Building a Web Presence for Affiliate Program Marketers
by: Patricia Brucoli
No shame in being an affiliate marketer, but when you see a link to a website selling a product and the url to the website looks like mywhatever.whatever/1234/?myname/blah -– do you trust that website enough to give away your money? Surprisingly, you will find that you lose a sale before someone even reads your ad, because of this link.
You will be tempted to use the free sales page that affiliate programs will give you. Unfortunately that will give you the funny URL. If you buy a domain name you can point it at the affiliate marketing URL, then you can advertise your own domain name and still have your visitor arrive at the affiliate marketing sales page when they click your domain.
Without your own domain name you reveal that you are not serious and that you may not be here for long. Without a domain name it is also harder to track who the website belongs to, and that can create a sense of “uncertainty” about whether your site will be here in the long run. It's a a small but important investment which will establish trust and a sense of professionalism. And as we all know; Trust = Sales
When setting up your online business, you might be tempted to utilize the free web page hosting services offered by Yahoo, AOL, Bravehost or etc. If you want to build a successful online presence you should be aware of the possible negative aspects that comes with these plans.
The perception may be that you are not a serious business when you have a company website on a free host, and it should be avoided. Even if you have to buy a $5 a month web host to get one it will be worth it! It simply looks so much more professional with a “real” domain name on a paid host…
For the mere price of a cheap web hosting service you can have your own domain name and website up and running for less than $10 a month. Visitors arriving at your site want to know that your company is legitimate and that it is there to stay (not 'fly by night')! Internet Marketing is not a widely known concept and you may be first to let them know it is a serious business.
With your own domain name and paid web space, you are free to design your website the way you prefer, without limitations applied by the free host. You can find low cost web hositing services that offer both php and mysql formats so that you don’t have to choose the most expensive ones.
Another little known clue: If you can afford to register your doman name for a longer term than one year, even Google will see you as more of a serious business! Fuirther, free hosted websites are often frowned upon by the major search engines and directories, causing your website not be indexed at all which of course is not something you want.
You will actually save money in the long run with your own domain hosting. It will help your site rank better, bringing you more visitors and eventually bringing you more sales that may have not been the case with a free host. If you are serious about building an online business, getting a paid web host is the only way to go.
About The Author
Patricia Brucoli
Internet Marketing
Online Affiliate Programs
http://www.the3rdpartynetwork.com/
