using the 'nofollow' tag on my affiliate links, is this good enough?

          Many thanks in advance.
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          • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
            Originally Posted by seolearner09 View Post

            Hi

            How do I cloak my affiliate links?

            I have 1 to 2 aff links per page (400-700 words of content per page). At the moment, I am only using the 'nofollow' tag on my affiliate links, is this good enough?

            Many thanks in advance.
            I use plugins that cloak my affiliate links. I can't say for certain that it's even necessary but I do it anyway.
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          • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
            Originally Posted by seolearner09 View Post

            Hi

            How do I cloak my affiliate links?

            I have 1 to 2 aff links per page (400-700 words of content per page). At the moment, I am only using the 'nofollow' tag on my affiliate links, is this good enough?

            Many thanks in advance.
            There's been mixed opinions on how Google feels about cloaked affiliate links. So if you're going to do it, make sure your content around it is good.

            You can set up a redirect on a page. Point your link to a page within your domain which redirects to the affiliate site.
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            • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
              Originally Posted by JSProjects View Post

              There's been mixed opinions on how Google feels about cloaked affiliate links. So if you're going to do it, make sure your content around it is good.
              Google doesn't care about cloaked links. People confuse content cloaking with link cloaking. Google seriously frowns upon content cloaking. To be honest, I only mention link cloaking because my sites have always seemed to rank better when my links were cloaked.

              Originally Posted by JSProjects View Post

              You can set up a redirect on a page. Point your link to a page within your domain which redirects to the affiliate site.
              This is exactly how I do it.
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            • Profile picture of the author seolearner09
              Originally Posted by JSProjects View Post

              You can set up a redirect on a page. Point your link to a page within your domain which redirects to the affiliate site.
              Many thanks for that info.

              Apart from setting up a redirect, I mainly use CJ to find offers etc and the HTML links they provide allow you to 'encrypt links' and 'hide tracking code in link'- of which I both do (encrypt it and hide the tracking code). Do you think this is sufficient or can Google bots still detect it is an affiliate link (I also have a 'nofollow tag' near the beginning)?

              Or do you think they don't really care as long as you have a 'useful' and 'informative' site compared to a 5 page site with a ton load of ads on there?
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              • Profile picture of the author vincentseo
                Great post, thanks.... keen to share a URL or 2 of websites that you advertise on Adwords... ?
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                • Profile picture of the author c275353118
                  I have to say thank you. This problem makes me confused long time. I will follow your suggestion to restart affiliate promotion with Adwords. I know Google always has very strict standard that we should be up to. I believe if I've done what you said, I will make it.
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          • Profile picture of the author melovedogs
            Originally Posted by seolearner09 View Post

            Hi

            How do I cloak my affiliate links?

            I have 1 to 2 aff links per page (400-700 words of content per page). At the moment, I am only using the 'nofollow' tag on my affiliate links, is this good enough?

            Many thanks in advance.
            If you use wordpress, you can use gocode plugin for this job.
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          • Profile picture of the author webtechprodigy
            Originally Posted by seolearner09 View Post

            Hi

            How do I cloak my affiliate links?

            I have 1 to 2 aff links per page (400-700 words of content per page). At the moment, I am only using the 'nofollow' tag on my affiliate links, is this good enough?

            Many thanks in advance.
            There are many free plugins in the wordpress repository that let you cloak your affiliate links. Go codes is one of them. Although even nofollowing them is more than enough as far as functionality is concerned. The only reason people cloak the links is to make the links look brandable and pretty.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    I'm posting from a phone so this will be short. I'd recommend reducing the number of affiliate links. Twenty just sounds like too many. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate too many affiliate links negatively impact a site. Uncloaked links are even worse. I try to cloak every affiliate link I use.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by Michael55555 View Post

      lololololol nice post. thanks, sir.
      Thanks. Hopefully it is helpful to folks out here. I was hoping it's satirical tone generated visibility and it appears it has.
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      • Profile picture of the author melovedogs
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        Thanks. Hopefully it is helpful to folks out here. I was hoping it's satirical tone generated visibility and it appears it has.
        Nice article, because of your thread I signup to this forum
        I want to ask you something, unfortunately I can't send you private message until I have 50 posts
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  • Profile picture of the author JonMills
    Google dont hate anyone except spammers

    Google runs their own affiliate program ( Google Affiliate Network ) so they are for affiliates

    What they want is what any person online wants - relevant content
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by JonMills View Post

      Google dont hate anyone except spammers

      Google runs their own affiliate program ( Google Affiliate Network ) so they are for affiliates

      What they want is what any person online wants - relevant content
      That's pretty much the point of my original post.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    I was going to start a separate Q & A thread about AdWords and affiliate sites but this thread is probably as good as any.

    EDIT: Nevermind. Relaized the thread title wasn't real conducive to my intent. I've started a new thread instead.
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  • Profile picture of the author idk007
    good stuff. I've seen people complain about not ranking but their site its so crappy that I'm surpised the hosting company hasnt shut it down
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  • One of the best posts I have read in a long time on this subject. Every single point is totally spot on. There is a lot to be said about having good original content instead of copying it, which is a waste of time on so many different levels.

    People bang on about SEO and the majority are failing because, for all the short cuts people take, if your website content and design is crap, you are not going to get people sticking around to take the bait. The back button is such a handy device for the average person looking for information and there is so much information about that people will have read copied information anyway, especially if it is lifted from the likes of Amazon and if it makes no sense the visitor will lose patience in seconds.

    Too many people get lost in the technical aspects of SEO and completely lose to plot.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrei
    great info wolf and strait to the subject

    from your experience when google recalculate page ranks usually they remove you from the first position... i had a site that had 0 pr and was on 1 position for my specific keyword and now has pr 3 and is position number 8...
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Thanks for the kind words folks!
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    • Profile picture of the author melovedogs
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Thanks for the kind words folks!
      @Wolfmmii : do you have any samples of good amazon affiliate websites that I can look up to? what kind of review page that is not considered as thin page?

      I created an online store web that promotes amazon products in particular niche. But it's impossible to actually get my hands on each products that I promote on my website.
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  • Profile picture of the author dagaul101
    Nice tips, Google has always stressed useful and unique content that will make your visitors keep coming, and not just cluttering the web with affiliate links and duplicate content
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  • Profile picture of the author rence33
    you are 100% right...i hate google now..seriously..because my income stopped..after they update their system...sucking thumb now
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  • Profile picture of the author crescendo
    You Members sharing very helpful info.
    Thanks to Warrior Forums.
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    Although I agree about unique content. There is a product keyword which in on page 1 in Google on a blogspot blog. All they've done is literally copied someones review from Amazon onto their blog. My review is on page 2, it has about 600 words of unique content and proper on page SEO plus i've backlinked it.

    Is this the authority of blogger the reason how people can put up copied content and it overtakes original content? btw, my site isn't new, it's about 4-5 months old.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

      Is this the authority of blogger the reason how people can put up copied content and it overtakes original content? btw, my site isn't new, it's about 4-5 months old.
      It's probably due to the authority. Also, a 4-5 month old site is still a very new site.
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    • Profile picture of the author webtechprodigy
      Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

      Although I agree about unique content. There is a product keyword which in on page 1 in Google on a blogspot blog. All they've done is literally copied someones review from Amazon onto their blog. My review is on page 2, it has about 600 words of unique content and proper on page SEO plus i've backlinked it.

      Is this the authority of blogger the reason how people can put up copied content and it overtakes original content? btw, my site isn't new, it's about 4-5 months old.
      Domain authority plays an important role in SERPs. Maybe they have also built other high PR links to their page. These web 2.0 sites tend to get a lot of link juice anyway. Even you could try to do it by making a Squidoo page or a Hubpage and build some good links to it, your listing will rise in SERPs immediately.
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  • Profile picture of the author dark witness
    Hi, I would really like to know which plugins you recommend for link cloaking on your site?
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  • Profile picture of the author stodog77
    It is funny how this should be common knowledge, yet so many still don't get it. Good post Wolf!
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  • Profile picture of the author YourProfessional
    This is Amazing!!!

    Very well put. I'm always telling my students they need to provide QUALITY not just for Google's sake but the sake of your visitors.

    I'll be putting up a link to this forum in my broadcast to my email list. Thanks so much. Completely agree with every point above.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Thank you for the kind words. I should note that these points are now more important than ever.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rollmodl
      It's about time someone spoke the truth on this topic. I never worried about Panda, PR and all the other things that some worry about from day to day. Develop a long term strategy and build a site for the real world.
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by Rollmodl View Post

        Develop a long term strategy and build a site for the real world.
        This really is what its all about.
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        • Profile picture of the author LarryW
          This is a great discussion, thanks for the tips and comments!

          It is especially important for those of us just starting to first of all learn how to do things right, and to use the idea of providing useful content in our sites from the beginning.... do the right way the first time (and avoid revisiting and re-doing).

          Do we get a Do-Over in Life??? Well well (do it well the first time).

          Yet with computers and projects we can do again to improve. An example, not just for beginners, buy a used website that is thin or crappy, and beautify by Replacing the content with some helpful useful stuff.... do SEO and it can become an earner to keep, or sell with a better track record.
          ---
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      • Profile picture of the author gschmidtus
        Originally Posted by Rollmodl View Post

        It's about time someone spoke the truth on this topic. I never worried about Panda, PR and all the other things that some worry about from day to day. Develop a long term strategy and build a site for the real world.
        Isn't that what it's all about. I think most people miss the boat by thinking it's a child's hobby and after a weekend they will be rich. Then the weekend is over and they are disappointed. I think it's building a business. You need a strategy and then you have to work and do more work. Eventually, you have a chance to succeed. It won't happen overnight and it will never happen if you deliver a crappy product.
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        • Profile picture of the author sdzh
          Originally Posted by gschmidtus View Post

          Isn't that what it's all about. I think most people miss the boat by thinking it's a child's hobby and after a weekend they will be rich. Then the weekend is over and they are disappointed. I think it's building a business. You need a strategy and then you have to work and do more work. Eventually, you have a chance to succeed. It won't happen overnight and it will never happen if you deliver a crappy product.
          Spot on! You got that dead right
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          • Profile picture of the author wegenbelasting
            People with a small wallet can't run and test PPC campaigns, and to get organic traffic you have to go with less competitive keywords that bring in maybe $50 a month which is not worth the ammount of time to make a site outstanding. Thats why all these microniche sites look ugly and have nothing to offer, the reward is just not there.

            For my example I took a widely advertised microniche site that you buy for $30 with 1000 exact searches as that are mostly the cheap copy/paste review sites

            So I guess I agree with leaving EMD alone
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          • Profile picture of the author 711gemstone
            Thank you for the above tips. I will be doing them for my sites as soon as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author bt2007
    Hi,

    Great post!
    In your dealings with AdWords have you ever mentioned that you're an affiliate? Or do you make it out to seem that you're an agency or business etc.

    Reason I'm asking is lately I've been reading that as soon as people mention the word "affiliate" they're in trouble.

    Spam? Affiliate is a 4 Letter Word | SEO Book.com
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by bt2007 View Post

      Hi,

      Great post!
      In your dealings with AdWords have you ever mentioned that you're an affiliate? Or do you make it out to seem that you're an agency or business etc.

      I've specifically mentioned I am an Amazon affiliate. Contrary to popular belief, the AdWords team really doesn't mind. They are very helpful any time I have an issue with a new site.
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  • Profile picture of the author skooja
    good set of tips. thanks Now I will make necessary changes in to my EMD amazon product site.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by skooja View Post

      good set of tips. thanks Now I will make necessary changes in to my EMD amazon product site.
      Forget EMD. Build a brandable authority site.
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  • Profile picture of the author rain21
    I'm thinking to print this and hang on my wall )))
    very good thread
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Baker
    Great post wolf! Thanks for you wonderful post.
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  • Profile picture of the author TAPASFUN
    This is a very usefull post,
    Thanks for share with us.
    keep it up.
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    Hire Me for Any Web Development Project, Click Here to Check my portfolio and my experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdzh
    If you're creating a reviews site, I can't see why anyone would want to include anything other than quality content. How else would you expect to convert your prospects to customers?

    Look at it from Google's point of view - there's zero incentive for them to include spammy pages in their search results. If they did, they'd soon lose the the respect of their users and principle means of income along with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cash37
    Agreed! People need to think more about the visitor than going straight for the sale. Nothing worse than gaming a page to get a nice CTR to your affiliate link but no one clicks because you can't write well enough to persuade an Eskimo to buy a coat.
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  • Profile picture of the author momfriend
    well google banned me from adwords, adsense because of some kind of policy crap. new too google, hey give me a break.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    It's not their responsibility to give you a break. It is your responsibility to understand the TOS.
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  • Profile picture of the author tryinghard
    google is really in control of a lot of things. thats why some people cant help doing black hat things
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    Good thread. Wolfmmiii appears to know what he's talking about. Would love to know what sort of money he's making from his sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Thanks CopyNazi. I generally don't talk specifics regarding income but I do earn 4 figures per month on amazon sites that I build using this philosophy as a guide. My personal preference is SEO but most of my sites are also Adwords-compliant because I follow these guidelines.
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    • Profile picture of the author cooler1
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Thanks CopyNazi. I generally don't talk specifics regarding income but I do earn 4 figures per month on amazon sites that I build using this philosophy as a guide. My personal preference is SEO but most of my sites are also Adwords-compliant because I follow these guidelines.
      Does TD Tech reviews get much search engine traffic even though the reviews are only about 50-100 words in length?
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      • Profile picture of the author LarryW
        If this thread has grown to include more than the original Affiliate Review Sites post .... and other topics, can I ask:

        Is there a problem with CPA sites, like does lack of content make Google hate those, or does using Adwords to such get grief from Google too?
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        • Profile picture of the author wegenbelasting
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          • Profile picture of the author eurotunes
            Originally Posted by wegenbelasting View Post

            Adwords wants to deal with a professional/real company that has something to offer, content doesn't matter when your selling stuff. I sold bikes, so all I had was a webshop with the bikes and a small description, like 28" rims, front suspension. Cause it are bikes almost all descriptions were equal, yeah little variations like 26" 24" 20" rims etc. The products sold thereselve so why write all kind of nonsense. People look for a bike, they find it, they buy it. If they want to read about bike routes they type that in Google.
            I agree a huge article isn't always necessary. BUT if it comes to affiliate sites (who sell or promote products from others), Google demands extra value. They don't like it to be just a copy of the original seller's site. They want some extras, to avoid getting lots of the same in the search results. Makes sense imho.
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            • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
              Originally Posted by eurotunes View Post

              I agree a huge article isn't always necessary. BUT if it comes to affiliate sites (who sell or promote products from others), Google demands extra value. They don't like it to be just a copy of the original seller's site. They want some extras, to avoid getting lots of the same in the search results. Makes sense imho.
              Exactly. However, this is what many affiliates get wrong.
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              • Profile picture of the author wegenbelasting
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                • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
                  Originally Posted by wegenbelasting View Post

                  I like the way you designed your site btw, care if I steal your design?
                  Thanks. The theme is a paid theme so you'd have to buy it. There are also a few paid plugins that I use and a few other customized plugins. They all work together to form create the site you see.

                  Quite a bit of work goes into setting up the initial framework but once its done, it only takes me 5-10 minutes to generate each product and another 5-10 to create laser-targeted (relevant) articles for each product for submission to Web 2.0 and such.

                  This all makes the theme only a small part of the success of my sites.
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                  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
                    Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

                    Thanks. The theme is a paid theme so you'd have to buy it. There are also a few paid plugins that I use and a few other customized plugins. They all work together to form create the site you see.

                    Quite a bit of work goes into setting up the initial framework but once its done, it only takes me 5-10 minutes to generate each product and another 5-10 to create laser-targeted (relevant) articles for each product for submission to Web 2.0 and such.

                    This all makes the theme only a small part of the success of my sites.
                    What length are your articles usually which you submit to web 2.0? I was just wondering if they have the same type of requirement as article directories which usually require the article to be at least 400 words.
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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by LarryW View Post

          Is there a problem with CPA sites, like does lack of content make Google hate those, or does using Adwords to such get grief from Google too?
          Regardless of what kind of site you own, lack of content can be a problem.

          Sites like the one below tend not to have too many problems with AdWords when I submit them because I build them (and present them) as e-commerce sites with lots of interactivity and information.
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          • Profile picture of the author thedog
            I hate them too! I use the weaver theme, which helps me build custom sites.

            I'm an amazon affiliate, pretty new, around 6 months at this... and the amount of rubbish sites is amazing..... why some people can't even spring $10 for a decent banner is beyond me.

            In the past couple of months I've seen a definite increase in terrible sites, using the amazon review theme.

            This used to bug the hell out of me, now I think it's kind of cool... all I need to do is out rank them, and make my site look better with better content, not hard to do.

            Hopefully google human reviews can weed out these nasty sites
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        That site is my newest site and is starting to get traffic. However, I own other sites with co siderably LESS content that are ranking extremely well. There is so much emphasis put on LOTS of content when in reality, little content ranks just as well if it is valuable and properly Seo'd.
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

        Does TD Tech reviews get much search engine traffic even though the reviews are only about 50-100 words in length?
        Total length of the reviews are much longer than 50-100 words. I picked one at random and it's 200-300 words. Short? Yes. 50 words? No.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnyeo90
    That's a good points..I love your post.. it is informative.. however, I didnt agree that site design do matter to conversion rate.. Comparing fancy one and basic theme, there are no big difference.. most importantly is the content decide everything..
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  • Profile picture of the author eurotunes
    I think wolfmmiii is completely right!

    Back in 2009 I got banned by AdWords because they considered my site being a bridgepage. Which it actually was!

    I started adding extras, offered visitors some exclusives, got active in social media and voila: 6 months later I was re-approved by AdWords.

    It's like Google says: enhance the user's experience
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  • Profile picture of the author eurotunes
    In general I can understand and endorse Google's guidelines. In the real world though the AdWords team(s) are horrible to work with sometimes, because every individual at Google intepretes these guidelines in his or her own way.

    Once my POC at Google had to re-approve my site 6(!!) times, just because some other wiseguy had another opinion. So working with them sometimes is a real pain in the #ss.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by eurotunes View Post

      In general I can understand and endorse Google's guidelines. In the real world though the AdWords team(s) are horrible to work with sometimes, because every individual at Google intepretes these guidelines in his or her own way.
      I can see how this can be a problem but the sites that I build (when I build them with AdWords in mind) very rarely have issues. Keep in mind that my design is slightly different when building for SEO rather than AdWords.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    My built-in article generators provide various-length articles. Some articles are shorter (150-200 words) and others are 400-500 words. Most of my sites that utilize these tools use several different templates.

    I also utilize a slide-generator that produces multi-media content.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Just a heads-up folks. I've uploaded a slightly revised version of my 17-page ebook entitled "Affiliate Sites for AdWords" to my site (ppcmarketingsecrets.com).

    If you'd like to download it (no opt-ins required), feel free.
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