Finding Keywords When Your Chosen Product Has No S...

Finding a product to promote, is key. However, finding a product that has keywords with search volume is even more important. If your keyword doesn’t have search volume, you get no traffic. Period. In the Christmas Cash Blueprint I suggest you go directly to Amazon to find a product.  The purpose of doing this is to find a place to start doing your keyword research. This will give you an idea, and from there you can look for a good keyword. A good keyword being a keyword that has over 1000 searches a month and low competition.

I understand all this can be somewhat confusing, and let’s try to get a little clearer about it.

Yes. You want a product specific keyword. But it doesn’t have to be exactly the product description posted on Amazon. I have looked at the same product on multiple sites and the product name/title is different on each site ~ so this is not a hard and fast product name ~ it’s a place to get you started.

Here’s a video that walks through finding a product at Amazon, realizing it had no search volume and then finding a keyword that would work to still promote that product.

Here’s the video:

Here’s the text version of the video:

Step 1. Go to amazon and find a product. I went to the watches category, and just looked around. I’m looking for a product with a price point over $200, and some GOOD reviews ~ more the better.

Step 2. I found a watch I wanted to check out. It only has 3 reviews ~ I usually like to have more reviews than 3, but you can’t beat the price point, so I decided to test it.

Step 3. Take the whole product name and put it in the google keyword tool (or micro niche finder). Click the exact match button (top right hand side of the screen of google kw tool ~ mnf is set to this as default), and check how much search volume the exact keyword gets.

Step 4. The keyword has not enough info ~ which means not enough search volume.

Step 5. Start looking through the other keywords that came up with it for keywords that are related to your product and have over 1000 searches. Look for something with the brand name, or specific model in them ~ the more specific the better. ** This may end up taking you in a completely different direction than the one you came from and THAT’S OK!! Go with it ~ this is research, go where the facts take you.

Step 6. Found another possible keyword ~ went back to Amazon to look and see if I could find a decent product to promote with the new keyword. Looking for price point over $200 and good reviews ~ the more the better. If you’re doing this on MNF ~ click the new keyword and then click the search amazon link and it will take you right there.

Step 7. Found a produc that fit my requirements and matched the keyword I found.

Step 8. Go to Google and check out the competition. Using the SEO for firefox tool to show me the PR of each site on the first page, I add up the PR ~ 30 or less total 3 or less average is a go. If you are using Micro Niche Finder click the SOC button (far right) and see what comes up ~ I look for SOC of 20 and under, but anything up to 30 or 40 will probably work. Just remember, the lower this number the easier it will be to get your lens ranked in Google.

Step 9. If the competition fits my requirements I call it a good keyword and start making a lens. I will use the new keyword as the lens url, title and do all the other on page seo I need to do to get some google love.

That’s it. The key here though is to find keywords that HAVE SEARCH VOLUME. It’s pointless to grab the words written on Amazon for the product name and use them if no one is searching for them.  Rearrange them, try different portions of the keyword, check other words that come up in the search ~ find something completely related to a product, but it MUST have search volume.

If you have any questions please ask them in the comment section ~ I hope this helped clear up some confusion surrounding product related keywords.

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Sometimes You Gotta Change Things UP

The biggest problem with being an internet marketing teacher and giving such step by step information, like I do, is your readers take you so literally.

I know everyone wants a road map. I know I wanted a road map when I was just getting started. I wanted someone to say “here do this and you’ll be successful and making money”. I RRRR wanted a list. So I could just follow the list and make money.

Hear me. Internet Marketing Does NOT work that way. I can give you a list. Hell, I have given you a list. The minute you decide you can ONLY do what’s on the list is the minute you decide to fail.

I’ve been getting some emails and comments that it’s becoming harder to find “good keywords” with the Google kw tool. That may be so. I don’t know. I don’t really use it much anymore. I know Google has made some changes to it recently and that may be part of the issue.  You’ve got two choices then… buy a tool that will help you do it, or change your strategy a little bit.

There are a million ways to make these product lenses work. I showed you one way that generally works for me. But if you go through my lenses you’ll see they aren’t all Christmas Cash Lenses. In fact, most of them aren’t. Mix it up, try new things. It’s the only way you’re going to grow as a business person. You’ve got to start learning what works for YOU, and that only happens by getting out there, trying new things, and knowing some of them will work, and some of them will be great big huge flops. Either way… you benefit.

I went through my old Micro Niche Finder Folders and found some keywords I would make lenses out of. They probably wouldn’t follow the template of a regular SCC lens ~ but they will work just the same.

I’m going to give them to you… I’d like to see you run with them. If you pick a keyword and do an original type lens with it, come back and tell me and I’ll put it through Traffic Bug for you if you don’t have it already. I want to see some of YOUR work, YOUR originality, YOUR personality.

Here’s the keywords:

Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

*** Notice ***

Kelly, a member of the KISS Club, has taken some bold action in her business. She has opened a new Quality PLR site. Her first PLR pack is up and for sale. Her prices are very reasonable and her writing is excellent.

Her first pack is related to Christmas Gifts. If you need some content maybe to use on free ad blogs, UAW, a spinner, to create a hubpage? PLR is great for all of that. Take a look and support a fellow community member.

Quality PLR Zone

What to Do When You Can’t Use Amazon

This morning a KISS Club member told me about some of the payment issues she’s having with Amazon since she lives in Canada. She decided she no longer wanted to use Amazon as her primary affiliate network and wondered what else was available. I answered her question and we’re working together to figure out her best options, but I wanted to talk today about the alternatives to Amazon.

There are many other options, and they are a little more complicated, but they are out there.

My two favorite are Shareasale and Linkshare. I find these two to be the easiest to get around and get what I need.

To become a member of these affiliate networks you will need a website. (lenses will not count). Don’t worry ~ a free blog at blogger will count! If you’ve set up your “gift blog” at blogger that will work just fine. If you haven’t set up a free blog yet, check out this post on setting up a free blog. Once you have that blog set up you can use it on your application to the networks. (make sure you put a little bit of content on there ~ maybe 5 or 6 posts)

Once you’ve been accepted you’ll have to look around to find a merchant (store that sells the product) that sells what you’re looking for within the network.

In the header area of ShareaSale you’ll see a column that says Find/Join merchants:

Click on the first link to view and search merchant list.

Your next screen will bring up the options related to merchants you want to look at. Pick “pay per sale” this means when someone purchases through your link you will get a commission on the sale.

As you can see there are over 3 thousand merchants to choose from… so you should definitely be able to find something to suit your needs.

TIP: Don’t come to the affiliate networks to “look” for a product. Do your browsing for product ideas at amazon ~ or shopping.com. Come to the network when you’re ready to find the specific product you want to promote. These networks are not great for just browsing for something to promote.

You will have to apply to the program before you can use the links from the merchant ~ so if you are using these networks it may be a good idea to key in on a specific niche (products sold from the same store) so you don’t have to keep waiting to get accepted to all the merchant programs.

On the next page you’ll see a search box ~ put in a rather general term for the product you’re looking for. Ex.. for the keyword Ironman Gravity 4000 Inversion Table I have used inversion table in the search box.  There are only two options that pop up for inversion table ~ neither of which have the product I was hoping to promote. But they do have another brand of inversion table so I would probably go in and do some additional research on that brand.

Using affiliate networks is HARDER for sure.

Here’s another option. Find a large store and become an affiliate for them.

Walmart’s affiliate program is through Linkshare

Target’s Affiliate program is through Google Affiliate network

It won’t be quite as easy as using Amazon ~ but it will be much easier having so many products all in one place.

Back to linkshare:

Once you’ve found a merchant that offers what you want to promote apply to their program. You can do that by clicking the “join this program” link

Some programs will accept you immediately ~ some will take some time. Some will accept you and some won’t. It’s all part of the process. If you don’t get accepted don’t get down on yourself. It really is just part of the process. I’ve been denied to my fair share of merchants.

Once you’ve been accepted by a merchant you want to get a link to the product. You can get to the link area by clicking get a link in the header of the page.

Once you click the first link to get link/banner you’ll have a drop down box of all the programs you are a part of. Highlight the program you want to get the link for and then click “refresh the report” (it’s over on the right hand side and easy to miss)

Your merchant will show up and then click the “get links” link to get to the link area.

Now open a new tab in your browser and go to the website of the merchant. (in this example it’s mygowns.com)

Find the specific product on their website that you want to link to.  Grab the url to that SPECIFIC product. ex: http://www.mygowns.com/beknpe.html leads to a specific below the knee petticoat.

Go back to sharesale and click the “create a custom link” tab.

When this opens there will be some spaces to fill in.

Destination url ~ that is the url you took from the merchant site to the specific product.  ex: http://www.mygowns.com/beknpe.html

That’s where you want the link you’re creating to go when someone clicks it.

Additional tracking ~ you can leave it blank or you can add something that will let you know where you’re putting this specific link (ex: sqgl ~ squidoo gown lens) it’s sometimes nice to know where you’re sales are coming from, but it’s not a deal breaker so don’t get stuck on it.

Once you’ve added that information click “create custom link”. It will pop out with a longer link that starts with shareasale.

ex: http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=250737&b=124465&m=17504&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Emygowns%2Ecom%2Fbeknpe%2Ehtml

Once you’ve created your custom link you will use it to create your anchor text links in your lenses ~ just as you would from Amazon.

Yes, it’s much more of a process, and it’s not as easy ~ but if Amazon isn’t available to you ~ it’s an option.

Choose Your Weapon…

I talk about keyword research a lot around here. I know I do. It’s because it is the most important thing. It’s the foundation of your lens! When I talk about keyword research I offer different options, different tools, different ways to go about learning the things you need to know to choose a good keyword.

I do this because I want to provide information that will fit everyone ~ what they have available to them, be it free tools, or paid tools.

But here’s the deal.

YOU CAN’T USE ALL THE METHODS!

I offer all the options so people can choose the one that works best for their circumstances, for what they have. If you don’t have cash right now and need free methods ~ use the free methods I’ve described.

HOWEVER…

If you get the cash and pick up Micro Niche Finder, quit using the free methods and use the Micro Niche Finder methods. The numbers you will get from a paid product will always trump the free methods I’ve given you. The paid tools have technology behind them ~ they put together a bunch more information, more variables, more stuff ~ and run it through their “formula” and pop out a number that you can use to make a decision. All of this information put together adds up to a more accurate reading of the keyword.

The free methods I offer you in finding search volume and competition are down and dirty techniques. They are meant to give you a place to start. Once you get started and you’ve invested in a tool ~ use the tool.  The tool will always give you better information than the free methods.

Trying to use the methods described for tools, and the free methods will only lead you to confusion and frustration ~ I promise.

So choose your weapon and use it, and don’t try to mix and match. It just doesn’t work.

If you’re still having trouble with keyword research I highly recommend rereading this post about the secret to getting traffic. I just did and it’s really good. It shows methods for using both free tools and Micro Niche Finder ~ but remember ~ only use one method depending on the tools you have available to you.

On another note…

Charter membership for KISS Club is full… however, due to  some technical glitches I was unable to close the charter membership when I wanted to.  So… you win. I am keeping the charter membership (and its insanely low price) open until Monday morning (that’s Kansas Monday morning). So if you’ve been thinking about joining the KISS Club and want in for the charter membership price I’d do it now.  The public price will be at least double the charter membership pricing. (just so you know)

Christmas is coming…

If you start looking around in the “real” world you’ll see that stores are starting to gear up for the holidays. The end caps are going up, new toys on display.

If you’re looking to promote toys one great way to get in on an up and coming wave is to watch the stores. What new toys do they have prominently displayed? What toys have an entire end cap to themselves?

Have you picked up the Toys R Us big book of toys yet? An excellent place to do some research.

Lists are coming up… lists of top 10 toys for the 2010 holiday season. Worth looking at. Even if a toy has a bit lower price point than you would normally promote… if it hits big like Zhu Zhu Pets, or any of the Elmo dolls a front page ranking can make you a lot of money when people are scrambling to get their kid the toy they HAVE to have this holiday season.

I remember when I was younger… I just HAD to have a cabbage patch doll. It was the year you couldn’t find a cabbage patch doll to save your life. Even less a red headed one! Somehow my mom got her hands on one. (Man I wish I had been an internet marketer then)

Anyway… all I’m saying is start looking around. Take your cues from local stores. They have market research companies behind them telling them what’s going to be big this year. You may not find search volume for it, but sometimes those risky, wing it and see lenses can be huge payouts.

TV is another great place to get lens ideas.  You’re likely to start seeing ads for the “hot” toys now, so they can get the kids all wrapped up in having this new “IT” toy for Christmas. They have to get the kids invested now, so they can start begging and torturing their parents.

This is the same for other products ~ toys are just easiest to spot. If you watch your store displays you’ll see “hot” new grown up ideas as well. Also check infomercials ~ a great way to land yourself in a great product. It’s already well known from TV.  (Definitely check your competition on those kind of products though ~ all the searches in the world don’t mean anything if you can’t get yourself to the first page of Google)

So who’s up for a trip to the mall?

Should You Promote Low Priced Items?

Yesterday at the Kiss Club we got involved in an interesting discussion about product selection. While I generally look for products that are over $100 dollars to promote one of the members brought up the fact that your commission level is based on the number of sales made.

She asked:

Wouldn’t it make sense to promote some low priced items to make more sales and up my commission level?

Hmm… well that sounds like a pretty smart idea to me.

I did some research and then my brain started going around in circles with the possible ways to make this work.  I think that creating lenses that will give you decent commissions is smart ~ I also think it’s smart to find a way to get 6 sales to move up to a higher percentage payout. It’s giving yourself a raise!

Here’s some ideas I had:

1. If you have a blog, review something related to your blog that is a low price to get a few sales. The few sales will bump you up to the next payout level.

2. Do a lens on a small item with tons of search volume to get you up to the next level.

3. Read amazon’s blog for more ideas.

I was there today and they are some smart smart people! There are tons of ideas in just the first page of posts!

4. If you have a blog keep up to date on the specials going on at Amazon. Like this month there is a huge sale on school clothes. There is also a magazine offer going on ~ 2 years for the price of 1. You may find some great deals that are relevant to your site ~ in fact, if you’ve got lenses that are getting traffic you could go back and add something related to the special. (which makes me think I have a couple parenting lenses that the clothes thing might work well on!) These huge deals may not make you a fortune in commission, but they will help you move to the next commission level which gives you a raise with no additional work, on your low priced items, but also the high priced items you’ve been doing lenses on.

5. The Amazon blog is also an excellent place to find ideas for lenses! Did you know that Amazon sells text books? Get a syllabus and a reading list for some colleges and get started! Psych 101 ~ here’s the books. This was just one of the many many ideas that popped into my head reading the amazon blog ~ and I must admit ~ it’s the first time I’ve ever been there. What  a resource I’ve been missing out on!

So what do you think? Is it worth selling some low priced items? Will you? How will you add that to your strategy? Tell me in the comments! I wanna know!