Starting a Review/Affiliate Site, Tips?

Discussion in 'Amazon' started by GH Fever, Feb 7, 2011.

  1. #1
    Looking to start a simple wordpress blog that reviews Android cell phones. I have a heavy passion for these handsets and would also like to start utilizing Amazon's affiliate program. Do you think there is any chance of making a little bit of money here and some followers? Should I look at it as just a review site or more of a blog providing both news and reviews (not just straight sales). What would be better for traffic and money making (blog or review only link site)?

    Also, what would a good keyword rich name be for a URL in this field?

    Thanks for any advice, sorry if it sounds newbish - but this will be my first affiliate site.
     
    GH Fever, Feb 7, 2011 IP
  2. vvaz

    vvaz Peon

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    #2
    Check Keyword Tools at Google. You can see what competition you will have.

    In my opinion, a blog with news and reviews will be better, because there's more juicy content that calls visitors! More visitors, more sales!
     
    vvaz, Feb 7, 2011 IP
  3. andrej

    andrej Notable Member

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    #3
    I agree - a blog with reviews would be good - you will be able to add new products by time.
     
    andrej, Feb 8, 2011 IP
  4. aph

    aph Greenhorn

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    #4
    You're tackling a pretty competitive market. You need your reviews to hit the right targets. Be sure to stay up on future releases and brand new products.

    I can help you come up with some crucial keyword phrases and an exact keyword match for your domain. PM me for details.
     
    aph, Feb 8, 2011 IP
  5. projectd2006

    projectd2006 Peon

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    #5
    Reviews and also custom modifications on Android phones would be good.
     
    projectd2006, Feb 12, 2011 IP
  6. moneynetbus

    moneynetbus Peon

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    #6
    In my experience just having a review does not work as well. You really need to have both a review site and also a amazon style online store added to the review site.
     
    moneynetbus, Feb 12, 2011 IP
  7. adrastea

    adrastea Peon

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    #7
    Do you want to write only about Android cell phones or also their applications?

    On the iPhone market there are affiliate programs such as LinkShare and TradeDoubler. When a user enters the iPhone AppStore (basically the iTunes application) through your website, a cookie is set for a couple of days (Not only the one you wrote about!). Within this period you get a 4% percentage of all articles which are bought by the user until the cookie gets overwritten.

    I think this is a very good strategy to monetize a review site. I think there is a much higher chance that an Android user buys and downloads a certain piece of software than buys a new device through your website. Maybe you can combine both.

    Unfortunately I do not know the Android market good enough, so I can't say if there are similar affiliate programs like for the iPhone market.
     
    adrastea, Feb 12, 2011 IP
  8. aditd

    aditd Well-Known Member

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    #8
    Yes you can make money with the idea. Depends on your writing skills, still. That is why people will come to your site.
    What tricks and tips did you discover? - ex
    So you will have to write ... :)
     
    aditd, Feb 14, 2011 IP
  9. outwest77

    outwest77 Peon

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    #9
    I bought a small inexpensive program to generate review type sites,(template) after purchasing it I decided I would be better off doing it by myself, since it was pretty basic
     
    outwest77, Feb 15, 2011 IP
  10. nihangshah

    nihangshah Prominent Member

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    #10
    What program did you buy?
     
    nihangshah, Feb 15, 2011 IP
  11. ross88guy

    ross88guy Peon

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    #11
    A site with good quality indepth reviews would stand a good chance of making money so give it a shot. It is going to take time for your site to start making money though so be prepared to work for a goof few months with no real dividends.
     
    ross88guy, Feb 15, 2011 IP
  12. freshdevelopment

    freshdevelopment Notable Member

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    #12
    You actually sound very advanced, as you are more focused on creating a good site with good content. That is very rare in new affiliates! So just create the best site you think for Android cell phones - concentrate on what would be good for the visitors. Sales will come afterwards and if Amazon doesn't convert well, you can look at other aff programs.
     
    freshdevelopment, Feb 17, 2011 IP
  13. joshuthomas

    joshuthomas Well-Known Member

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    #13
    dear friend,

    these could be a general rule that could work for any affiliate website.
    1. Firstly make sure you have enough content to drive traffic to your webstie.
    2. its important to gain the trust before you make sales.
    3. dont sound like a salesman on your blog, give valuable unique advice and suggest products
    4. reviews should be honest and people will love you for that

    cheers
    Josh
     
    joshuthomas, Feb 17, 2011 IP
  14. GH Fever

    GH Fever Peon

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    #14
    Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread! I took all your advice into consideration and so far this is what I have come up with - http://theandroidinsiders.com/

    I am focusing on news at the moment and the structure of the site. Basically for now I am just linking news articles from other sites and building the twitter, facebook and digg accounts when I can. Traffic is slow but steady right now with over 100 unique in the first week! I'd really like to start promoting apps and writing app reviews and "lists" using an affiliate link to generate revenue, but I can't seem to locate any Android app affiliate sites. To start writing honest and unique reviews as you guys said I should, I need to get a'hold of some Android phones which is going to take a while. So for now I think I'm just going to make it a fan site with just an AdBrite ad on it to get a sort of following and then will continue to search for revenue generators.

    Thanks again to everyone :)
     
    GH Fever, Feb 19, 2011 IP
  15. John9000

    John9000 Peon

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    #15
    I like the look of the 115 media site. It is very clean. The Android Insiders site is visually dense. However, that might be appropriate for the type of people looking to buy product. It does look very professional.

    I checked for backlinks and did not see any? How are you getting visitors?
     
    John9000, Feb 19, 2011 IP
  16. silentincome

    silentincome Peon

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    #16
    Dear GH Fever,

    I would love to give suggestion on the themes. PM me if you want to see one of my amazon sites
     
    silentincome, Feb 26, 2011 IP
  17. BlogsAboutCrap

    BlogsAboutCrap Peon

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    #17
    I have found it very hard to promote mobile phones through Amazon. It probably makes sense to go through the individual carriers. I tried but was rejected by Verizon.
     
    BlogsAboutCrap, Mar 2, 2011 IP