Mixing Editorial Content with Ad Copy?

How to solve slight conflict between SEM and site monetization

[hairycoo]

I'm about to dip my toes in aff marketing for the first time and I can't say how much WW has helped to get ideas sorted out. You guys are the best.

I've come across what appears to be 2-3 good niches, one in particular looks very good... but there don't seem to be any real affiliate programs for them despite LOTS of product searches in OV/Google (20,000 a month and more) and bids of $6-8/click in AdWords. Competition stands at ~2.5m results in Google but doesn't seem THAT stiff, although will require some effort.

I'm a firm believer in website value and long-term success and I don't want to just slap a crap website up, buy links and move on. I'd like to build a proper, branded website, good domain name, good logo, good content to attract SE traffic and also promote it via other means, attract repeat visitors ... but I want to make money from it ;).

Organic SEO means for 6 months or so I won't see a penny from the sites (I'll build a targeted email list with a newsletter though) but I must decide beforehand how to monetize it afterwards:

a) go the contextual ads/selling ad space route and become a publisher?
b) go the affiliate route and try to get merchants to start an aff program (sounds a bit extreme), or do drop-shipping with my own frontend?

The problem is website content for a) and b) is different, the first is editorial in nature, the second is ad copy in nature...

I do need editorial content for SEO (easier to gain links, stands the test of time) but how do I make sure that it won't, eventually, interfere with the product-selling copy.

I'm just sooo very confused as to the type of copy needed.... and how to best use it on the website. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[hairycoo]

Anyone? Is this the wrong place to ask this?

[1Lit]

I'm not too clear as to what your problem is, but would suggest you look at rival sites to see how they integrate content with their product lines. I don't think content would 'interfere' in any way; the more original, high-quality content the better.

As regards the lack of affiliate programs in your sector, I would suggest (a) Adsense and (b) books. There are books related to every subject under the sun. Even if your site was about Chinese tractors, I'm sure they'd be a book about them - or tractors in general :-)

Drop-shipping is a good option, as the profit margins are higher than affiliate programs, but obviously there's more work involved.

If you can acquire your own products, profits would obviously be highest.

[hairycoo]

From my own perspective, editorial content must be objective in order to be of truly good quality. Content pre-selling a product is obviously biased towards that product.

This is where I see the conflict... the objective editorial content might raise doubts in the prospect's mind whereas pre-selling content for a product is meant to eliminate those doubts.

I can't do without editorial content though, it's essential for long-term SEO.

Thanks

PS: maybe this would be best suited in the Content forum?

[jhood]

If your intention is to build a site that dominates a particular niche, then you need to fill it up with original, objective content that anticipates the information needs of your potential readers, not your advertisers.

If you deliver literate eyeballs reading about Chinese tractors, then tractor dealers and manufacturers, tractor repair shops, spare parts dealers, etc., will all be potential advertisers, as will others trying to reach farmers and other tractor users. It doesn't matter if some or even most of your content is critical of Chinese tractors.

The biggest mistake new publishers make is to fawn over their advertisers. It's the readers you need to fawn over. I practice what I preach, btw. I run a 13,000-page Web site that gets about 3.5 million page views a month. Nearly every one of those pages is critical of the goods and services advertised on the site, yet our ad revenue has grown 50% or more each year for the past several years.

[ronin]

I have no idea if this works generally, but I have found that I can be entirely objective - and sometimes absurdly critical - of the merchants I have on my site and a percentage of visitors will still click on the link and a percentage of those will still buy.

I think the "small slice of a large cake vs. large slice of a small cake" model holds true here.

If you pander to the advertisers a higher percentage of visitors will click through but many discerning visitors will see your website as a promotional rag.

By contrast, if you take an objective or even critical stance, you will gain credibility, your potential readership will swell and though a lower percentage of readers will click through than might have done if you brown-nosed, that may well be a higher number in real terms than in the first instance.

[hairycoo]

Thanks guys, you confirmed what I was suspecting :)

[arran]

I have found that I can be entirely objective - and sometimes absurdly critical - of the merchants I have on my site and a percentage of visitors will still click on the link and a percentage of those will still buy.

Couldn't agree more. I, like you, totally slate some products.
People aren't stupid - they don't want to hear that every product on your site is amazing.
Cutting out the BS will lead to trust and return visits.

arran.