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Integrated Dynamic Assets With Your Website’s Content

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Hey Publishers,

Sometime it’s also worth reading the blog from our sister affiliate program in the US and see what Publishers are doing on the other side of the pond. There the Shopzilla Publisher Program has been around for more than three years now and has several thousand publishers onboard. One blog post in particular that we’d like to point out is Publisher Spotlight on Tim Flight and GPSReview.net from June  2008.  Tim from the GPS review site (www.gpsreview.net) gave some great tips on content integration which is why we’d also like to share this advice with our UK publishers.

How well does the Shopzilla UK Publisher Program content you select fit with the context of the page?  Is your audience reading about Nike trainers, but your assets display Adidas and Converse sneakers? We get a lot of questions about how to generate more quality clicks and one of the answers is integration. Our UK Publisher Program offers a wide set of product offerings from thousands of different merchants, so take advantage of it by displaying assets that suit the content of the page!

Tim also gave a very detailed tip for WordPress users interested in using Dynamic Assets. While we cannot be held liable for any code you may accidentally break (read our FAQ), Tim’s advice has brought GPSReview much success:

Create the Dynamic Asset using just the letter “a” in the “Search For” field as the keyword. Pick the banner size, set your colors, etc, and then get the HTML code. Look in the HTML code for the following:

/keyword-a/

Replace that with this:

/keyword-<?php echo(urlencode(strtolower(single_post_title(”,FALSE)))); ?>/

That code should take the title of the WordPress post and use it as the keyword for the ad unit.
Keep in mind, this will be optimal only for those publishers using the product name as the blog post title. Hopefully, this will help you save time by making our dynamic assets… well… more dynamic! As always, please contact us with any questions or comments.

Difficulties finding the right product category? Read more about the structure of the Shopzilla inventory.

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Posted in Publisher International, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »

Optimising your Article for SEO

Friday, November 20th, 2009
SeoJoBlogs Jo Turnbull is an SEO strategist who began her career in marketing for SMEs. A keen interest in web development and marketing, she taught herself SEO and has been blogging ever since. In addition to her blog, which centres around mobile and SEO (of course) she enjoys travelling the world and is currently learning her fourth language. Here she gives Publishers some advice for optimising SEO. Check out her site at SeoJoBlogs.

“If you have an article that you want to publish, you want to make sure that your article is seen by as many unique visitors as possible.  Here are a few ways to do this:

1. Be different
There is a lot of competition out there on the web.  If you are writing an article, make it stand out. Make sure it has a catchy and informative header that encourages visitors to read on. Try being controversial or provocative to grab reader interest and attention.  For example if you are writing about the increase of social networking sites, I suggest you use the title “Facebook’s user base has topped 300 million” instead of “There are lots of social networking sites”.

2. Share
If you are hosting the post on your own website, install social bookmarks such as Digg and StumbleUpon so that if someone likes what they see, they can bookmark the information and tell  their online friends.  You are encouraging your visitors to take part in viral marketing – spreading the word about your article.

3. Links
Don’t be afraid to link to the source of your article.  Readers will appreciate you giving them more information and they will like going to the source and finding out more.  If they liked your article they will come back.

4. Short and sweet
Internet articles tend to be shorter – keep the article between 200 - 400 words and make sure the paragraphs are clearly spaced and easy to read.  A lot of your visitors will be scanning the articles to take the best information so make sure these parts stand out.

5. Keywords
Make sure your article is centred around keywords.  You can use keyword tools to help you find the best terms for your site.  Google keyword tool is very popular and will let you know the competition for a particular term and give you suggestions of other keywords to use. Having a keyword rich header is always a great start, and use your first paragraph to get across your article’s key message. Your text shouldn’t look too “stuffed” full of keywords so ensure that you find various synonyms to include throughout, a technique very important for SEO. An acceptable keyword density percentage is 3 to 4%.

6. Optimise social media
To increase visibility of the article, you need to promote it.  If you already have an online presence in social media, make sure there are links from your social networking sites. If you have followers on twitter, tweet about the new article you wrote with a link to the url. If you have a linkedin account, post a link to the article on your profile page.

7. Topical
Make sure your article is topical.  If you are writing about mobile phones, talk about the latest mobile phones, the Palm Pre on O2, or the iPhone on Orange.  You want your readers to know that you are aware of the latest news and they can come to you to find it.

8. Expertise
Build on the topical information and you can become an expert in their area. Once you find a topic that you are interested in and write about that is relevant news, stick to it.  You may even find people wanting to link to you. Perhaps write a series of posts on the same topic, or start a blog carnival with other bloggers.

9. Give away information
Don’t try and sell your products or service in the article.  If you are going to write a lot of articles, people will value your opinions and when they are ready will buy from your site because they trust and value your articles.

10. Interact with your audience
Throw up questions, start debates, polls. If you receive comments, make sure you respond to them.  Visitors like to see their comments are well received.  Comments are also a great way to add additional content to your site.

By following these tips you should be able to increase interest and traffic to your articles”

Some great advice there, a big thanks to Jo Turnbull from seojoblogs.com!


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Posted in Affiliate Hot Topics, Spotlight Interviews, Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »

Category Trees - How to Find the Right Product Banner

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

We’ve heard from some of you that you’ve been experiencing a little difficulty in finding exactly the right product banners for your sites. Well, look no further! Here we’re going to give you a few tips in order to help you spend less time looking and more time earning.

Our dynamic assets give you the most choice of products. (Stock banners are great, however have their limitations. As stock banners are prepared by the Publisher team for popular product categories you may not necessarily find what you are looking for  in this section not necessary. As mentioned here, the best idea is to use our dynamic content.) To begin go to the Dynamic Assets option in the Get Content tab of the Publisher portal.

Most of you have mentioned difficulties when it comes to refining the category for the product that you’re wanting to promote.  Here is a bit of background about how our product offers are structured, which might help you to find and create the product banners you are looking for: BizRate has a tree of categories meaning that the top level category (e.g. Computer & Software) is the parent category which is divided further into more granular categories, for example laptop computers, computer monitors, printers etc.  To find your product category you have to climb through the BizRate category tree.  To help you find your way, below you’ll see a few examples of recent products our Publishers have had difficulty finding and the “category path” needed to locate them:

product-category-trees5

Another suggestion to help you in finding the specific product you’re looking for is to go onto the BizRate homepage and type the product into the search field. Once on the landing page, check under the navigation bar for the “breadcrumbs” (the granular path which leads to the product in a deeper page - see example below). You can then see which category to choose when searching in the Publisher portal.

bizrate-bracelet

We have tons of products available so you’ll be able to locate the banner you’re looking for. Sometimes they may be a little hidden but they are there, just waiting for you to come and find them!

If you’d like any assistance in finding a particular product please get in touch with one of our Publisher team.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »

10 Tips for Succeeding in Optimising Traffic Quality

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
We reward for High Quality Traffic

We reward for High Quality Traffic

Here at Shopzilla we like to place great emphasis on the quality of traffic that publishers send to our merchants. As a publisher you have a huge influence on the quality of the traffic you direct to us. By providing quality traffic, it’s also a way for you to maximise your earnings, as our CPCs are dependent on it. (For more info see Shopzilla’s smart pricing). Lately we’ve often been asked how you as a publisher can optimise your traffic quality. To help you improve your sites and ensure they always drive the highest quality of traffic possible, we have put together some tips.

1 -  Good user experience: Use contextually relevant ads so that your visitors can relate to them to the content and therefore to themselves. With the Dynamic banners make sure you use keywords that are as specific as possible to ensure the best results. Maybe you can use the info you have about your visitors (demographics, interest) in order to showcase the most relevant products. Your visitors will love shopping advice that they can relate to. Not only will the traffic quality increase but potentially so will your click-through rate.

2 -  Relevancy: You as a publisher can add a lot of value to assisting one of your users in their buying decision. As a good publisher you will offer all the information that is required to decide on a purchase (or get people keen to shop) before actually having to click trough to BizRate. So make sure that the products that you are promoting on your site are as relevant as possible to the content. All this will help to achieve highter click trough rates and CPCs.

3 - Indicate advertising: It’s sometimes worth letting your visitors know that they are going to BizRate. In that way your users won’t be disappointed to find themselves off your page without intending to be, but are very aware of being taken to a shopping portal if they click. People will love your shopping hints even more. Note: some of our dynamic banners mention it’s a BizRate ad, but if you choose to go for text links for a product pod this is not the case.

4 - Let the user decide to click: Don’t offer your visitors an incentive to click on an Shopzilla Publisher ad.  Visitors who just click for the sake of it, don’t  normally make a contribution to your traffic quality, and this conduct is, in fact, not allowed according to our Publisher Program’s T&Cs.

5 - Optimise your landing page: Try linking to BizRate rather than to merchants directly (if you are not already using this method). In that way your visitor has more products to choose from if he or she hasn’t decided what to buy yet. Of course this may vary if you are writing a blog post or product review on a very specific product, where it makes sense to link to the shops that carry your described product.

6 - Use placement ids: Give your ads a placement ID so that you can monitor the success of each one. Use your EPC data to focus on camplaigns/ads that are performing well and optimise those that are of lower quality. When testing new approaches, it is advisable to set up a new campaign starting with a small volume of traffic, so you can check that the traffic quality is meeting both your and our expectations.

7 - Utilise reports: We have different reports available that show your performance in slightly different ways. Look at your daily EPCs. We also recommend looking at your data over a longer period of time before making any conclusions of the changes you may need to make. The reason for this is that if you are a small volume publisher your results may vary a lot from day to day. This may also be the case if you are a new publisher. The Shopzilla Publisher team is also always willing to help you to look more into your quality traffic. Just give them a shout.

8 - Right mix of advertising: build consumer trust by not over-implementing ads. Too many can make your site look too commercial and it’s hard for people to choose where to click in addition to getting distracted from the great content you actually have on your site. To find the right number of ads is not always easy, but again, it’s worth trying out different positions, different formats and styles. Placement IDs may help you to find the right mix.

9 - Ensure quality for traffic sources: The source of traffic to your website should be high quality no matter if you are getting most your visitors through organic search, paid listings or have a loyal audience. If you buy traffic to your site, make sure that it is well targeted, which is also applicable for any SEO optimisations. Our Publisher Program works best for publishers who wish to ad a shopping element to their site as their visitors are interested in buying and tend to be more product-oriented.

10 - Dialogue with the publisher team: Whether you are not finding the right advertising for your site, or struggling with another issue please don’t hesitate to reach out to Emma or Diana. We are here for you, so that the Shopzilla Publisher Program works for you as much as it works for us. We are always more then happy to give you a helping hand and look into ways of what can be done in particular cases, as all our publishers are unique. Check out our blog regularly or follow us on twitter (@shopzillaUK) for useful advice that may help you to get the most out of the program.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks | 4 Comments »

Christmas ad banners - be one of the first

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Christmas is nigh…

So it’s time to think about Christmas again. Well, if truth be told, most of us have been thinking about it since August (thanks to those cards and decorations peppering shop windows)  and it seems to be getting earlier every year.

Put a twinkle in your eye with early Christmas earnings

Put a twinkle in your eye with early Christmas earnings

Consumer habits are rapidly changing and stores adapt to feed those habits. If shoppers wish to plan ahead and buy Christmas presents in late Summer, why shouldn’t they have the same great deals that last minute shoppers benefit from? Some of you may be aghast by the sight of dancing Father Christmases when the sun is still high in the sky at 6pm. Others may delight in the early festivities.

More and more people are preparing themselves  in the weeks, even months, in the run up to the jolly holidays so that when the 24th December arrives they can look at their panic striken pals, still hunting for that perfect gift, with an expression that implies “told you so”.

Shopzilla’s got some fabulous gift ideas on our site and we offer some great product ads to go alongside. If you were already starting to think about doing something Christmassy for your site, why not integrate our Christmas banners and take advantage of the fact that people are already looking for decorations, Christmas lights and those extra xmassy stocking fillers..and if you’re getting yourself in the festive mood, why not your site as well!

Get in early for some pre-December earnings.

Try creating a wish list, including a dynamic ad in your navigation bar, or even a text link amongst your product reviews.

Have a look at this example* to get you going:

christmas-ad-banners

If you’d like any assistance in finding certain products within our portal, please do not hesitate to contact Emma.

*In the UK portal, find this example in various formats under Christmas –> Gifts, Flowers and Food

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Posted in Banner Ideas, Conferences & Upcoming events, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

Can Affiliate Marketing be ethical?

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Getting the balance right can often be hard

Getting the balance right can often be hard

The answer is yes, of course it can. But it is up to you as the Publisher to ensure it.

There are thousands if not millions of people out there who have jumped onto the affiliate marketing rollercoaster  in the last 10 years since internet businesses really launched themselves into society. In recent years that figure has boomed as affiliate marketing and online monetisation techniques have become ever more popular.

However, discussions about the ethics of this particular marketing medium have sparked debates across the world as to how ethical can affiliate marketing really be.

Here we provide some guidelines if you want to make sure you’re doing you’re bit for consumers:

1. Make sure you place contextually relevant ads - match the banners to your content to give your consumers a valued experience.

2. Keep your content true to form - don’t just write an article to promote a specific product, ensure the piece is in keeping with what you would normally write about.

3.  Be honest and advertise only the products you yourself would potentially buy.

4. Do some research on the ad networks/Publisher programs you wish to join before signing up - this will give you an insight into the various offers.

The Shopzilla UK Publisher program encourages publishers to integrate contextually relevant shopping content on your websites. This not only enhances your readers’ experiences (which is what we all strive for in the long-run) but also highly increases the likelihood that those visitors will click on your ads, making you more money in the long run.  Our great choice of inventory makes it really easy for you to find any product you can think of, which in turn gives you complete control over the content you place on your site.

For further tips, have a look at this great blog post from Future Conscience (www.futureconscience.com).

Posted in Affiliate Hot Topics, Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »

Halloween is almost upon us

Monday, October 26th, 2009
Have you got your costume?

Have you got your Halloween costume?

Another year, another excuse to dress up as Morticia Adams from The Adams Family. Yes, it is once again that time of year in which you can don white face paint and fake blood without attracting strange glances. The shops are full of costumes, pumpkins, witches hats, dracula teeth, cobwebs  and anything else you can think of that would give your nan the heebie geebies.

We want to give you the chance to not just dress yourself up but to also dress your website up by adding the latest Shopzilla Halloween banners. A great site on which to see an example of our themed dynamic content is herfashioneye.buy.co.uk; you can see the banner at the bottom of the post.

Don’t forget that we are still offering the £5 bonus to anyone who hasn’t already implemented the dynamic assets, all you need to do is send us the URL showing the banner in action.

We have a great range of banners and products on offer - halloween party decorations, costumes, accessories…

halloween-banners

To find yours in the Get Content Dynamic Assets section, we recommend searching under Toys and Games –> Fancy Dress Costumes & Accessories if you’re really after costumes or alternatively for decorations, go to Gifts, Flowers and –> Food Party Supplies.

Why not play around with the background by using our Colour Picker tool and implement an orange Halloween-coloured banner on your site?

We’ve  got our outfits sorted for the Shopzilla office party next week, have you got yours?

For any questions regarding the product ads or for keyword/category suggestions, please feel free to get in touch with us here.


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Posted in Banner Ideas, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

Tips to successful social networking

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

networkingpartySocial networking at affiliate events can be a daunting experience especially if you’ve never been to one before. It is, however, the perfect opportunity to  meet like minded individuals and extend your contact list, all the while building new relationships with potential partners.

For those of you who may be a little shy when it comes to networking, here are a few tips on how you can turn the event into a true success.

1. Dress comfortably but smartly - you’ll want to feel at ease when trying to mingle (no trainers though!) and looking smart will increase your confidence.

2. If you know who will be attending the event read up a little on what they do beforehand, this will help guide you in asking relevant questions when meeting new people!

3. Prepare yourself a 20-30 second introduction on what it is you actually do.

4. Have an idea in mind about the sorts of questions likely to come up from other people when describing what you do.

5. Don’t be afraid to join new circles - if you see a group chatting why not go over and introduce yourself. Remember that not everybody knows each other anyway.

6. Think about what you wish to gain from this social networking, it is new partners? new affiliates? advice and info? This will give you a clearly defined goal for the event.

7. Most of all….relax! Enjoy yourself and don’t forget that you’re there to have fun and meet interesting people!

For more tips take a look at this post How to Network at an Affiliate Event.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »

Dynamic Assets in-depth

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Why use our content as an everyday web ad when you can truly make it an asset?!  Our color picker tool allows you to customise your assets to complement your website’s design, helping you to better attract your audience and improve traffic quality.

When you log on to your Shopzilla UK Publisher Program account go to: Get Content > Dynamic Assets > find the asset you’re looking for > Get HTML.  Select the part of the asset you would like to change, then choose the color and other options depending on the part of the asset.

colourpicker

Image Border: The border (outline) around each individual image/product inside the asset.

Background: The background color of the full asset.

Link: The links of the images/products shown inside the asset.

A-Link: The color the link turns when it is clicked.

V:Link: The color the link turns once it has been clicked.

H-Link: The color the link turns when it is scrolled over by a mouse cursor.

Text: The text (non-links) inside the asset.

New Window (_blank): This link target will open the new page in a separate browser window.

Same Frame (_self): This link target will open the new page in the same page it was clicked on.

Parent Frame (_parent)*: This link target will load the new page in the immediate parent of the frame.

Main Window (_top)*: This link target is similar to the Parent Frame, but will load the new page in the full body of the window.

Randomise: Definitely take advantage of this feature!  The products shown will randomly change every time the dynamic asset is loaded, giving your audience a different experience each time they visit your website.  If you are displaying a dynamic asset containing products from category ‘MP3 & Media Players’, rather than showing the same three iPods, your asset will cycle between various BizRate product offerings in that specific category.

*advanced

Another feature worth noting is that color preferences will be saved in your user cookie.  If you’re building multiple dynamic assets, your color preferences will be automatically applied, you’ll never have to worry about our dynamic assets clashing with your website design again!

Once you finish touching up your asset, click Get HTML and then scroll to the bottom of the page to get the new code.  Don’t forget to update your dynamic assets periodically to take advantage of our new categories and product offerings, keep your shopping content relevant to your audience.

For further information have a look at the Dynamic Banners section here on our blog, and as always, contact us if you have any questions or comments about the Shopzilla UK Publisher Program!

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Posted in Assets tutorials, Info on Publisher Program, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »

Shopzilla’s cricket banners

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

We all know the results from the weekend after a dramatic 7 weeks during which England managed to make a triumphant come back and take The Ashes by storm. We’re sure many of you out there were holding your breath for a good part of the weekend! Here at Shopzilla we like to keep up-to-date with the latest news and events and take pride in being able to provide our Publishers with great ideas for banners. So, to join in the celebrations for one of the most talked about current events, why not show your support for the boys by implementing one of our cricket banners? With our dynamic content you can customise the asset to really create your own. To design your cricket banners simply go to the Get Content tab in our Publisher portal and click on the Dynamic Assets option. ‘Howzat’ for an idea?! Advertise Shopzilla's cricket banners

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Posted in Banner Ideas, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

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