I was just reading a post by Lynn saying that SEO is super easy....

[bornstein75]

I realise that SEO is super easy.......and it's so logical as to how to make money by setting up affiliate sites, it' so easy that a kid could do it.....but then why are so many people doing it, and not making much money, while others are making a fortune....???

We all know to set up a blog, write content, build backlinks, Artcile marketing..etc...etc...

Does it come down to the writing style, how well a person conveys a message in their blog....where they happen to market their site...what niche they are in???

If this is the case, if you can't write so well, then do you have a hope at conveying the same message that someone who can write and make the same amount of money...?

Sometimes I just wish i could sit down with the experts for 1 day and see exactly what they do and how they make SEO work so they rake in the big dollars....

I guess it comes down to persistance and not giving up....

I'm just feeling a little despondent....putting so much effort in, following all the right tips and ideas, but nothing is happening yet....

Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon.....:)

I just had write the way i feel...any motivational messages would be great...:)

Thanks for listening to me...:)

[Lady T]

Another question: If I'm writing about Tiger Woods and 17,492 people are also then does it boil down to who put his name in the content more often?

If I don't have any backlinks for this (hypothetical) post that was written (hypothetically) today. Then does it boil down to how many I have for my over all blog? And if that's the case than doesn't the person w/the oldest, most linked-up blog/site win?

[yuri21]

In response to the first post by bornstein75, btw.

1 reason:
Well 'cos some people try to use super-old techniques that might have worked once and which are no longer useful. About a few months ago, if you'd asked me what SEO meant(I wasn't doing Internet marketing then): I'd have replied that it meant throwing a big bunch of keyword terms. ;D It was a technique that was popular in the late 90s, and which I still see some people use. :p

[TheWealthSquad]

You left out a very important step. Keyword research. The key is finding long tail keywords that have a decent amount of traffic and relatively weak competition.

Traffic is step one. Finding a long tail word with no traffic doesn't help any. Google this

Mark Joyner Business Coach

My site is #1. Great SEO right? I get a couple of visitors a MONTH from that phrase. I did a couple of social bookmarks of the site and I think 3 or 4 backlinks from reasonable sites.

Search volume matters a lot with affiliate marketing.

Volume Plus Ranking is the first part of the equation. That gets you eyeballs on your site.

Now you need products that convert. Every step of the way you will have leakage. If you start out with 100 people every day searching for the term, you lose some because they don't click on your link (even if you are #1 on Google, Bing and Yahoo). You lose some because your writing doesn't presell them. (PS if you don't think you can write, hire someone to write a couple of posts and see if they do better.) Then the ones that get to the offer don't all purchase. Each step you lose eyeballs.

Search Volume Times Keyword ranking Times CTR Times Purchase conversion = Money

Do you know each of those numbers? Do you know where in the process your sales funnel is breaking down?

[drmani]

Sometimes I just wish i could sit down with the experts for 1 day and see exactly what they do and how they make SEO work

A couple of years back, I did a short 2 week program like that,
called the "Authority Site Process". Of course, the work is ongoing
after the 14 days, but most participants were encouraged after
seeing RESULTS - which is half the battle!

If there's enough interest in it, I'll pull out the files and do it again
this month - and like last time, it will be FREE.

No, YOU won't be able to replicate the results within the same time
frame, because I leverage properties that were built over 2 years
for this process, but you'll see HOW to build them for yourself (and
they are NOT complex or hard to create)

I'll let Lynn chime in too about whether it's appropriate to do it here,
and how best to structure it, if it's a "Go".



I'm just feeling a little despondent....putting so much effort in, following all the right tips and ideas, but nothing is happening yet....

Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon.....:)

I *often* feel that way - and yes, we expect things to happen faster
than they do.

One lesson time has taught me is to do the work, and then leave it
to simmer while you focus on other things. Surprisingly, one fine day,
you'll notice a rush of traffic or sales - and realize the work you did
earlier has had impact.

It's kind of like gardening, where you plant a seed, water, weed, and
watch. Nothing seems to happen - until, one magical day, a tiny
shoot appears, then grows, flowers, bears fruit.

Was that motivational enough?

Or should I contrast SEO against bringing up kids?!!! :D

All success
Dr.Mani

[Henrik Flensborg]

I guess it comes down to persistance and not giving up....


I think you're spot on here.

Knowing how to perfectly match products+type of niche+writing style+page layout+keyword research+offsite SEO+onsite SEO+mindset of your visitors is not something that magically becomes a reality.

Some people are good with words, some people have great insights into the mindsets of their visitors, some people are great at brainstorming keywords, some people are good at analysing keywords, some people are good at defining meaningful splittests, some people know their way around designing website layouts etc etc - but they almost always became good at their stuff through trial and error (consciously or subconsciously).

So, persistence is definitely key here.

Forget about all the "I came from nothing, knowing nothing about marketing, and stumbled by accident upon a hidden secret that nobody else in the whole wide internet marketing world had thought of before and now I make a gazillion $$$ every second - and double that amount when I'm sleeping" success stories where you can become equally successful if you just put down an initial payment of $97 and opts in for an upsell or two and signs up for a monthly $47 subscription to get "mastermind coaching"

Just take it one step at a time, implement it then test it - if it worked, then move on to the next thing - if it didn't work, then modify it a bit and test it again.

Also, I've found that scheduling tasks makes me much more productive, and less prone to drift off into unproductive additional research and learning.

Another thing that I've found useful is to document the process, the implementation details and the results.

So now I have a checklist of how I like to set up my WP blogs, I have a spreadsheet with the keywords I've chosen to go after and another spreadsheet where I keep track of which pages I've submitted to which SB sites, added to which profiles and other places I've managed to secure a backlink.

Some people go into more details, some people prefer less details, but a good approach to documentation have always been to document everything in the beginning and then gradually documenting less and less as you figure out which is essential for you to keep track of.

It's a process with lots of different variables and the only way to be consistently successful is by continually tweaking and tuning.

And it's an area that is constantly changing, so what's working today might not work 6 months from now. But don't worry about that now. The initial learning curve is steep enough to also worry about changes in the playingfield.

So, keep at it, hang around Lynn's place and don't think of this as something where an easy fix or hidden secret is always just another purchase away.

[jkgourmet]

Henrick, thank you. That's a great post. I envy your ability to keep so organized and focused.

I have two questions:

1. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this: "I keep track of which pages I've submitted to which SB sites, added to which profiles and other places I've managed to secure a backlink." And why would you want to keep track of places that you've secured a backlink?

2. Care to share that WP set up checklist? I know I'm not alone in saying that it would be very helpful to many of us, but I do understand that you may want to keep it to yourself. Either way, I appreciate your contributions here. Nice to have you aboard!

[Henrik Flensborg]

Henrick, thank you. That's a great post. I envy your ability to keep so organized and focused.

I'm not always organized and focused - but I try to steer that way as soon as I realize I've drifted.



1. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this: "I keep track of which pages I've submitted to which SB sites, added to which profiles and other places I've managed to secure a backlink." And why would you want to keep track of places that you've secured a backlink?


Because it always good to keep a list of "link friendly" places.

There's basically two different types of backlinks that I like to keep track of:

1) Blogroll type links is one. Acquired through personal contact with the website owner. It's nice to know the next time I venture into a related niche.

2) Blog comment links that have actually gone live. Sometimes a blog comment goes into the moderation queue - and stays there. I like to know which blogs are actually worth the effort in putting together a real and genuine blog comment.



2. Care to share that WP set up checklist? I know I'm not alone in saying that it would be very helpful to many of us, but I do understand that you may want to keep it to yourself. Either way, I appreciate your contributions here.


I'll see what I can do - most likely not this weekend though because we're away both days for dressage competitions.


Nice to have you aboard!

Nice to be back ;-)

[Lynn Terry]

I have a few links/tutorials to add to the discussion:

How to Start A WordPress Blog (http://www.clicknewz.com/1872/how-to-start-a-wordpress-blog/) (Checklist)

Web Page Optimization (http://www.clicknewz.com/2103/web-page-optimization/) (Checklist)

Choosing Keywords & Phrases (http://www.clicknewz.com/2077/seo-content-choosing-keywords-phrases/) (SEO Content)

There are 2 main reasons that I see frequently why some people don't do as well at SEO or affiliate marketing as others. The first is obvious: they quit.

I liked Dr. Mani's example of the garden - and most people do all the prep work and then fail to fertilize or water it more than maybe once or twice before they give up and move on to dig another hole.

The second is that they are not in the business mindset of "how can I serve this market" and create a profitable business model in this niche. Instead they are thinking "how can I make money online".

If you just want to make fast cash, do some freelancing. That's easy. But creating an affiliate site and getting into SEO is a business model with long-term profit potential. There's a big difference.

[Lynn Terry]

Micheal is right - for "hot topics" or trends, social properties are the best way to rise quick (may also tank quick, but that's okay). YouTube, blog post, twitter, squidoo, etc.

[Lynn Terry]

Good points Nate - welcome to the forum! ;)

I always start a new site targeting longtail low-volume keyword phrases (very specific intent) and let it grow from there. It's definitely not an overnight money maker, but I do usually start making sales within 3-6 weeks. I'd cry if it were 12 months! Kudos to you for sticking it out!!

[angienewton]

Welcome Nate! Glad to have you here.

[TheWealthSquad]

Two very important comments were just made.

Lynn said she starts with LOW VOLUME search keywords with targeted content and lets it grow from there. Why? Because she can get to the front of Google quickly with those type of keywords and capture targeted traffic quickly. Traffic that is ready to buy.

The other comment by NateCheely - It must be treated like a business

Too many people come online thinking it is get rich quick or no work at all. It is a business. Create value and you will become wealthy. Just like any other business.

Franchises work because they have a system in place. IM is the same way. Find a system that works and leverage it. Then it is just a matter of wash, rinse repeat.

[jwginn]

I realise that SEO is super easy.......and it's so logical as to how to make money by setting up affiliate sites, it' so easy that a kid could do it.....but then why are so many people doing it, and not making much money, while others are making a fortune....???

Bornstein,

Thanks for creating such a wonderful discussion point. There have been some great points made already in response. I would like to offer a few additional points if I may.

1. Defining purpose. Everything you doing with your internet business must have a purpose. This starts at the very broad with questions that include:

What are my goals?
What is my business model?
How will I know when I've reached/accomplished my goals?


to very specific questions such as:

Why am I using this program, app, model?
What is the purpose of my blog?


In the past I have been guilty of buying the latest IM product without a purpose. If you're doing bum marketing, do you really need the latest seller on ppc? (as an example) Many times we're distracted with tasks and programs that have nothing to do with accomplishing a goal. If you follow Lynn on Twitter you will notice that there are times where it seems she is tweeting every few seconds...but there are periods where her twittersphere goes silent. I've heard her say...that when work time comes she will shut it off. In summary work, we can be busy doing busy work, but non-productive work if that makes any sense...

finally you had mentioned that you were feeling a little despondent waiting and waiting. That is to be understood and all of us live there sometimes (I think) ...Might I suggest that the culture is partially to blame in an age where we have the 24 hour Wal-Mart, Redbox, microwaves, etc...We expect results 5 minutes ago....

The marketing culture has not helped this in some ways where we read about marketers promising that "If you buy their product, your hair will stop thinning, you'll make a million, your relationship will improve instantly, and the waste line will drop to your desired size....and the proof is in the 94 year old grandma in Peru who has no electricity and worked for 30 minutes a few nights a week" I jest...but you understand the point...

It takes time...However if you study, and act, with a little patience, and dare I say a little tlc, something will give.

Cheering you on.

Jeremy

[bornstein75]

Wow...i never thought my post would generate such an awesome discussion...I feel famous for a second...:-)

Thanks for all the input, encouragement, tips and ideas...you have all been wonderful!

I just have a few more questions to raise here:

It makes so much sense that it's all about building a community and relationships with people...that's what selling is all about...build trust and people buy.

But let's say you are in a niche that you know little about but you have still set up a blog, and are marketing products and writing posts etc....you have also decided to use a pen name because you don't really want to be associated with that niche....how can you honestly have a blog where you genuinely build relationships with people who comment, as well as build relationships with people on twitter in this niche.....also how can you do this if you have multiple sites which are set up the same way....it's just not possible to keep up with this all the time...so surely there are some of you out there who have sites that are generating good income but you haven't built up relationships and a community around your blog?

So how do you make it work in this instance??

Not all of us have a passion where we have set up a site using our real name to create a community and build relationships...like Lynn has on her site ClickNewz. I can definately see how her site would make income...it's informative and an awesome community...and the way she markets affiliate products in her blog posts etc...is very clever...(Good on you Lynn...love your site, and love your posts!) But not everyone wants to set up a site with that intent...so how do you make it work???

I feel like I'm missing something here??? Or am I on the wrong track????

[Lynn Terry]

Not every site is based on a personality or auther. Some are focused on a topic or product instead. I outlined this in my latest post on affiliate site options (http://www.clicknewz.com/2164/affiliate-marketing-tips-site-options/).

[jwginn]

But let's say you are in a niche that you know little about but you have still set up a blog, and are marketing products and writing posts etc....you have also decided to use a pen name because you don't really want to be associated with that niche....

Bornstein,

Lynn just raised a great point that different blogs have different purposes. Some are personality driven, while some are product/topic driven. I am sure the experienced marketers would argue that even the prod/topic blogs must have elements of passion. There has to be some enthusiasm behind the writing.

There are differing perspectives on niche blogging. I personally would argue that starting out, one should stick to blogging what they know and believe in while keeping in line with keywords, seo, yada yada yada...

While it is possible to succeed blogging about things you don't know much about, it requires:

additional research
forced creativity (which risks coming off as passionless)
quicker burn out (get bored, stuck, etc..)


With preparation and presentation you can thrive...it might just take extra effort and a bit of innovation...

just my .02

Cheering you on....

Jeremy

[Joseph Ratliff]

A couple of years back, I did a short 2 week program like that,
called the "Authority Site Process". Of course, the work is ongoing
after the 14 days, but most participants were encouraged after
seeing RESULTS - which is half the battle!

If there's enough interest in it, I'll pull out the files and do it again
this month - and like last time, it will be FREE.

No, YOU won't be able to replicate the results within the same time
frame, because I leverage properties that were built over 2 years
for this process, but you'll see HOW to build them for yourself (and
they are NOT complex or hard to create)

I'll let Lynn chime in too about whether it's appropriate to do it here,
and how best to structure it, if it's a "Go".



I *often* feel that way - and yes, we expect things to happen faster
than they do.

One lesson time has taught me is to do the work, and then leave it
to simmer while you focus on other things. Surprisingly, one fine day,
you'll notice a rush of traffic or sales - and realize the work you did
earlier has had impact.

It's kind of like gardening, where you plant a seed, water, weed, and
watch. Nothing seems to happen - until, one magical day, a tiny
shoot appears, then grows, flowers, bears fruit.

Was that motivational enough?

Or should I contrast SEO against bringing up kids?!!! :D

All success
Dr.Mani

Dr. Mani speaks wise words...anyone who reads his response would be wise to heed them.

I love the gardening analogy too...it's a perfect description of how an internet business grows in the beginning stages.