Think getting top rankings on Google is the holy grail of online marketing? Not hardly! If you’ve got a minute, let me tell you the true, rather astonishing story of a new client I just signed on.
When she called me, she was a bit frazzled. She started to explain that their ecommerce website was 12 years old and had done amazingly well over the years. With the help of an SEO firm, they’d risen to the top in Google for some important keyphrases and traffic was just pouring into their online store.
But then, one day without warning, it all dried up.
Business all but stopped.
They couldn’t figure out why, but after doing some investigating, it seemed Google had seriously slapped them back in the rankings for practically every keyword they targeted. Because they’d hung all their traffic hopes on Google, their entire source of customers dried up practically overnight.
Now don’t get me wrong: having excellent rankings is a fabulous way to get traffic to your site. But you have to understand that Google owns that search engine, not you. If they implement a new policy or change their algorithm it could seriously impact the success of your site.
Never Put All Your Eggs in One Virtual Basket
This client had no self-contained marketing plan. They had no list: not even of people’s emails who’d bought before. (They had them, but not in any organized and usable fashion.) They had no knowledge of how to market to their own list. And worst of all, they weren’t doing any affiliate marketing.
I stopped and thought about the upcoming NAMS conference this August in Atlanta. If this new client of mine had the knowledge of all the instructors at NAMS6, they’d be in awesome shape right now. They would have multiple streams of traffic and income. That certainly wouldn’t stop the ups and downs from coming (they’re just a part of online business life), but they would keep them from suffering another total meltdown because they’d put all their virtual eggs in one basket.
Surprised? Did you think affiliate marketing only dealt with long, scrolling, hype-filled sales letters full of overblown promises? Far from it. At its core, affiliate marketing is about creating sustainable business through flexible sales funnels that YOU control, not Google.
I’m speaking. Chris is speaking. And so are many others. Article writing & marketing, copywriting, setting up sales funnels, product creation and tons of other stuff is covered. You can get all the details from the NAMS website.
P. S. Chris and I are also conducting an intensive, live keyword research clinic onsite the day BEFORE NAMS6. Be sure to sign up for this important hands-on workshop, too!
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The Panda update has been hard on me and most other marketers. I probably haven’t diversified enough, but at least I did to some degree. Content is king as always and more than ever. And you can’t build a list with poor content.
Niel, over and out!