Promoting Affiliate Programs with Google AdWords

[Andre Chaperon]

My most profitable campaign is giving a ROI of 5:1
Problem is, I only have 48 keywords associated with this campaign, and therefore it's moving slow.

My biggest problem is brainstorming keywords. I really battle to come up with a substantial list of keywords. The 48 keywords mentioned above are only my initial "test the product" list. I haven't added to the list for 3 weeks now

This weekend I purchased The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords. I'm quietly hoping it'll help me with the keyword generation ideas process

Take care,

[sugarrae]

Have you tried a one day paid version of Wordtracker Andre? It should help you in that area.

[Andre Chaperon]

Funny you should say that ... but I had decided to subscribe to the 1-day'er sometime this comming week

You use the paid version don't you?

[sugarrae]

LOL, I have been more and more. I keep signing up for one days - it is gonna cost me more than just doing it for a year if I keep it up. So I think next month I'll prob just purchase a year subscription. I have Ross to thank for the new addiction .

[Sharon & Roy]

[Andre Chaperon]

[dannicole2112]

I just started doing Adwords this month. Just thought I'd update everyone on the status of my campaigns. All my campaigns are selling items through affiliate marketing. I am keeping what I am selling a secret! As a result, I have replaced the actual Adgroup names below with a Campaign #:

Through April 28, 2004

Cost Revenue Profit/Loss ROI
Campaign 1 $142.40 $244.00 $101.60 71.3%
Campaign 2 (deleted) $9.65 $0 $(9.65) -100.0%
Campaign 3 $8.73 $0 $(8.73) -100.0%
Campaign 4 $13.08 $0 $(13.08) -100.0%
Campaign 5 $8.75 $15.00 $6.25 71.4%
Campaign 6 $7.75 $16.50 $8.75 112.9%
Campaign 7 $2.00 $3.75 $1.75 87.5%
Campaign 8 $0.96 $0.15 $(0.81) -84.4%
TOTAL $193.32 $279.40 $86.08 44.5%

Things I've learned
1) Diversify as much as possible. Some of my campaigns have a great ROI (return on investment) and some I've wasted money on so far. By diversifying, I can make sure that I've got enough money makers to cover my costs of testing new campaigns. Eventually, because of seasonality in product demand, etc. causing some products to sell at higher rates in different times of the year than others, I hope to have a variety of money makers the whole year round.

2) Don't fall in love with a product. I deleted my campaign #2 after nearly 200 clicks and no sales even though I absolutely loved the product I was selling and couldn't believe it wasn't a money maker. However, I had to cut the cord and not look back on that one.

3) "Bottom feed" your keywords. By this I mean don't bid on a few generic terms that may get a lot of impressions, but aren't targeted. Instead bid on hundreds of highly targeted key words that may only get a few impressions a day (if that!), but will generate a high click through rate. Spend more time generating specific keywords than doing anything else in your adwords creations. By the way, I have a feeling that my keywords for campaign #2 were too generic.

4) Test different ads within your campaigns. Google allows you to create multiple adwords groups within each campaign where you can create different headlines and body copy. Create at least 2 for each campaign...see which generates the highest conversions...drop the lower one and then create another test. Keep testing!!!

5) Change around the amount of $ you're willing to spend per click and let it run for a day or 2. See which $ value generates the highest CTR.

6) I use a simple formula to back into what my maximum CPC should be:

CPC = affiliate revenue per sale x conversion rate

Obviously you will need to estimate the conversion rate. If you have access to cj.com you can see some of this information for each retailer. Using the above CPC value would make me $0, but shouldn't lose me any $ either. So make sure you pick a CPC much lower than the above calculation suggests...the calculation gives you a max CPC you should pay. A good idea would be to start at half that value and work your way from there.

Dan

[Lynn Terry]

Excellent information, Dan & a belated Welcome to the SSWT Forum!

I was out of town when you posted, and then returned to 'technical problems' here at the forum - so I am just now making my way to this post

Making a profit your first month is great! It looks as if you've learned a lot in the process, also. I'm curious - did you learn all of this through trial & error, or did you read through one of the popular PPC Guides that are available now?

I, too, had a "great campaign" that didnt convert - which really shocked me. It was so "perfect" on paper! Like you, I let it run until I was satisfied that it simply was not a money maker... Very disappointing, dont you think? Every once in a great while I get the notion to run that one again... but dismiss the thought and chalk it up to a loss.

I would love to hear how things go for you in May, if you have an opportunity to give us an update - - I imagine you'll experience a greater return considering all that you've learned

[john925]