If you're looking for a new way of generating passive income or just want to know more about digital marketing, then this article is right up your alley.
Affiliate marketing has been around since the early days of e-commerce but it's only recently that it's become popular among online entrepreneurs who are interested in expanding their businesses without having to invest too much time or money into creating content as well as building an audience.
And let me tell you, there's no better place than Google AdWords to get started if you want to market through pay per click (PPC) advertising. In fact, PPC is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to any website. It works like magic when executed properly. And while it may be tempting to go straight to Facebook or Twitter, they don't have nearly the reach that Google does so starting out should definitely involve spending some time learning how to use Google Ads.
But before we delve into what exactly Google Ads entails, here's a quick overview of what affiliate marketing means to those unfamiliar with it. Basically, affiliate marketers sell other people's products using their own brand name and earn commission from every sale made by customers who were referred to them by the affiliate program owner. The best part of this type of business model is that affiliates don't actually need to create anything except maybe landing pages where potential clients would land after clicking on the link provided by the seller. As long as someone else creates all the sales copy, the affiliate will receive commissions whenever a customer buys something thanks to his/her efforts.
Now that you understand the concept behind affiliate marketing, it's time to learn how to make it work with Google Ads. So read on as we take a look at the basics of promoting affiliate offers on Google Ads.
There are two main types of campaigns you can run on Google Ads - search engine marketing (SEM) and display network marketing (DN). Both require different keywords which must match up perfectly with the product being promoted. However, both also share certain similarities such as bid management, ad scheduling and analytics reporting.
In order to optimize your campaign, you'll first need to find relevant keyword terms related to whatever niche you're targeting. Then decide whether you'd rather focus on clicks or impressions. If you choose clicks, simply bid according to how many clicks each term receives within the specified timeframe. On the other hand, bidding higher for more impressions allows you to rank high in search results even though fewer people clicked on your listing.
You might think that bidding low for clicks makes sense because less competition usually leads to lower rates but not always. For example, say you want to promote a course that teaches people how to build websites. You could try bidding $2 for "web design" and $1 for "website builder". But keep in mind that these keywords still compete against thousands of similar terms and you might end up paying several times the normal rate. This is why it's important to analyze competitor bids and see which ones are offering good deals compared to yours.
When choosing between impression vs. click bidding strategies, consider which option gives you the highest ROI. One thing to note is that you won't be able to target specific demographics with either strategy so instead of going for broad matches, opt for exact matches. To ensure maximum conversions, select age ranges, location preferences and device categories carefully.
Also remember that keywords with very few searches tend to result in poor conversion rates even if they appear high in rankings. These include generic terms like "pills", "weight loss" and "health supplements". Instead, aim for longer tail keywords that provide greater value to searchers.
One last point worth mentioning is that keywords used to describe the goods sold by an affiliate program will likely show up in sponsored listings anyway. Therefore, you shouldn't spend too much effort trying to come up with unique terms for your advertisements. Just stick to the same format and write compelling headlines along with descriptions that explain precisely what the user gets once he lands on your site.
Yes! There are lots of options available including auto-banners, text links, video banners, image links and mobile app installers. Plus, you can offer multiple items simultaneously so visitors can buy everything they came for.
The key to making this kind of promotion possible lies in selecting the right set of keywords. While general keywords like "clickbank" and "affiliate programs" bring plenty of traffic, you'll want to exclude them from the list otherwise your account will quickly lose credibility due to spammy behavior. Also avoid using phrases that sound suspiciously alike like "click bank," "best click bank," etc.
For instance, "how to make money fast" doesn't really help anyone since most users searching for this phrase probably aren't interested in buying a particular service or product. Instead, try writing things like "make extra cash today" or "start earning money now."
Another tip is to stay away from negative keywords but instead add positive ones. Negative keywords prevent unwanted clicks while positive keywords attract qualified buyers. Here's an example of what you should put together when running a banner campaign:
Finally, make sure your title contains the main selling points of the item you're promoting. People will often overlook the headline unless it sounds interesting enough to grab attention so give it ample space. Use bold font and short sentences. Remember that titles are displayed above the fold so make sure they contain information that makes people want to click on the link.
Once you've decided on a suitable platform, you'll want to pick a category that best suits your needs. Popular niches include weight loss, fitness, health & wellness, home improvement and beauty.
Before submitting your affiliate application, check to see if the company already has its own dedicated page on Google. If yes, great! Otherwise, submit your request via email asking for approval.
CJ Affiliate provides a convenient tool called CJ Linker that helps automate the process of setting up accounts with various affiliate networks. Once approved by the company, you can upload the URL of your landing page and the software will automatically generate a code snippet to insert into your site.
As mentioned earlier, you can't directly advertise ClickBank products on social media sites like Instagram, Pinterest or Snapchat. However, you can easily embed videos right into posts and articles on platforms like Medium and WordPress. Another option is to use the ClickBank widget which displays a pop-up box containing details about the featured merchant.
While Google owns YouTube, advertisers have full control over their content. This includes ability to run ads on their channel and upload custom videos.
However, unlike traditional TV commercials, YouTube ads are designed to deliver highly targeted audiences based on demographic data collected by third parties. Since you can track the number of views received for individual clips, you can estimate revenue generated from them. That said, it takes careful planning to maximize earnings.
To begin with, you'll want to figure out the average cost per view (CPV), which refers to the amount spent on adverts divided by the total number of viewers. Next, calculate CPM, which stands for Cost Per Mille (thousand) and represents how much was charged per 1000 views. Finally, divide CPV by CPM to arrive at a gross rating point (GRP). A GRP is calculated by dividing the total profit earned during the period by the total price spent on ads.
So far, everything looks pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, you'll need to perform several calculations manually. Fortunately, you can use special tools to streamline this process. Some examples include:
YouTube Analytics Pro: Provides detailed reports showing how much revenue you earned from each advertisement, how many hours were viewed and how much your channel has grown over time. This solution comes with a free trial version allowing you to test it out prior to purchasing.
AdEspresso: Offers advanced features including automatic billing, automated payments, customizable templates and real-time stats tracking. Pricing starts at $29 monthly depending on the package chosen.
Youtube Partner Manager: Allows you to manage multiple channels, monitor performance metrics and apply updates. Priced at $49 annually ($39 quarterly) plus $9 setup fee.
Google AdSense for Content Creators: Similar to Youtube Partner Manager, this premium service lets you publish unlimited content across multiple devices without needing to worry about managing separate publishers. Pricing differs depending on the plan selected. Premium plans range from $79-$199 yearly.
Conclusion
It's easy to get lost in the sea of options offered by Google Ads. Thankfully, there are tons of resources aimed specifically at beginners. Start off by reading our guide on how to get started with Amazon affiliate marketing.
Then head over to our beginner's guide to affiliate marketing. Afterward, take advantage of our comprehensive training courses to master the art of internet marketing.
Google Ads is the most popular advertising platform for digital marketers. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your website or blog posts. But it's also an excellent tool you can use to earn money from selling other people's products online. If you have started using this powerful platform to generate leads for your business then you should know that there are several ways of promoting these products through Google Ads. You just need to learn them so that you don't get banned by Google Ads.
In this article we will discuss some important aspects related to affiliate marketing on Google Ads. We will talk about the various types of campaigns as well as how to optimize them in order to maximize revenue. In addition, we will cover what affiliate networks allow you to sell their products on Google Ads. And finally, we will explore the policies of Google against affiliates who try to cheat their system.
This question has been asked many times before. Can anyone really make money promoting ClickBank products on Google Ads? The answer is simple - no one can. For starters, ClickBank does not allow its merchants to advertise any product via Google AdWords (the main source of income for 99 percent of all advertisers). This means that if you want to promote ClickBank products on Google Ads, you'll first need to register for a free account at ClickBank.com. After doing that, follow instructions provided within the site to create a new ad group. Then go back to Google Ads and add the newly created ad group under 'new groups'. At this point, you can begin creating relevant keywords for your ad copy.
When writing text, remember to include only words and phrases that describe the product you're trying to sell. Don't put too much effort into making sure that you write attractive sentences because they won't matter when your customers see your ad. Also keep in mind that you cannot claim that ClickBank owns a certain product since it doesn't own anything but rather acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers. If you violate those restrictions, even accidentally, you may end up getting banned.
The same goes for Amazon products. Since Amazon allows users to list their private label items on their marketplace, it makes sense that Amazon itself would ban such activity. So if you plan on promoting Amazon products on Google Ads, be prepared to spend lots of time optimizing your ads. Even though you shouldn't expect high conversion rates, you might still manage to receive a few sales.
Affiliate marketing refers to the process of earning commissions based on someone else's purchases. Basically, you help others buy something and then you take a cut of every sale made thanks to your efforts. There are two basic methods of promoting affiliate products on Google Ads: PPC (pay-per-click) and CPA (cost per action).
PPC involves paying each time someone clicks on your link while CPA simply requires visitors to complete a specific action before being charged. Both approaches have pros and cons. A big advantage of PPC is that it generates immediate results. However, the drawback is that you pay for each click regardless whether the visitor actually ends up buying anything. On the other hand, a major benefit of CPA is that you only pay once a customer takes an actual step towards completing his purchase. Still, the downside here is that you don't immediately see results. Instead, you must wait until this person completes the transaction before receiving payment.
You can choose whichever type of promotion works best for your particular niche. Some niches may require more attention than others. But generally speaking, both options offer pretty similar returns. That said, your success depends largely on the quality of your landing pages. Good landing pages usually convert better than bad ones. When designing your page, focus mainly on providing useful information instead of bombarding readers with flashy graphics. Remember that you aren't looking to convince potential clients to buy right now -- you're trying to attract qualified prospects. Once you've generated interest among your target audience, you can build trust and rapport over time.
Google Ads offers four different kinds of advertisement formats:
Display Ads: These ads appear alongside search listings. They tend to perform better than standard banners due to their ability to capture a user's attention. Display ads feature large headlines which draw people's eyes toward the top of the screen.
Search Network: Like display ads, these ads show up next to organic search results. Unlike traditional banner advertisements, however, Search network ads are displayed beneath the title and description of the original content. As a result, a searcher can easily ignore them without losing valuable real estate.
Mobile Ads: Mobile ads provide a unique experience for mobile device owners. Instead of displaying above organic listings, they appear below the content. While they work well on desktop devices, they often fail to grab attention on smaller screens.
Remarketing: Remarketing ads appear after a customer visits another website. They are typically used to remind existing customers of the services offered by an advertiser.
It's important to note that the format you select affects your overall performance. Generally speaking, display ads are best suited for highly competitive industries like eCommerce, health care, technology, finance, etc. Meanwhile, search network ads are ideal for B2B niches where businesses compete directly with competitors.
There are tons of places where you can market ClickBank products. Here are three of the best:
CJ Affiliate – CJ Affiliate is an industry leader known for offering high-quality tools to help affiliate marketers succeed. Its flagship software includes the highly regarded Back Office Suite. Other notable features include unlimited hosting space and email support.
ShareASale – ShareASale provides a wide range of solutions designed specifically for entrepreneurs. One of its primary offerings is ShareASale Pro, a suite of advanced tools including a built-in Facebook app.
Shopify – Shopify is arguably the world's leading ecommerce solution provider. It enables small businesses around the globe to set up online stores quickly and easily.
As mentioned earlier, however, you should avoid placing ClickBank ads anywhere near Amazon. Otherwise, you risk violating the company's terms of service agreement.
Most websites today rely heavily on affiliate programs. In fact, the majority of webmasters employ dozens of third party providers to handle their affiliate program needs. Unfortunately, Google doesn't always approve of this practice. To ensure compliance, companies that participate in Google's affiliate program are required to adhere to strict guidelines regarding keyword usage.
For example, you can only place sponsored links on the following sites:
Amazon
eBay
Craigslist
Tumblr
YouTube
WordPress
Vimeo
Yelp
Zillow
While not all of these platforms actively accept affiliate links, the vast majority of them do. Of course, not everyone agrees on this issue. Many feel that Google is unfairly targeting legitimate publishers. Others think the rules serve little practical purpose. Whatever side you come down on, it's important to understand why Google imposes these limitations. Doing so will enable you to avoid any future issues.
Yes, there are plenty. Below are five things you absolutely need to avoid:
Claiming ownership of a product
Placing ads unrelated to your niche
Spamming
Using misleading URLs
Tracking IP addresses
To summarize, Google wants to protect its users' privacy. Therefore, it strictly prohibits all forms of tracking. Additionally, the company expects participants to act ethically. Any violations could lead to suspension of your account.
If you decide to run Google Ads on behalf of yourself, you probably already know that you can view reports showing statistics pertaining to your campaign. What you may not realize is that you can also access detailed tracking data. This includes information covering everything from the number of impressions received to the total cost associated with running each individual campaign.
Even though it sounds intimidating, learning how to monitor your accounts effectively isn't difficult. All you have to do is install the Google Analytics extension available for Chrome browsers. Once you sign up for a free account with GA, you can configure your preferences accordingly. From there, you can dive deep into the metrics presented by the system.
Google has been a great source of traffic in the past few years. You can easily buy keywords that will bring people who are looking for your niche products or services directly to your site. This is especially useful if you're not selling anything yet but want to build up some confidence before launching an actual website and sales funnel.
The problem arises when trying to sell something from those websites - because they don't allow any sort of promotion like banners or text links without getting into trouble with their affiliates program. As a result, many newbies have turned away from using them altogether. So how does this affect you as an affiliate marketer? Let's take a look at what options there are so you know exactly which ones would be best suited for you.
You can use either AdWords campaigns or display networks (like AdSense) to run your own PPC ad campaigns. But first things first - let me show you how to get started on both platforms.
AdWords is more expensive than other advertising platforms since it requires you to pay every time someone clicks through to your landing page. However, its flexibility makes it one of the most popular choices among marketers. It allows you to target specific audiences by location, age, gender, device type etc., and even set different bids per keyword depending on whether it was searched over mobile or desktop. And since you only pay once per click, it doesn't require much initial investment.
However, due to the fact that you need to bid high enough to reach the top spot, it might be hard to compete with big brands and well-known sites. Also, you won't see results immediately unless you spend a lot of time optimizing your account.
If you'd rather rely on free advertising instead of paying for each individual click, then try out Display Network such as AdSense. Here you'll simply place relevant keywords within your content, making sure it's optimized properly for search engines. Once visitors arrive, all they need to do is scroll down until they find your link and click it. The rest happens automatically - no bidding required! With this method you also don't risk spending too much money right off the bat, but again, it takes quite a bit of work to optimize your content correctly.
It depends on where you stand now. If you've already got a decent following and you think you could benefit from promoting a particular product, then it may be worthwhile investing in Google Ads. However, if you're just starting out and haven't built up any trust with potential customers, you should probably stick to other methods. There are plenty of other ways to drive targeted traffic to your site, including social media channels, forums, email lists and others.
Also keep in mind that while you can advertise your affiliate offers via these channels, you cannot earn commissions from them. For instance, Facebook allows you to post sponsored posts, but these aren't allowed in Australia. Instead, you must sign up for a dedicated platform like ClickBank, TradeDoubler, Commission Junction, ShareASale or eBay Partner Pro. They provide tools and resources specifically designed to help you grow your business online, and you'll receive full commission payments whenever anyone buys your products.
Yes, they actually offer several programs for third party sellers. These include Doubleclick for Publishers, AdSense, Search Partnerships, Shopping Express and Content Networks. Unfortunately, none of them come close to being as good as the aforementioned platforms. Plus, they often restrict your access to certain types of products, meaning you won't be able to promote everything.
CJ Affiliate, however, seems to be doing pretty well. Not only does it give you complete control over your listings and commission rates, it also provides a suite of tools to help you manage your entire affiliate network. All you need to do is register and create accounts for yourself and your partners, then add a listing for whatever you're offering. When someone purchases a product through your link, you'll receive payment instantly.
There are also several other reputable companies available for affiliates, although most of them focus primarily on digital goods. Check out our list below:
Shopify -- the leading ecommerce solution provider, offers $1 million dollars in lifetime revenue sharing opportunities for merchants selling physical items.
ShareASale -- another company that specializes in helping small businesses succeed with their ecommerce stores, pays 10% of total sales back to affiliates.
ConvertKit -- another high quality service focused on automating customer acquisition & engagement.
Ebay Partner Pro -- similar to Shareasale, gives you 50% commission share for referring buyers to a partner store.
And finally, Amazon’s Associate Program is still the largest affiliate network around. While it isn’t perfect, it’s definitely better than most of the other competition.
While it's possible to generate income from Google ads, we recommend sticking to other forms of affiliate marketing. The main reason behind this recommendation is simple: Google restricts the number of products you can promote, and they usually charge higher fees compared to other platforms.
That said, it's certainly possible to turn a profit from Google Ads if done correctly. One way to increase conversions is to leverage retargeting technology. Whenever a user visits another website, he/she can be sent to yours after a short amount of time. Since this process is automated, you won't have to deal with annoying popups or spam emails. Just make sure to follow Google guidelines closely if you decide to go this route.
Another thing you can do is utilize remarketing ads. In order to maximize profits, you can choose to send users to your homepage upon clicking your link, or redirect them to a specific section of your site. Either way, you'll be able to capture leads and convert them into customers.
In addition, you can always opt for traditional SEO techniques. By optimizing your content effectively, you'll gain increased visibility in organic searches, allowing you to attract more prospective clients.
Now that you understand how to promote your affiliate products on Google Ads, here are some tips that could potentially boost your earnings:
Optimize your landing pages. Use call to action buttons and clear calls to actions to encourage customers to purchase your product. Make sure to clearly explain why they should buy your item, and present a strong case that convinces them to act.
Use images to enhance the experience. Pictures speak louder than words, so invest in high-quality stock photos and videos to really wow visitors.
Make sure you're providing value above and beyond the price of your product. People love giving recommendations, so consider adding reviews and testimonials to bolster your credibility.
Create a unique referral system. Encourage existing customers to invite friends and family to join your affiliate program. Give discounts to loyal customers.
Don't forget to track your performance regularly. Take note of the conversion rate generated by various elements of your site, and adjust accordingly.
We hope this article helped answer some questions regarding how to do affiliate marketing with Google Ads. Keep reading for more information about Google Ads itself.
To begin running an effective PPC campaign, you must first register with Google AdWords. To do this, head to www.googleadservices.com and log in using your Gmail address. Then enter your credit card details and agree to terms and conditions.
Once signed in, select Create Campaign from the left menu bar. On the next screen, fill in basic information such as name, description and objective. Next, specify the maximum budget you plan on spending and choose between two broad categories: "Search" or "Display". Finally, choose a country and language.
When ready, press Continue, and you'll be taken to the final step. Here, you can customize your settings further by selecting the appropriate category and setting your daily allowance. After reviewing your selections, press Start Campaign and wait for approval.
Depending on the length of your campaign, it could take anywhere from hours to days for Google to approve your request. Once approved, you'll be given a code that can be used to configure ads. From there, you can upload your banner image, design the ad copy and start building your audience.
As mentioned earlier, it depends entirely on your goals. If you're just starting out and don't have a large following yet, then Google Ads might not be the ideal choice. That being said, if you feel confident in your ability to convince consumers to buy your product, then you might want to explore this option first. Remember that you have to put in extra effort to ensure success, so it's important to pick a strategy that suits you best.
Still confused? Try signing up for an affiliate network today. We guarantee you'll learn far more about this topic in minutes than you did reading this whole guide.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.