In: Root » » Affiliate Advertising » Creating Search Marketing Campaigns for affiliate networks
Creating Search Marketing CampaignsYou’ve learned some basics about both affiliate advertising and search marketing. You have joined some affiliate networks and selected some affiliate programs to promote. You’ve even obtained the tracking code you will need to embed in your ads so your clients can track the actions of the customers you send to them and, of course, keep track of your commissions. Now you can finally start building advertising campaigns and promoting your affiliate programs. First I teach you how to write effective ad copy. Then I explain how to choose relevant keywords and key phrases to trigger your ads. After that, I give you some tips about deciding how much to bid and how to set your campaign’s daily budget. Once you’ve learned all this, I walk you step-by-step through the process of joining both Google and MSN and setting up your first campaigns. What do you say we get started? STEPS TO CREATE A CAMPAIGNBefore you set up our first real campaign, let’s discuss the steps involved and the principles you’ll use to make your decisions. Then you will be ready to create your first campaign. Campaignwide SettingsThere is some variation from one search engine to another in the campaign settings and at which stage in the process you will be required to set them. Most search engines have some version of the following setting, however. Basic Settings. The basic campaign settings will include the name of the campaign, a start and end date, and sometimes even specific times the campaign will or will not run. Target Audience. When you create a new campaign, you must specify which language or languages your target audience speaks and which countries and/or regions you wish your ads to appear in. Some search engines, like Google for instance, allow finergrained geo-targeting tools that provide you with such flexibility as entering an address and running ads within a 10-mile radius of that address. This is a useful function if, for instance, you own a flower shop with a delivery range of 10 miles and do not want your ads to run outside that range. Budget Options. Here you will specify exactly how much you are willing to spend per day or month on this campaign and whether you want to spread your exposure evenly or use up your budget as quickly as possible. We talk about how to choose the right budget amount after discussing the bidding process, as this is typically the point in the process where you would also set a new campaign’s budget or adjust an existing campaign’s budget. Be aware, though, that although many search engines represent this amount as a daily budget, if you look closely you will find that they are really committing to a monthly budget, calculated based on the daily limit you enter. Networks. Many search engines have search networks, other search pages that use a bigger search engine as the back end for their search results, and content networks as well. When you create a campaign, you will need to specify whether you want your ads to run on these networks. I highly recommend that you participate in the search networks, but choosing whether to participate in content networks is a more difficult decision. Generally, I have noticed higher costs per click and lower returns per click on content networks compared to search networks. Sometimes you have a small profit margin to work with; other times you do not. I have had only one really successful campaign that relied heavily on content network traffic, but this was worth tens of thousands of dollars to me over the life of the campaign, so I have to say that there can sometimes be rewards to participating in content networks. My advice, however, is to save them for later. In the beginning, the tighter margins you are likely to encounter will only serve to make the tough job of becoming profitable in this game a little bit tougher. Advanced Options. Almost all search engines offer a few unusual options for fine-tuning your campaign. Some may be more useful than others, but I would say that none are for beginners, and I cannot recommend any such options to anyone just getting started. After you are established in the business and are well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your own campaigns, you will be your own best judge regarding which of these tools might be of some assistance to you. |
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