start a CPC campaign by BUM marketing?

Chianti

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Apr 24, 2010
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Is it possible to choose an affiliate product and do just enough BUM marketing to get the data needed for split-testing and tweaking, then turn it into a CPC campaign once you're more sure of where its going?

Or do I really need to just invest (lose) 300-600€ from the beginning?

It's just that my wife will take my nutz off with a cheese grater if I tell I just blew 600€ for a 'learning experience' in something which has a 95% failure rate.

Thanks.
 


If you're smart with it, you may not lose that much, or may even profit your first time around. Maybe you should earn some money in SEO then reinvest that into ppc?
 
> If you're smart with it, you may not lose that much, or may
> even profit your first time around.

That's not the impression I get. It appears to me that most intelligent, hard-working noobs lose a few hundred dollars in their first campaigns. I've got no reason to suspect that I'm somehow more clever than they are.

> Maybe you should earn some money in SEO then reinvest that into ppc?

That's really my question. Is it possible to start off down the organic SEO route, to generate enough traffic for split-testing and tweaking, and then once its on-the-go and still looks good, bid for keywords and turn it into a CPC* campaign?

Or would it have to be a CPC campaign right from the beginning?

*I'm not sure I'm using the right terminology. What I mean by CPC is that I pay for adverts to be put on other major sites which link to my landing page or website, which then links/redirects to an affiliate product.

Thanks!
 
The word is PPC, or pay per click, or the amount that you are willing to pay. CPC is the actual amount you pay for each click over a campaign. Can be the same thing really, but most people call it PPC.

Anyways, using SEO is a great way to launch a PPC campaign. Just install google analytics and gather all the keywords that come to your site and scale it out from there. You should be able to gather all the info that you need though through your site.
 
Thanks. That's great.

> Just install google analytics and gather all the keywords
> that come to your site and scale it out from there

OK, and can I split test the sales copy and get the stats software working, and stuff like that before having to lay out investment into bidding for keywords? In other words, will an organic SEO site be a reflection or indication of how the site will do when I start paying for keyword advertising?

I suppose what I'm looking for is a way to do a 'dry run' - to get enough data flowing through a site to be able to roughly test and learn the software that I'll have to use (ie. tracking, split-testing script, the affiliate software, samurai, google tools, website metatags and sitemaps, etc) rather than laying down 300$ for keywords first and then trying to frantically learn all that stuff whilst helplessly watching the money frittering away.

Cheers.
 
I can't speak from personal experience, but a lot of guys on here will tell you it actually works better the OTHER way around:

Set up a PPC campaign with a bunch of keywords, run it for a day or so, and keep intense focus on which keywords, landing pages, sales copy, etc. convert and lead to $$$.

Now that you've split tested everything and found what converts best, focus on SEO according to that data.

What you want when you ask for a 'dry run' with a lot of data is usually only accomplished through PPC. Think about it - it's a way for your site to be at the top of the SERPs, so you're going to get a lot of traffic right away.
 
I'm sure some folks do PPC first. Not all of us though.

Research. SEO. Then PPC in my case.

PPC bores the shit out of me though. I enjoy the seo side of things - so I guess it's a personal preference.

I COULD make more faster with PPC but I wouldn't enjoy my day, and I'd have nothing to show for it down the road... except maybe a mailing list if I'm smart.

SEO gives me property that's mine. Doesn't matter what the per click rates are - etc..