Using the ALinks Plugin on your Blog and Niche Site

July 16, 2008 | 10 Comments

Quick video post today on how to use the aLinks plugin to minimize the amount of time it takes in writing posts!

Links in today’s video:

1. BANS Flex Theme for WordPress
2. Casual Dinnerwareusing the Plugin and Theme
3. aLinks Plugin Homepage

I should also mention that while I have not done so myself, I have read that aLinks can be used with your eBay partner ID! :-)

One other notable I forgot to mention… When preparing phrases for aLinks, try to stick with long tail phrases. It will avoid future issues with multiple links in a phrase you meant to be a single. For example: If you chose to use aLinks on a term like “sofa store”, you would be limited on using it in the future… every time you wanted to create a link to a longer tail phrase like: “Luxury Sectional Sofa Store”, aLinks would break your link into 2 links! One for luxury sectional, and then a second for your other phrase, sofa store. Rule of thumb… use on long tails only!

Video Length: 8:46

How do you use aLinks?

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Progressing on the New Site - Niche Store of Tomorrow

June 19, 2008 | 25 Comments

Over the past few days, I have been working on refining one of my existing BANS sites into more of a complete content and niche store solution. The first thing you will all notice is that it’s really NOT that much different than what we have already been doing!

In my post from Monday, I asked if we were Having fun with Build a niche Store and by the look of the replies, there is really quite a mix of opinion. All of the comments were very good to read but there were a few that I wanted to comment on in this post, just to answer more thoroughly.

Robert made a very good point with this statement:

For me this is a business and not about topics for which I may have some passion. My passion is to develop websites, BANS or whatever, that generate revenue for my bottom line. I strive to go where the money is. In order to do that, I soak sites with content that will pass for unique. If that’s what it takes to run my business profitably, that’s what I’ll do. If I have to sound passionate, that’s what I’ll do.

Truthfully, I completely understand exactly where Robert is coming from! I actually have the same goal… turn my passion for website building into more that just point and click stops for visitors browsing the Internet, I want to earn a very good living and prosper long term from each one of them!

Change Sucks…. 

The recent change of my own direction is really not all that far from where we have been in the past year, I am simply modifying the route of success, in order to accommodate some changes in the how the search engines view my sites. Change is something we will always have to get used to in affiliate marketing… my goal with this new type of site, or Niche Store of Tomorrow as I have used in this title, is to minimize the effect of change in the future!

I Have a Fault of Being Honest

Maybe it was because I was hit so hard by the google deindexing… or maybe its a different reason, who knows. Since I wrote the post about the Duplicate content issue with BANS, finding a solution has been at the top of my priority list. The deindexing just so happened to come along during the process…

I read new posts every day, where people are talking about the power of Build a Niche Store. Don’t get me wrong, BANS is still alive and very well, but it’s going to take a bit of extra work if you plan on having any long term success with it! Whether you choose make content pages on your sites, or turn BANS into one part of a total website solution is up to you.

I have been in 2 separate discussions with representatives from Google since last week in regard to my affected sites. Even though the answer is part of the canned response in the guidelines for webmasters, I was told to pay specific attention to the following:

1. Google aims to provide unique and compelling content in its search results. Sites that contain very little original information and add little value to users will not do well.

Take from that statement what you wish, but it tells me I need to do something “more” than just showing listings in a tightly categorized format.

Do we have to Re-Learn Everything All Aver Again? 

Another common theme I noticed in the comments were that many of you have concerns about learning a whole new method of building sites and the curve-ball of learning all kinds of new technology.

The BEST part of all of this is that you already have the skills, software, hosting… just about Everything! Of course, you will learn 1-2 new things about using platforms like wordpress, but I assure you… it is not hard!

1. Hosting: Hostgator already has everything you need!
2. Software: Again, Hostgator makes the software available in your cPanel already. One point and click, and you are done!
3. BANS: You are already familiar with BANS, we will just be using it a little differently!
4. Plugins for Wordpress: 99% of the WP plugins are free! They install with ease by uploading and clicking a link in your wordpress admin.
5. Research: You already know how to research your niche market
6. SEO: I will go a bit deeper into some SEO for this new type of site, but essentially, it is the same old stuff as before! 

My New Content Generation and Article Spinner

Possibly the biggest change on the new site I am building has to do with a new type of content generator I am using. My fingers! As the site progresses, I will post every time I make a change… not just here, but on that site as well. Giving the visitors (and search engines) much more content to consume that cannot be found elsewhere on the web.

Just like the way I built all of my original niche stores, keyword research and demand will still be quite important in my decisions on content, but I will instantly open the door to much more traffic, with a need in my own markets.

Instead of revisiting only once a month for updates, I will revisit this site almost every day!  Overall, I will need to spend about 2-4 hours each week looking through logs for what visitors may be in need of, typing posts based on those needs etc. The key difference with this however is that almost 100% of the content is unique and relevant to the BANS store on the site. This offers the visitors very good reason to not only visit, but come back often.

I know several will say… its just a blog, we can blog about anything! Let me tell you, I have the fine-designer-shoe site… it does pretty well actually and I don’t know jack about shoes! BUT, when I go to the site to add some content, it tends to take a bit of time since I know nothing about designer shoes. From research, to finding images, to posting some unique content… it may be 2-3 hours work!

If I knew about the subject, writing comes very easy and is quickly completed without searching for knowledge.

Progress on the New Site

Keeping in line with a very simple process, I have changed one of my stores into more of a portal. A resource for DIY homeowners who need heating and air conditioning equipment for their homes. http://www.webHVAC.com/ (good, 3 year old domain name) contains the following:

1. Blog (Wordpress - Free with hosting)
   Honestly, I am not that passionateabout HVAC, but I ran a very successful eBay store and several websites over the past few years for a close friend, thus I am fairly knowledgeable about consumer needs.
2. Very Simple Template (WP templates can easily be found, free, all over the web)
3. BANS Store (We all know what BANS is)
   I decided to put BANS into its own store directory, off the main root of the site. Getting menus etc to work is not hard. The hardest part was making the template match, which even for someone with no html skill, is not hard once they see it done.
4. Link and Resource Directory (just a blog page)
   Quick, easy and Simple to add and make changes to
5. Product Reviews (Just a series of posts that will be linked from one central page)
   My goal is to just talk about the products on the web. Why this one is good, why that one is bad, explaining differences etc. I am just taking something I know about and typing about it.
6. About Us Page (WordPress page)
7. Contact Us page (wordpress plugin)

The site takes advantage of several wordpress plugins I will explain in detail in a future post when the site is 100% completed, but every one of them were free! I have tried using the phpBay plugin but was not happy with my first series of results. I will likely use it again, just not right away. Again, my goal is to convert a few of my existing sites without any further out of pocket expense.

I still have quite a bit of work on the site… but the changes I will be making from here forward are just styling and ad space changes to maximize my visitor experience and revenue possibilities. I just wanted to get this in front of you so you could get a glimpse…

Mark

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Are We Having Fun Yet… I’m Not!

June 17, 2008 | 19 Comments

Feeling Overwhelmed - Too Much Work to Do?

Believe me… I know the feeling all too well and in the coming days, we are going to Make Building a Niche Store FUN Again!

Several weeks ago, I posted about just how many of my niche stores had been lost in the shuffle and abandoned, due to having too many to keep up with. In recent light of having several removed from the search index at Google, I decided the Best Long Term Strategy for me, is to hand pick a few of the stores based on my own interests, and convert them into something more than just niche stores!

If you have ever stumbled onto one of your sites and uttered the words… “I forgot about this one”… you know what I mean!

After spending days reading email, other websites and just thinking about what would be best for the longrun, I decided to look at what already works, and build upon that, sharing my knowledge and resources with others who may be in need or benefit from that information. This blog is a great example of the type of site I am going to build from here forward. So what are my own requirements on this new site or sites?

Anatomy of a Niche Store 2.0

1. The Subject or Niche Topic of the website MUST Interest ME!
   Sounds easy enough… I just have to look into what hobbies or skills I have and decide if I will get enjoyment sharing that knowledge with others!
2. I Need to check if there will be an Audience in Need of My Passion!
   Screw what the search engines are looking for… I need to make sure there are visitors who want to hear what I have to say. I mean, I could talk about sim racing controllers all day long, but if nobody really cares to read what I have to say… does it matter? Some will say… of course it does, you are writing something you are passionate about, who cares if there are readers. Well… as much as I would agree, I do still want to balance out my passion with the possibility of people reading about my own experience and knowledge.
3. The New or Modified Site Needs to be filled with Content I Provide Myself!
   Again, pretty simple to do… I will just reach into my own knowledge about the subject and write categorized content, based on who, what, why and how. If pictures describe something a picture gets the nod! If how-to articles work best… you get the picture.
4. The New Site MUST be scalable to whatever Future Content I want to Provide!
   WordPress as a platform is wonderful! There are new widgets, themes, and plugins created every day of the week to make it a better content management system. This blog runs on the WordPress backbone and is flexible enough to add all types of sections should I desire. In addition, it is simple and easy enough to create a shell out of the theme and use it on other equally flexible formats like BANS, forums, etc.
5. The New Site should use as many FREE Tools a Possible - or Tools I already Have!
   WordPress… BANS… Plugins… Themes… Forums… Directory… All of these tools may make up a section of my new Niche Resource site.  Finding the ones that are no charge is best, otherwise try to work with those I already have!
6. Keep it as Simple as Possible and HAVE FUN with It!
   Here is a BIG ONE… I want to keep my new site as simple as I can, so I don’t spend too much doing things that are meaningless to myself or my visitors! Most importantly, like this site, I want to be able to have fun with the topics and visitors every day!

There you have it… the new site I am developing will become a public work in progress over the next few days and I will share all the information for you here! In the meantime, you should think back over all of your own niche websites and look to find the one that interests YOU the most! Maybe you like digital cameras and know alot about them… heck, maybe you like working in your yard and like to talk about lawnmowers and other things you have done to make your own yard a place you relax! The thing is… make sure you enjoy your new niche market, you are going to be helping others like it too!

The most important aspect of all of this is that you will get self satisfaction from what you are doing. Instead of spreading yourself thinly across many sites you know nothing about, you will start building a resource for all to find useful! In the end, you will still spend just as much time on one site as you have all your others combined, but that one single site will reward you back much more in the longrun!

Mark

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My Confession - I am going to Build a Website for Visitors!

June 13, 2008 | 14 Comments

I Need to Diversify my Marketing Efforts! I wouldn’t by any means say that all my eggs are in one basket, but in light of the past couple weeks… I think it may be time to do a little extra something, that is far less likely to be affected by constantly moving bar set by search engines. I am going to deliver EXACTLY what they say they want!

I am going to Build a Website for Visitors!

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Niche Store Writer Review | Dealing with BANS Duplicate Content

June 5, 2008 | 10 Comments

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