Well guys, I'm the usual noob. I recently built a site, blog, and blew a bunch of money on massive advertising through FB, Google, Bing, and I'm sure I missing some........ I am actually a comp. programmer at my "real" job and would consider myself quite savvy, but I am just nowhere near a designer or developer. I know how to do it, but like clothing, I don't know what all the kids now a days are looking for, or what the best presentation is for a good response. I have had about 40k hits in the last month, but I haven't made the first dime. I know it takes time and I have a lot of it, but I have the sneaking suspicion that I need to find a new way to present my ideas/affiliates. I am just not a big fan of posting the individual products from affiliates other than Amazon Associates since they show pricing. I am going to stop there for questions I guess, I could "blabber" on forever if I don't stop myself.
Hi awcforever, Deborah's right. Forty thousand visitors should definitely have produced some results, even if it was just a single sale. The traffic you've been buying has quite obviously not been "ready to buy" targeted traffic for starters, but the landing pages may not have been what they were looking for based on your ads. I took a look at your site and can see some problems right off the bat. Don't take this as personal criticism but rather constructive criticism. Your site is more or less a simple storefront with no real content to draw in the visitor and presell them to purchase something you've offered. Buyers need to usually be warmed up for the sale. Having said that, your site is not even a specialty store but rather a warehouse that has everything under the sun. You're advertising everything from cell phones to gardening tools, to fishing gear, to snowboarding equipment. Most people are not going to purchase from a site like that (no matter how much money you spend on advertising), unless it's a well-known brand, like Walmart or Home Depot, etc. Don't despair. You just need to get a better understanding of how affiliate marketing works and how to engage your visitors in a way that they trust what you are saying and are pre-sold on what you offer. Instead of creating a website/blog about everything, consider creating a niche website about a specific thing. For example, is canoeing something you enjoy (just picked something random from your site)? You could create a website all about canoeing - your experiences, favorite lakes, streams, rivers, etc., the various types of canoes, paddles, canoe racks, canoe cushions, etc. You could even go more narrow and focus solely on the various types of paddles available. Position yourself as an authority or expert on canoe paddles or kayak paddles and become the go-to place for those searching for real life info and experiences for these products. The beauty of this option is that you won't need to spend any money on advertising if you don't want to and you build your site correctly. You'll simply get free targeted traffic from the search engines. Once you've got the hang of that and are able to find out what sells well and how your visitors think, you can then test out ways of converting paid traffic if you're really keen to do so. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the foundation needs to be correct before you will get anywhere with the rest of the building. It's a shift in thinking, I know, from your own area of expertise, but wow, what potential you have since you already know how to program and do the more advanced stuff. Get the basics of the business down and you'll probably progress faster than most. Blessings, Angie
I have found that it's all about targeted traffic. I have learned this lesson by using safelists and other traffic sites where people only click on my ads to get credits. If you are willing to spend a little bit, you can buy solo ads from ezines in your niche. You will receive much more targeted clicks from people who are much more likely to show interest in your products and ready to buy.
40K hits with no sales? I'm curious, did that traffic come from traffic exchanges? You may want to evaluate where your traffic is coming from and change up your marketing efforts. Good luck.
Besides having the right product for your visitors is, make sure your targeted offer is above the fold. Your banner ad, text ad, lead generation, whatever your call to action is. Make sure your visitors see this right aways and it will increase sales.
Another suggestion here. There is no way you are building any type of relationship with your visitors with that site. People buy from people they "feel" they know and trust. Adding a blog and making that the home page may be a solution. Write about your experiences as Happy Wife suggested and then link back to the product pages in your blog posts. This way the visitor gets a feel for you. I would have trust issues buying something from your site as there is very little personalization. Also this adds new content and will help your site to rank higher in the search engines and traffic will come organically!
