EzSEO Newsletter # 77
May 1, 2005 by Andy
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EzSEO Newsletter # 77
Andy Williams ez SEO
ez-search-engine-optimization.com
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This week:
1. Problems with file extensions
2. Slow Affiliate sales from content sites?
3. Other Stuff
Hi again
This weeks newsletter is a little shorter than usual – I have been busy this week trying to get the Niche Blueprints out. I did want to bring you a review of a new RSS tool I have been using, but that will have to wait until next week now.
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1. Problems with file extensions
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If you have been building sites for any length of time, I am sure the following sounds familiar:
1. You create your sites with .html extensions.
2. Backlinks and PR have increased for your site.
3. Your site gets indexed and ranks well.
4. Then, either
(a) You learn how to use server side includes and want to incorporate them into your site (but that needs a .shtml extension on your pages).
or
(b) You learn how to use RSS feeds on your site (e.g. using Carp), but the choice is either to use a Javascript to display the feed (which does not get spidered by the search engines so does not give you the benefit associated with RSS feeds), or you have to use PHP code (but that requires a .php extension to your page).
5. You want to incorporate the new technology, but changing your page extensions will mean you lose your rankings.
Fortunately there are choices here to avoid loosing your rankings.
These techniques require editing of the .htaccess file which resides in your sites root directory on the server. Please contact your host about doing this to make sure you have the right to do so. Also, backup everything before you edit any files on your server.
One technique I used when moving a site from one domain to another on a small site is to use 301 redirects. I can confirm that my rankings and PR did not suffer in the move.
e.g.
redirect 301 pageA pageB
These redirects are commands written into your .htaccess file which tell your server to redirect your visitors wishing to visit pageA to pageB instead. Google has stated in the past that this is the best way of moving a site from one domain to another. PageRank and rankings are not lost, they are transferred from the first page to the second page.
So, if your site is small enough, you could create copies of your pages with the appropriate extensions, and then set up 301 redirects in your .htaccess file to redirect each page of your site to the new pages.
This is time consuming on large sites, so there are possible solutions without resorting to this.
If, for example, you want to include server side includes (SSI) in your .html documents, you can.
In your .htaccess file, you can enter commands which tell the server to parse your .html files as if they were .shtml files.
You should check with your service provider for the correct command for your server, but on my Linux server, the command is as follows:
AddHandler server-parsed .html
or
AddHandler server-parsed .htm (if you want to parse .htm extensions).
You can then use SSI on your .html (or .htm) pages and they will show up as if you were using a .shtml extension.
So what about those RSS feed code that requires php?
Most RSS feed tools give you PHP code for your page. If your pages dont have .php extensions, you need to work around this. An easy way is to put the php code into a separate file (e.g. called rssfeed.php), and then use SSI (e.g. ) to include that file in your .html web page.
As long as you have the command in your .htaccess file to parse your .html files as if they were .shtml, then the RSS feeds should show up on your web pages.
Making use of your .htaccess file gives you a lot of flexibility. If you are looking for a new challenge in your online business and have never looked at the .htaccess file, why not make that your next “learning project”.
There is plenty of help on the web – just search Google for “.htaccess tutorial”.
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2. Slow Affiliate sales from content sites?
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It’s no surprise that I am a big fan of content sites.
Typically, these sites have a few main pages which sell affiliate products, and a mass of articles that earn Adsense revenue and channel visitors to the main pages.
The more visitors you can channel to your main pages, the more affiliate sales you are likely to make. The more articles you have, the more Adsense revenue you make, and the more visitors you can channel to your main pages.
However, one complaint I hear a lot is that these large content sites do great with Adsense, but not as well for making affiliate sales.
The main problem I am seeing is that a lot of webmasters building large content sites, use articles on article pages, and articles on main pages.
What?
OK, let me explain.
Let’s differentiate between article pages and main pages.
An article page is there to make Adsense income AND funnel visitors to main pages.
A main page is there to make affiliate sales.
So, these two pages have different functions.
What are you doing differently on these two types of page?
What I am seeing is the same style of article is being used on both article pages and main pages.
This is where the problem arises.
Main pages should not just be informative articles on a topic.
Informative and entertaining articles on article pages is fine, because it keeps the visitor on your site and maximizes the chances of an Adsense click, or a click to a main page.
However, informative and entertaining articles on main pages are unlikely to get a click through to a merchant, because you don’t “encourage” your visitor to buy anything.
Main pages MUST be different. Main pages must pre-sell the merchants or products related to that page. You can use product links, or merchant links, but you must write pre-sell copy to encourage your visitor to click through to a merchant. By the time the visitor has clicked through to a merchant, you want them to be in a buying frame of mind. That is your job – pre-sell.
The more barriers you can remove from the doubting minds of your visitors before they click your affiliate link, the more likely you are to get a sale.
You all see the sales pages written by Clickbank merchants selling their products. The good merchants pre-sell their product to you, so that by the time you click through to the order page, you have almost made up your mind that you want to purchase.
Don’t treat the main pages of your sites any different to the way these merchants treat their sales pages. OK, don’t make your pages as long ;o), but do your homework on the products or merchants you are promoting, and create a compelling pre-sell that gets you visitor in the buying mood.
You should be including a great headline, bullet points to highlight benefits, and a call to action. Tell your visitor to buy!
It may all sound silly, but these techniques will improve your affiliate earnings. Stop treating main pages as article pages, and treat them as pre-selling pages.
Don’t always follow the crowd. Test and track. Make changes to your main pages, and monitor conversion rates.
You have all seen the Martell style sites that include a box at the bottom of the main pages with recommended merchants, but why not try something different. Why not include links to the merchants in the body of your pre-sell. Why not create an “Adsense style” ad-block but using your affiliate links instead of Adsense.
Try new things, experiment, and track the results.
When you find something that works, you will be glad you didn’t follow the crowd.
There are many courses about online copywriting, and some sell for big bucks. However, there is a book I have been recommending for a long time, and it is still my favourite book on writing compelling pre-sales copy. You can pick up the book from Amazon.
Maria Veloso’s book is the only book you need on this topic – I love it, and my own copy is twice as thick as it was when I bought it (it is filled with yellow sticky notes).
I would love to hear your own experiences with your Content sites if you have time.
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3. Other Stuff
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The April Niche Blueprints were a little late as I had problems with Wordtracker. However, the April Blueprints were released yesterday to customers of the March Blueprints. Later this week, I will be opening up the unsold blueprints to the Niche Blueprint Notification list. If you want to be notified of remaining blueprints, sign up at niche blueprints.
I am still getting emails asking about a release date for Content Publisher. This software is taking longer to get released because I keep coming up with new ideas I want to include. All I can say is that it has now grown into an amazing tool, and is well worth the wait….
Well, that’s it for another issue. If you want to read the recent issues of this newsletter, you can read them online here on my blog.
For older newsletters, you will need to visit the old archives.
Have a great week!
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