Thanks for an excellent post. Thanks to all for the discussion about going into the weight loss market. While I have my own website, I’m also planning to go into affiliate marketing as well. As an affiliate newbie, I’m faced with many of the issues that Steve raises. I think success in a highly competitive niche depends on how well we segment the market via our keyword research. Focusing on lower volume, yet affordable keywords helps too.

My question: When market testing an affiliate product, is it sufficient to link my Google Adwords ad to a landing page and link my landing page to the vendor’s website?

Once I know whether the vendor’s website will convert, I’ll build a content website with complete product lines, reviews and articles.

Regards

Jeanne

I tried to post a response to your message back to Ros last night but it didn’t post. I just wanted you to know that there are many ways to skin a cat! (As I’m sure you must know!)

I too, promote weight loss on my site, but I’ve never been overweight a day in my life. I am the same size now, that I was when I graduated high school and I use that in my pages. “I know how to keep the weight off of me. If I can do it, so can you!’ Or follow a healthy lifestyle and you too, can keep your weight down.

I also have my mom as an example to use. She was overweight all her life and was always on one diet or another. Chances are you know someone too! Use them in your examples, not necessarily yourself.

Remember too, that everyone is different. What works for you or is the perfect plan for you, may not be perfect for other people. Give them options but state that “Xproduct” is what worked for me! And tell them why and how it’s different.

Don’t forget about the other words that convey weight loss too.

Think Thin
Slim Down
Lose the Fat
Tone and Lose Weight
Belly Fat
Stay Slim
Emotional Foods
Fatty Foods
Serving Size
Portion Control
Self Control
Self Indulgence
Geez, I could go on and on, but you get my point. Think outside the box. Don’t shoot for those high priced PPC campaigns. 5th, 6th or 7th on the first page will still give you click thru’s.

Oh, and use a thesaurus and check variations using your keywords a lot. Use long tailed keywords that have more than 1000. (or slightly less)

Those low balling keywords will give you traffic. Oh, and the longer the tail, the more targeted your traffic becomes. Think about some of Ros’ recent posts. She’s been a long tail lover for a while. (Sorry Ros, that just doesn’t sound quite right somehow:o)

Even if the words don’t have high keyword demand, those pages will still show up when someone searches for those, or similar terms. Be very targeted too!

“the-best-damn-weight-loss-product-on-the-market”

Keep your chin up Steve. I don’t use PPC so I might not know a lot about it, (scairty cat) but I do know about weight loss and keywords and getting a higher ranking. I’ve been working at that for a while. Good luck! Keep us up to date on how you’re progressing. If you’re starting at the bottom, the only way is up!

I just had to jump in here. I too, promote weight loss on my site but have never been overweight at all. I don’t use myself as an example, but do use my mom as an example. She was always on a diet and I saw how miserable being overweight made her. Chances are, you know of someone too.

Another angle I take, is that since I’m not overweight, I know how to keep the weight off me. This is good for people who are slowly gaining weight or have reached a plateau in their weight loss.

Think outside the box. I am always encouraging my readers to do just that. Try a unique angle, something that doesn’t ‘fit into the mold’.

I am not doing any PPC campaigns (because I’m scairt!) but that doesn’t mean you can’t do well telling the truth from your own perspective. ‘I stay thin cause I think thin and because I want to!’

You could always try the ‘self control’ and ‘self discipline’ angle! Also, think long tail keywords. They may not always get the sale, but they’ll have a higher click thru if you stay with it and they’ll be a lot less expensive to test. The longer long tail keywords are around, the more people are bound to search for them and the more staying power they’ll have.

Another tip is to use the Thesaurus a lot!

Sorry for butting in here:o)

Carolyn

I appreciate your perspective and comments. I am very hesitant to promote these free trials because if you search keywords related to “weight loss diet” on Yahoo for example, almost every single PPC ad is for these free trials. There is way too much competition. some of the landing pages use the same before and after pictures but with different names and text.

Don’t you think this will make people wary and suspicious? Don’t you think that people read the fine print when they see they have to get out their credit card?

I can see why these offers can convert better than an e-book but it seems super competitive.

Cheers,

Steve Anderson

Steve, those Acai Berry and Colon Cleanse are some of the best pulling CPA offers on the net. The people behind the pages you see running these ads are making money every time someone clicks on the ad and simply fills out a form for “the free product trial”. And if they are driving a lot of traffic to their page or blog, you can bet a high percentage of people are clicking on the ads and filling these forms out. You want to lose weight? A free product trial that promises just that? I’m IN!

If you were desparate to lose weight, what would you rather do (think: easiest , fastest solution!):

a.) Order a real world physical product you simply ingest that promises INSTANT RESULTS, and that you can try-before-you-buy (no risk!) FREE of charge (great price!) (well there is a small shipping fee) or…….

b.) Buy an ebook that you will have to read before you even begin to apply its system…a system that will probably want you to change the way you eat, the way you think, and even the way you live. And…… it will probably even require you to……shudder……..wait for it………….EXERCISE! ……..And…. there will be a period of time, possibly a lenthy one, before you even BEGIN to see any results.

Look at your market. People who want to lose weight don’t want to “wait”, they want to lose it now!

Marketing a weight loss book, no matter how high the gravity, you are up against a lot of “noise”, a lot of competition. What can you do to separate yourself from the crowd?

This is just meant to help, Steve. There are just so many ways to make insane money on the net. Yes, focus is good, but not to the degree that it causes oportunity blindness.

Now with my luck, my wife is going to read this and make me get on the treadmill or go for a bike ride with her or something….

Michael Rytter

Do you use wordpress for your PPC campaigns?aren’t those links on the right side diverts the attention from landing page to somewhere else?

Also which wordpress themes do you recommend,thank you