The 2nd point made in the “Is Blogging Right for You?” post was…

Do you have a message that you want to share on an ongoing basis? Most highly successful blogs are created around a central theme, i.e. an activity or topic of interest such as travel, food, parenting, personal growth, etc. Articles posted are almost always relevant to the central theme.

Some blogs on the other hand just seem to lack a point. OR, the point isn’t immediately apparent.

And when visitors must ask “What’s this blog about?“, chances are they won’t stick around long enough to find out.

If your blog is less than what you consider successful, i.e. unprofitable — it could be that your blog just doesn’t get your point across soon enough.

Here are 7 ways and areas in which to make your point clearly.

1. Tag Line: If you registered a domain with a funky memorable name like Coodlez — which otherwise has no meaning — your tag line should save the day. The tag line should state your site’s objective. For example, the tag line for this blog is ‘Helping REAL People Make REAL Money Online’ and it is included right below the site name in the header graphic.
2. Header Graphic: Run a food blog? Put a picture of something yummy in your header graphic.
3. Breadcrumb Trail: Breadcrumb navigation is the line that shows a page’s location in the site hierarchy. Look right above the title on this post – that’s the breadcrumb. You can see exactly which topic this post falls under. WordPress themes such as StudioPress and Thesis have breadcrumb trails built right into them. If yours does not, consider adding the Breadcrumb NavXT plugin to your blog.
4. Category Titles: With cutsey category names like ‘Bait’ and ‘Hook ‘em’, someone might think they’re on a fishing site rather than the dating site they wanted, especially if you’ve used the fishing theme in your header graphic (see above). Titles that are relevant to the topic help your readers find what they want faster.
5. Category Icons and Thumbnails: Visitors usually land on your homepage. Depending on it’s layout, it might be worthwhile to include either category icons or post thumbnails for that ‘picture is worth 1000 words’ effect.
6. Post Titles: I know you want to entice your visitors to drill deeper into your site. Post titles that inspire curiosity are great, but ‘Buttery Goodness‘ doesn’t inspire thoughtful readers to click the link as much as ‘Absolutely Devine Buttercream Frosting Recipe‘. The latter not only tells them exactly what the post contains, but will also have their mouths watering before they click the link.
7. About Page: Last but certainly not least is your About US page. Do you have one? Does it explain your blog’s objective? Does it tell your readers why you’re in a position to help them? You should and it should. Not convinced? People do visit them. On 2 of my blogs, the About page is the 2nd most frequently visited page. From there I give them links to where they most likely want to go.

Not only does making your point clear help your visitors use and discover the gems on your blog, it also helps tremendously with search engine optimization, which as you know — brings MORE visitors to your site.

Let’s try not to confuse them!

“How do I tell if the keywords I’m picking are low competition but high in popularity?”

shalisha42 asked this question in the NPT Forum…

I’ve written 100s of articles and have submitted my articles through Ezine Articles, GoArticles, Hubpages, and American Chronicle. I tried Squidoo and I NEVER get traffic. The topics are very popular – weight loss, dating and making money online. I promote 3 affiliate products so I make sure I put links in my article – sparingly.

I’m having trouble understanding how to determine if a keyword is worth using in my articles. I use my Wordtracker (I have the full version since last year and still don’t know how to use it despite having read the manual) and Google Keyword Tool. When I see there are at least 11,000 or higher searches monthly, and the bar is completely colored in, I interpret it as being a popular keyword phrase.

But how do I figure out if there is competition? What is the competition barometer? How do I tell if the keywords I’m picking are low competition but high in popularity? I have an EXCELLENT NICHE but because I don’t understand the keyword concept, I think that is what is not enabling me to make sales.

Keyword Phrase Competition

There are many factors as to why articles may not got noticed or ranked, but targeting a keyword or keyword phrases with too much competition could certainly be a problem.

What you should evaluate first is the KEI, or Keyword Effectiveness Index of a particular keyword to determine whether it’s worth targeting in your articles.

What is KEI?

KEI is a measure of how effective a keyword is for your web site.

In very simple terms, keyword effectiveness is determined by comparing the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is searched (popularity) and the number of times it appears on competing web pages (competition).

The KEI isn’t a strict ratio however, as sheer volume is also considered. So, where the ratio between popularity and competition may be the same for 10 searches/3 sites and 100 searches/30 sites.. the latter would have a higher KEI than the first because it is more popular.

Simply understand that you are looking for HIGH numbers. Here’s an example.

I used Wordtracker’s Comprehensive & competition searches from the “Full Search” link (in the old interface) to study the KEI for ‘dating’ keywords in Google. (See “Wordtracker Terms Defined” at the bottom of the post if you are unfamiliar with the terms “Count, 24hours & Competing shown in the graphic). At the top of the list, the following keywords were shown:

At the bottom of the list, these were the keywords returned.

Note the differences. At the top are very unique searches whereas at the bottom are the most generic terms. The keyword ‘dating’ itself has a KEI of 0.00 – so on it’s own, it’s not worth targeting.

So, if you are focusing on very generic terms in your articles, it’s doubtful surfers will pick them up through the Google listings.

Find a Niche within a Niche

However, as shown in the screenshots above, if you want to catch a popular and increasing trend, you’d do well to work celebrity names into the titles and body of your dating articles. Other worthwhile niches to combine with dating (not shown in the graphics above) are astrological signs such as “Aries man” and geographic regions, i.e. “Indonesian Girls”.

Finding a niche within a niche applies not only to article marketing but to your entire online business as well. For example, if I were starting my online dating review service today, it’s highly unlikely that I would take the broad-based approach that I did with 101Date.com. I would focus on just one of the categories listed in the long sidebar (on the interior pages), such as Mail Order Brides or Disabled Singles.

Ergo, you should hone in on and combine another popular niche (or even 2) with a very generic subject such as dating. An example of a very finely honed niche would be Prince Harry’s dating escapades about which you could write a series of articles. You might branch out from there to write about other royal singles dating adventures and then work that into a promo for Wealthy Men or Millionaire Mates.

Besides, who Prince Harry is dating now is essential knowledge — isn’t it?

The topic of finding a niche within a niche is discussed in the Super Affiliate Handbook as a way to attract more targeted traffic to your site and specific pages.

Wordtracker Terms Defined

Count – This shows the number of times a particular keyword has appeared in our database. E.g. Our database currently holds 296 million words. A count of 147 tells us that this particular word has appeared 147 times out of 296 million.

24hrs – This is the number of predicted traffic you would expect to receive in 24hrs if you were the top bid of the google search engine alone.

Competing- Each keyword has been submitted to the google search engine and the number of competing web pages given in response. The lower the competition (particularly under 300) the easier you will find it to reach the top of google using this keyword.

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Banks and credit card companies started shutting down (or temporarily suspending) their credit card affiliate programs in mid-November 2008 in response to the severe shortage of capital available and to reduce the risk posed by online customer acquisition channels that have historically produced less-than-liquid leads.

Credit card affiliate programs that have been suspended to date include:

• American Express Consumer Cards
• Capital One Travel & Gas
• Chase
• Citibank
• Household Bank
• HSBC
• Orchard Bank

With reductions in consumer lending forecast to escalate to the tune of 2 trillion dollars, affiliate marketers who promoted those credit cards will have to work harder to make up for those lost big buck commissions, as more program suspensions are anticipated.

If you’ve been affected by credit card program closures, it’s time to broaden your scope within the finance niche and entice visitors back to your site with helpful tips and tools that will help them improve their financial standing and weather the economic storm.

Here is a list of alternative products and services that should prove particularly lucrative to credit and finance affiliates.

1. Credit Score Reports

   A person’s credit score determines whether or not they can borrow money or buy products and services. It also affects the interest rates for which they qualify. Most people however do not know their credit score and in many cases the report contains inaccurate data that unfairly drops their credit score. Help your visitors learn their credit score by sending them to companies such as Equifax, which provides line-by-line comparisons of credit histories with all 3 credit reporting agencies – Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

   Equifax Score Watch takes credit score reporting to the next level with continuous score monitoring and notification when a change in FICO® score impacts the interest rate consumers are likely to receive.

2. Credit Monitoring

   Considering how ‘twitchy’ the banks are now with lending and raising credit card interest rates at the drop of a hat, it behooves consumers to stay on top of their credit scores, especially if their credit rating is good. Point them to Equifax Credit Watch, a comprehensive credit file monitoring system that provides automated alerts of key changes to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports. Wireless alerts are available and alerts are customizable.

3. Credit Repair

   Improving a credit score helps consumers save money by allowing them refinance their debt and qualify for credit cards at lower rates. You can help your visitors dispute and change the information (misinformation) listed on their credit reports by pointing them to reputable companies that offer credit repair services. One such company is Lexington Law. Payouts start at $45 per completed application and trackable 800 numbers ensure that affiliates are properly credited with all refered sales.

4. Debt Consolidation and Personal Loans

   Debt consolidation is a strategy used by consumers to reduce both the number and amount of their monthly bill payments, by making payments to one lender. LowerMyBills.com is one provider that assists comsumers with debt consolidation.

5. Mortage Rate Comparisons and Refinancing

   The federal housing bill that went into effect on October 1st, 2008 injected $300 billion to give some relief to homeowners to insure refinance mortgages, specifically for those who are struggling with their current mortgage terms.

   A mortgage is typically a person’s biggest lifetime expense, so lopping off even a fraction of a percentage point on a mortgage loan represents savings of tens of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the term.

   Mortgage rate comparisons are fast and free at LowerMyBills.com and their commissions start at:

   • $6 per Home Refinance Application
   • $6 per Debt Consolidation Application
   • $3 per Home Equity Application
   • $2 per Home Purchase Application
   • $10 per Debt Management Application

   Note: As mortgage loans and home equity loan affiliate programs too are being terminated in increasing numbers, you might consider posting a link to a Mortgage Calculator to direct mortgage loans consumers to the merchant where they might find other offerings of interest.

6. Personal Finance Education

   Considering that the current economic crisis is due in large part to personal finance ignorance and mismanagement on the part of consumers (who apparently thought that living beyond their means was an acceptable and never-ending option), it’s time to educate the consuming masses to become responsible financial planners and managers.

   An Amazon search for ‘personal finance‘ returns 34,778 Results, but under Related Searches you’ll see a name you will instantly recognize if you pay attention to money talk in the media – Suze Orman.

   Her advice is sound, practical and cheap. Her book, “Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan” sells for only $5.49 on Amazon. Granted, you won’t make a killing on commissions at that price, but with her solid branding on CNN and Oprah, chances are that you’ll sell a LOT of them with a strong recommendation.

7. Tax Services

   Help your visitors pay less taxes and get back every penny they deserve from the tax man with QuickTax which offers their “Maximum Refund Guarantee”.

   • 15% of Sale on paid desktop products (download/CD) and paid online editions.
   • Average order value report at $40 on Desktop Products and $15 for Online Editions

   FileLater.com, an authorized IRS e-file provider offers easy, online IRS income tax extensions for those who need more time to finish their income taxes. Users can get up to 6 more months to finish their taxes. FileLater pays 20% commission on a sale and reports a 14%+ conversion rate with an average sale price of about $25.00.

8. Identity Theft Protection

   As money gets tighter, identity theft will likely increase. Identity (or ID) theft occurs when a thief obtains Social Security, driver’s license or credit card numbers and uses them for personal gain. Numbers are obtained by dumpster diving, stolen mail, computer viruses, phishing and other scams and are used to perpetrate check, credit card and other types of fraud.

   LifeLock provides a proactive identity theft service, specializing in the prevention of identity theft rather than the reporting of it. Founded in 2005, Lifelock is the industry leader in identity theft protect. Program pays $37 on monthly service sales and the same on annual plans.

9. Bankruptcy Filing Kits

   The American Bankruptcy Institute recently reported that consumer bankruptcies in the U.S. rose by nearly 33 percent in 2008 with 1.1 million new filings in 2008 compared with 801,840 in 2007. Credit Axis (note: merchant has been deactivated on CJ) offers a do-it-yourself bankruptcy filing kit as part of its $35.95 U.S. one-time membership fee that also includes a:

   • Bad Credit Lender List;
   • Credit Repair Kit;
   • Government Grant Resource and Application Guidance;
   • When and Where Government and Police Autions Resource.

   The Credit Axis program pays $15.00 on a sale.

In summary, don’t give up and shut down your credit card blog when NCSReporting or CardOffers.com keep nagging you to stop advertising those now defunct programs on your site. Update your offers and present your audience with financial products that are relevant to their needs in today’s economy.

You CAN thrive as an affiliate during tough economic times…

With the U.S. dollar sinking to new lows, oil and gold attaining new heights, and both food and gasoline prices rising quickly: corporate CEO’s, the media and government officials finally acknowledged what millions have seen coming for years – the U.S. economy is in BIG trouble – and the future looks bleak.

During uncertain financial times, people without jobs don’t spend money, while those who do have jobs tend to cut back on discretionary spending, postpone larger purchases or shorten their holiday buying lists – which doesn’t sound like a happy prospect for those of us who want to sell to them.

However, there are many ways to survive and even thrive during a recession and diversification is typically the first key to continued prosperity. Fortunately for most affiliate marketers, making the leap from promoting luxury items to ‘recession-proof’ products that consumers use regardless of their economic status or level of income is fairly simple. We can add new products to our current mix or start pumping out content on a new domain, join some affiliate programs, ramp up the marketing and be in a new business in relatively short order.

So, if your commissions from the sale of cars, diamonds and fur coats have been falling off of late, here are a number of recession-proof product and service suggestions for your consideration.

1. Job Search

   Although the employment market is perpetual, during a tough economy, mergers, acquisitions and layoffs all inevitably lead to more job seekers. Point your visitors to career websites such as Monster.com where they’ll find millions of job postings along with general career advice and help to prepare for interviews. Monster.com pays a buck for each new resume posted and 50 cents for each new My Monster account created.

2. Resume Preparation Services

   As many of your job-seeking visitors will find it difficult to get an interview because they don’t have experience or their resume is out-of-date, you should also tell them how they will benefit by using a service to beef up their resume. Some services, such as Employment911.com, have market-specific offerings such as military transition resumes, a niche which CEO Frederic Thom reports was marked by a sudden increase in February. Employment911.com pays commissions of 12.5% to 25% and their resume writing package prices top out at $357.90 for executive level positions. ResumeEdge.com, which pays 12% and powers the resume writing services of The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! HotJobs, and The U.S. Air Force is another option to consider.

3. Education

   When, after all the stops have been pulled and the job search still fails to pan out, many people choose to stay in school or return to school to beef up their education and subsequent chances for finding a job. Companies with affiliate programs in the education field include those that help with college and university placements as well as scholarship search, which provides direct assistance to students with college education funding. Online training to improve basic computer skills or those which are geared toward technical certifications like Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco and Novell as is offered through TechnieCert.com (ShareaSale) are becoming increasingly popular. You might also consider promoting language-learning programs such as Rosetta Stone (available through CJ) for those of your visitors who decide to flee the country in search of brighter economic prospects.

4. Business Opportunities

   While there is never any shortage of those seeking business opportunities, an increasing unemployment rate makes this market even more potentially lucrative, especially for those who have had business success and can teach others how business is done. In addition to selling instructional information products in the form of ebooks, podcasts, webinars and conferences to new entrepeneurs; affiliates can make bank promoting productivity and marketing tools as well as office supplies. Almost every business needs business cards and PsPrint, a CJ merchant that pays 15% commissions, has a staggering 3-month EPC of $521.15. When they eventually need to incorporate, you can promote American Incorporators $299.00 incorporation packages for a tidy 34% commission.

5. Tax Preparation and Filing Services

   Economic slowdown or not, the tax man cometh every year and helping your visitors find additional spending money through deductions can be very lucrative. With over 138 million taxpayers set to file their taxes online this year, industry experts expect 2008 to be the most popular year for filing federal income tax online… until the 2009 tax season. Several IRS authorized merchants can be found at Commission Junction, including TurboTax, H&R Block and QuickTax, the latter of which pays a 30% commission on all their products, including a premium tax preparation service which costs $69.95.

6. Health Care

   In the absence of legislated universal health care, people who have just lost their employer-sponsored health plans will need to buy health insurance while they have no pre-existing conditions and are still eligible. When you partner with eHealthInsurance.com, which has relationships established with over 160 health insurance carriers, you’ll earn $40.00 for each health insurance application submitted for an individual or family. Assurant Health pays up to $78.00 per lead and both Commission Junction merchants have 120-day cookies.

7. Budgeting and Debt Reduction

   Helping folks reduce or consolidate their debt load and save money is always appreciated and the subject matter is relevant to almost any niche in which you are currently working. Partner with merchants that offer secured credit cards, debt consolidation services and help with foreclosures; and consider converting your weekly newsletter to a daily ‘Money-Saving Tips’ or ‘Coupons and Deals’ broadcast to gain additional traffic and branding for your site. Consider promoting Leo Quinn’s “How to Own Your Paycheck Again“.

8. Entertainment and Vices

   While the wise eliminate frivolous expenses during tough times, those less disciplined tend to seek more escape from reality through various forms of entertainment. So, if you were ever inclined to go the porn route, now might be the time. If that holds no appeal for you, try adding sports, concert, and theatre tickets to your mix. NetFlix (Linkshare) pays $9.00 per subscriber for each new customer who signs up for a FREE Trial. TicketsNow pays 7% commissions.

While the suggested items above don’t represent an exhaustive list of recession-proof products and services, it should get you thinking about options that will at least keep your affiliate business profitable during the recession.

In summary, ignore the purveyors of doom and gloom. There are always ways to thrive during the hard times, if you are perceptive and swift. Choose to see opportunity and profit where others see only potential for loss and failure and use the recession as a compelling reason to diversify and grow your affiliate business.

This article is an updated version of one written for my “Affiliate’s Corner” column in Revenue Magazine.