2. Website Setup in Affiliate Marketing | Affiliate Marketing Tutorials | Best Affiliate Marketing Guide on Internet ( Earn a Passive Income )
By now you should have chosen your first niche and so
it’s time to set up your website. We’re looking to build a real business here,
and to establish authority in your niche so a well-crafted website with high
quality, original content is key.
Yes, it does require a small investment, but you can get
started for as little as $20 or less. You cannot skip this method. Having a
website is critical to this system, but the investment will pay for itself.
Technically
you could start with a blog
on Blogger or Tumblr, but once you start making some money, you’ll want to
switch everything over to your own domain, which could be a real hassle down
the line. You’ll lose traffic, and will have to start building links from
scratch, etc. It’s not ideal, so try to find the money for a domain and
hosting, if possible.
Choosing a
Domain Name
The first thing you need to do is purchase a domain name. Your
domain name is kind of like your website’s street address. It tells computers
where your website resides.
Don’t try to get too cute. Most of the “perfect”
domain names in your niche will already
be long gone
by now, as will most
of the major
keyword domains. So, you’ll
need to get creative, but not over-the-top.
Let’s
say you’ve chosen the basket weaving niche. You want a domain name that lets
people know what your site is about without getting so cute or crazy that
people don’t remember the site or just avoid it altogether because it seems
unprofessional.
Some examples
might be:
·
BasketWeavingCentral.com
· BasketWeaverSpot.com
· WeavingGreatBaskets.com
I
haven’t looked to see if any of these are available or not, I just came up with
them off the top of my head. They’re purely meant to be examples of professional
domains one might choose.
Examples of bad
domains:
· DreamyWeavy.com
(a silly play on “dream weaver”)
· BasketWeevil.com
(weevil sounds like “weaver”)
These
domains, while they might be cute and kitschy, would not seem professional to
the average visitor. They wouldn’t be memorable, because people would be
thinking of the original words (like dream weaver) and might have a hard time
remembering the play on that word that you used.
A lot of people use NameCheap to register their domains because they
are affordably priced and have coupons every month.
NameCheap
Set Up Hosting
While a domain name is like your website’s street address, hosting
is like your website’s physical location—like the land it sits on.
When
it comes to hosting, I highly recommend buying a yearly hosting package if you
can afford to. Because it will probably take you a few months before you become
profitable. By paying for a year upfront, you won’t risk looking at that
monthly hosting bill and the fact that you’re not earning much and saying,
“Forget it!”
And
if you don’t pay your hosting bill and your site goes down, any work you’ve
already put in will be gone. Poof!
Don’t
let that happen to you. Pay for a year upfront if you can possibly manage it.
If you’re serious about this business, you’ll find a way.
Remember, this is a business, and businesses require
investment.
If
you can’t swing a full year upfront, try to find the least expensive hosting
package you can that has decent reviews. You don’t want to lose traffic because
your host is unbearably slow, so it’s important to pay attention to reviews.
And be careful that the reviews are from legitimate users and not affiliates
who are simply looking to make a commission.
It’s
perfectly fine to buy your hosting through an affiliate link. Just be sure you
read some legitimate reviews first.
Make
sure you choose a hosting company that has an admin panel like cPanel and has
one of the software installation packages like Softaculous. This will make it a
breeze to install stuff like WordPress, even if you don’t have a lot of
technical knowledge.
Some popular
hosting companies include:
HostGator
BlueHost
NameCheap
Install WordPress
The
design of your website is basically like the building that sits on your land
(hosting). For this method, we’ll use WordPress, because you can get started
without learning a bunch of coding.
If
you have a hosting company that includes Softaculous or one of the other
installer packages, it will be incredibly easy to install WordPress.
Under
scripts, click on WordPress. This will bring up the WordPress installer page.
Click on “Install Now”. Enter the information requested. I usually choose http://www. As
the Protocol. Choose your domain from the dropdown box. Leave the directory
blank unless you have a different page on the root of your domain.
Enter
your site’s name and a short description. Leave WPMU blank. Enter a username
and password. DO NOT use admin as your username, because it will make your blog
easier to hack, and choose a strong password! Enter the email address you want
notifications to go to. Use Limit Login Attempts should be checked. Then just
scroll down and hit Install.
Once it’s finished, use your username and password to log in and get
started!
If for some reason you close this page, you can access your admin
login page at:
>>
http://www.YourDomain.com/wp-admin
Just replace YourDomain.com
with your own domain.
When
you get logged in, there are a few things you will want to do to get your site
set up properly. Go to Settings in the menu on the left, and click Permalinks.
You
can set your own structure here, but I usually use either Post Name, or a
custom structure in which I add this text into the box:
/%category%/%postname%/
Once you’ve
done this, it’s time to add plugins and themes.
Install Themes & Plugins
There are plenty of free themes out there, so it’s not necessary to
pay for them. However, there are themes out there that are built specifically
for marketers, so you might want to look at a few of them.
One
theme that is very good for marketing purposes is the Extra theme from Elegant
Themes.
>>
https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/extra/
This
theme is structured well, has many features that make it work very well for
marketing, and works well with Elegant Themes’ marketing plugins, too.
Sometimes
Elegant Themes has specials where you can get a lifetime license at a very
affordable price, so it’s worth looking out for those offers! Even at the
current yearly access price of $89, or the current lifetime access price of
$249, it’s a great deal for all that you get access to!
Plus,
the Divi theme is excellent for
making product sales pages and squeeze pages because it lets you create your
own pages using modules. It’s very easy to use, even for a beginner. Their
documentation leads you through the whole process. So, if you think you might
want to launch your own products later, this membership is even more worth it.
Don’t forget to
download and install some of their plugins, as well.
For
example, Bloom is great for creating amazing opt-in forms. Monarch is an
excellent social media sharing plugin that adds social sharing buttons to all your posts automatically. And the Divi
Builder plugin will add the powerful drag-and-drop page building functionality
of the Divi theme to ANY theme from ANY creator.
ElegantThemes
Don’t
go crazy with plugins! Add only those you really need. Otherwise, you’ll end up
slowing down your site, which will hurt your SEO.
I suggest
adding:
·
A social media plugin, such as Monarch (from ElegantThemes)
· An opt-in plugin,
such as Bloom (from ElegantThemes)
· An SEO package
like All-in-One SEO or Yoast
· W3 Total Cache
for speed
· Schema.org Rich
Snippets (for SEO, Pinterest, Facebook, etc.)
· A security
program like WordFence
· A backup solution
like BackupBuddy
· An analytics
program like Google Analyticator or Clicky by
Yoast
· An editorial
calendar, especially if you have multiple authors
· A comment system,
like Akismet or Disqus, to help combat spam
You
may find some others that work well for your specific needs, but these are some
of the most important that you’ll almost certainly want to include. Most are
free, but a few are paid. There are almost always free options available, but
sometimes the paid options offer more features or work better.
Another
great package you might want to consider using is SumoMe. They have many
plugins that you can install from a single interface.
Just install the SumoMe plugin, sign up for an account, and you can
install the various plugins from the interface.
They have
plugins for social sharing, opt-ins, and lots more.
SumoMe
>> https://sumo.com/
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