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by:
Rony Perry
© 2007
Fasbnet Services
Reproduction of the contents within this article is prohibited without the author's
permission.
In this article, we want to explore using the popularity of celebrities and current event (news) topics to help market our internet businesses.
The
Idea
Celebrities
and news events are not only popular topics, they are also popular
"keywords"
in the major search engines. Thousands upon thousands of users everyday search the engines to find the latest info.
It sounds a bit far fetched at first, but with a little strategy, these
topics
can help sell our products - NO MATTER WHAT WE SELL, or at least generate a decent amount of qualified traffic.
To
get an idea of the type of traffic, have a look at these sites:
Yahoo Buzz
Lycos top 50
Google Zeitgeist
Look at the terms in these lists. I'm sure you recognize most of them, as they are an indication of what and who is "happening" right now. Plug any of the
terms listed in these sites into the
Overture Inventory Keyword Tool and see the amount of searches the top terms got in the previous month. Also, keep in mind these sites (Yahoo, Google, Lycos,
etc.) are among the most visited sites on the net.
The Strategy
The strategy we will use to utitlize this popularity is to build mini sites that target the celebrities.
We
will call them
"pop surfer"
sites, and the folks who search them
"pop
surfers".
First,
we will want to develop a
"pop
surfer"
mini site (or sites - the more the better). It doesn't have to be the greatest or prettiest site ever created. Don't put as much work into it as you would your primary site. The key to these sites is to get the popular names and terms on the page so the search engines can find and
spider them.
When developing your "pop surfer" page, keep in mind that you want a page that will 1) get into the search engines, and 2) grab the pop surfers' attention while they are searching for their favorite artist, news
story, etc.
Here are two such sites we put together.
Site 1
Site 2
After we have our "pop surfer" mini site(s) built and listed in the engines, how do we use it
get customers to our businesses?
There are two models that we will call the Indirect model and the Direct model. Each approach has it's own advantages and uses. In one model we "indirectly" target the "pop surfers", and in the other model we "directly" target them.
The Indirect Model
This model gives us the most qualified visitors. In this model, we utilize the power of traffic "exchanges". After we start getting our share of "pop surfer" traffic, we use the exposure ratio from these "exchanges"
to drive qualified, targeted visitors to our primary business site.
This works because exchanges allow us to target our visitors. When signing up for an exchange you are usually asked what category you want
exposure in. They often give you a list with such categories as
Health and fitness
or
Business
Opportunities
. This gives us
control over where we want our primary sites' information viewed.
Some exchanges have a 1:1 ratio where one exposure on your page is worth one exposure on someone else's page. Others use different ratios such as 2:1 which gives two exposures on your page for one exposure on someone
else's.
There
are several types of exchanges. The more popular ones are:
Banner
Exchanges
, which gives banner
exposures in exchange for placing other banners on our site.
Bannersgomlm, and
Link Exchange are two popular banner exchanges, and they give very decent results.
Exit
Exchanges
display your whole website, usually as a pop under window when a visitor leaves your site, in exchange for your site being displayed (as an exit pop under window)
on someone else's site. The
Exitexchange
program is an excellent example.
The
most powerful, however, are:
Opt In
list exchanges
. These are special, because in every marketing circle, the number one rule for promoting your online business is to obtain an opt in list of subscribers. Opt in exchanges deliver the most targeted, and qualified
visitors we can get with the exchange model.
How they work is when someone enters or leaves your site, a list of newsletter, or business opportunity sign up forms are generated in a small unobtrusive window. When that happens, your newsletter or biz-opportunity is listed on someone else's website - IN THE TARGETED
CATEGORY THAT YOU CHOSE when you signed up.
Opt-In Storm,
Leadwhiz, and
Listinferno are examples. They give good results and they're all free.
Put the exchange code(s) on your "pop surfer" sites, and take advantage of the traffic.
The Direct Model
The direct model is more of an indirect approach in that we may not necessarily use the "pop surfers" for our primary business but we can
still profit from them.
How?
One
way is by utilizing
Pay
Per Click
. Not pay per click in the sense that we bid for our sites' exposure in a search engine, but Pay Per Click in the sense that we place listings on OUR sites and GET PAID for having them there. Every time someone clicks a result in your page, you get a percentage of the bidding amount for that click.
Searchfeed,
Revenuepilot,
and
Google Adsense are examples. If you use
pay per click strategically, it can be very profitable.
Merchant
affiliate programs
work well also. Amazon.com, for example, sells books, music, toys, and more. They let you place their products on your website, and you get a percentage
when someone buys from you.
Several other merchants work the same way. Do a search for merchants who sell CDs, books, video, toys, or clothing, and have an affiliate program.
There are many out there.
Commission Junction is a site that lists several of them.
Finally, you don't only have to look for affiliate programs. If you have a business or product that you think might cater to popular culture, target the "pop surfers" directly!! For instance, if you print T-shirts, you could probably sell some with hottest stars' faces on them.
Do your research for your pop surfer page topic. You can bet that if a celebrity or topic has
recently made news, the traffic is sure to follow.
Resources
More Site
Examples:
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3
Site 4
Site
5
Indirect
Model
Bannersgomlm
– Perhaps the most popular 1:1 Banner exchange on the net.
Link Exchange
– A 1:1 Banner Exchange from Microsoft Bcentral.
Exitexchange
– A popular Exit Exchange program with many features.
Opt In Storm – An opt in
email generating exchange program. Gives a 1:1 ratio.
Leadwhiz
– Another opt in list exchange program.
ListInferno
– Another opt in list exchange program.
Direct
Model
Searchfeed – Allows you to add pay per click keywords to your site so you can get paid a percentage of the bid. Each click on your site gives you 35% of the bid. Select the ‘Partners’ option. Functions as an
Advertising pay per click as well.
Revenuepilot – Another pay per click search engine keyword program. Each click on your site gives you 60% of the
bid.
Amazon – Sells books, music, toys, etc. Enables you to put
their content on your website and pays a percentage of each sale made.
If you found this report useful, have any questions, comments, or just want to discuss something, feel free
to email us at
feedback
AT fasbnet DOT com
. Good Luck in your business
endeavors!!
©2007 Fasbnet Services
Reproduction of the contents within this article is prohibited without the author's
permission.
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