Still much money to be made from the affiliate game?

[chrisuk]

Tweet

That site would have longevity trouble in the current climate imho, a better way for adwords would be to switch to fewer ads and add text, useful utilities etc to create a undeniably unique experience. Even then ensure you use redirects on ads. The problem though is that you dont want to create leakage and thus good user experience and profit are a hard balance to meet. I think the ads on this page are cpa but even if they were cpc the issues are similar.

However the original page would still be fine in adcenter etc, in adwords I find you increasingly have to ensure you dont look like an affiliate, even if you are one.

[axod]

Seems like a very very fuzzy sliding scale to me.

All websites supported by advertising want their users to click on adverts - obviously.
It just depends on how much real content/useful stuff there is for the consumer at the website.

Even if there is essentially no original content it still seems to me that the website can perform as useful - it's connected the merchant with the affiliate, and is directing visitors through to the merchant, and taking a cut - exactly what affiliate networks do. As long as it's not masquerading as the merchant or otherwise confusing visitors.

Thing I get bored with is endless comparison sites. Seems to me that's been overdone to death now.

[Ambski]

I found this site when looking into Arbitrage definitions (after having read the link in the previous post) - Arbitrage Defined

Does this mean the death of Domain/Hosting providers buying up all the good domain names simply to put up a page of 'Directory style' info? (For example: www dot retailstore dot com)

Because if so, HURRAH!

[axod]

Does this mean the death of Domain/Hosting providers buying up all the good domain names simply to put up a page of 'Directory style' info?
(For example: www dot retailstore dot com)

Because if so, HURRAH!

God I hope so. It'd be more effective IMHO though to make the cost of a domain closer to it's worth - say £1,000 to register a domain name. And end the scams that let them register it then return it and not pay the registration fee.

The people running those networks are scum IMHO. Taking up all the useful domain names, and filling them with spam.

[chrisuk]

Many of the reasons things have got harder is because of saturation, too many people learning and trying a model as it gains ground. Adsense didn't help either as all of a sudden any kid with a home page could slap up ppc ads.

If you are a ppc affiliate in the click business esp if you are just starting it is rather tough to get going and drive the traffic as so many will need to buy their users. Even established players are finding maintaining volume hard and very expensive.

I think to earn well and keep it going you have to try new angles, perhaps small micro sites with articles or even buy established sites of sitepoint and do them up and keep trying new things, the lazy people just slap a feed page up but really you can keep doing that where it works and just get creative with other ideas and sources.

[gadget]

These 'domains parked - here's are lots of adsense adverts' are definitely going to be penalised by this (perhaps they already are).

My concern is the type of sites that have purpose, are user friendly, are obviously well built but also include a list of merchants with affiliate links attached.

[chrisuk]

arb, domaining, feed sites - all been strong cpc models for last 7-8 years, if ur a ppc affiliate you love em if you are a retailer or cpa affiliate you probably don't want em.

I love em, done it for years and years, all thats happened last 18mths is that its gone mainstream and you gotta adapt. This year I tried some new stuff, cpa lead gen and I found the tables turned with cpc sites squeezing my adspace so I can quite see the different perspectives depending what side of the fence you sit.

[gadget]

If Google devalues these sites from a PPC perspective, one assumes they also devalue them from a natural algo point of view too?

[sim007_]

Thing I get bored with is endless comparison sites. Seems to me that's been overdone to death now.

I like comparison sites. Granted, there are quite a few around but I would much rather go to one page and be able to view the prices of a product from a large selection of providers instead of a page full of affiliate banners linking to each of the providers where I have to check them all out individually. Likewise I would rather see what's available across the whole market rather than go off one guys review.

A comparison type site is the direction I was going to go for my next big project, in the travel sector.

[axod]

I like comparison sites. Granted, there are quite a few around but I would much rather go to one page and be able to view the prices of a product from a large selection of providers instead of a page full of affiliate banners linking to each of the providers where I have to check them all out individually. Likewise I would rather see what's available across the whole market rather than go off one guys review.

A comparison type site is the direction I was going to go for my next big project, in the travel sector.

Yeah but kelkoo, frugal, pricerunner, ciao, and all the other ones... You only really need a few of these on the internet, not a million *yawn*

[sim007_]

Yeah but kelkoo, frugal, pricerunner, ciao, and all the other ones... You only really need a few of these on the internet, not a million *yawn*

Oh yes I see where your coming from. In the search engine results comparison sites like those are everywhere. I dont plan on littering the search engine with price comparison pages like that though. I have a few slightly more cunning plans up my sleeve on the marketing side.

It's just the price comparison search functionality I want to implement, to develop a dynamic packaging type afair. Still very much in the planning stage.

[Alfie]

Whilst price comparison sites are an over represented genre in my opinion, i think there is still room for "niche" price comparison sites - and to be honest, i don't come across too many price comparison sites that do the job terribly effectively. So i think there is still gaps in the market for someone with a fresh perspective and some original idea's - but to just produce the same thing as already exists would be pointless.

In regards to FunkyMonkeys point about Google devaluing ppc landing pages from an SEO point of view, i think thats spot on, but the SEO algorithm would take into account additional criteria - so a page could be slapped for the same reasons a ppc could rank low, but could recover points from an seo point of view from other criteria.

[aotagain]

I wonder whether Google has what you might call an evolutionary policy when it comes to policing websites. By the time they remove a given set of sites which they regard as not useful to searchers, another type will crop up.

Perhaps evolution itself will remove the sites or reason for them existing.

I know of several friends now who only ever use one price comparison site - basically because the others wind them up. If you're searching for appliances and Comet doesn't appear, the comparison site immediately has no credibility.

Someone commented earlier that the domain squatters for this-that-and-theother directory titles might not have a future. I think that's right. Things are going the old-fashioned way. Brand recognition is more important than the domain name.

Bit by bit, the identity of comparison sites (for instance) is becoming clouded - there are too many compare-this-that etc. domains.

The sites that will come out at the end of it are imo those that have an odd name and pursue their branding ruthlessly and cleverly.

Why isn't the most popular search engine called thesearchengine.com or bigsearch.com or worldsearch.com or, or, or....?

Its because someone called something Google and really thought about it properly.

Goodbye cheapwidgets.com, hello stinkypoo.com with whatever it sells (if you get my drift).

[Ambski]

I wonder whether Google has what you might call an evolutionary policy when it comes to policing websites. By the time they remove a given set of sites which they regard as not useful to searchers, another type will crop up.

Perhaps evolution itself will remove the sites or reason for them existing.

I know of several friends now who only ever use one price comparison site - basically because the others wind them up. If you're searching for appliances and Comet doesn't appear, the comparison site immediately has no credibility.

Someone commented earlier that the domain squatters for this-that-and-theother directory titles might not have a future. I think that's right. Things are going the old-fashioned way. Brand recognition is more important than the domain name.

Bit by bit, the identity of comparison sites (for instance) is becoming clouded - there are too many compare-this-that etc. domains.

The sites that will come out at the end of it are imo those that have an odd name and pursue their branding ruthlessly and cleverly.

Why isn't the most popular search engine called thesearchengine.com or bigsearch.com or worldsearch.com or, or, or....?

Its because someone called something Google and really thought about it properly.

Goodbye cheapwidgets.com, hello stinkypoo.com with whatever it sells (if you get my drift).

Good point well made.