I really liked this article I found (below) because it’s mainstream media’s way of explaining online niche marketing.
Google makes most of its money from searches people do right before they are about to buy something online. And as the article below hints, most people would rather find the product they want right away, read real in-depth reviews and then purchase that product quickly. Buyers don’t want to search endlessly through fake reviews and non-relevant webpages or sites with poorly written, duplicate content on the new HDTV they are looking to buy.
As niche marketers, we research a hot selling product on Amazon or an e-course through Clickbank, etc and we get our website ranked on top of Google so that those that are looking for the products and are ready to buy (hint: focus on buying keywords), come across our web properties and we help them make the buying decision. We then get compensated for such efforts. It’s so important to provide a unique, compelling and honest experience for prospects so that they can get make a good buying decision. Many years ago, marketers would slap on some weak website, throw some reviews on there and toss in an affiliate link, get it ranked and voila, make some sales. But, you need to realize that your market is much smarter than you may think.
So, if your site is not converting as well as is used to, consider re-doing the site and provide a site that you would be happy to land on when researching a product/service you are about to buy. Provide a thorough review, go way over the old, 500 word min. that the internet marketing courses of the early 2000’s taught you. Provide real videos of you reviewing the product and build trust with the visitor, then make a good offer and convert that sale!
I hope this information helps. As more people get online every day through tablets and mobile devices and traditional pcs/laptops, the internet “middle class content providers” are losing ground. I see a lot of poor sites and I see a lot of well done sites. Go with a well done site. Take some extra time. Cut down from 50 niche sites to maybe 5 – 10 authoritative sites and I am willing to bet you will make more money from those certain niches that you can spend the extra time developing. Spend the time it takes to provide unique, engaging content.
Anyways, here’s that article I found that inspired today’s post:
Forget Apple, Forget Facebook: Here’s The One Company That Actually Terrifies Google Execs
Author: Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider
It’s very easy to get caught up in the Android versus iPhone duel and Google’s recruiting battles with its newly-public Silicon Valley neighbor, Facebook.
But neither one of those companies worry Google executives as much as another that is actively taking money out of their pockets.
This company is from Washington, but no, it’s not Microsoft.
Google’s real rival, and real competition to watch over the next few years is Amazon.
Google is a search company, but the searches that it actually makes money from are the searches people do before they are about to buy something online. These commercial searches make up about 20 percent of total Google searches. Those searches are where the ads are.
What Googlers worry about in private is a growing trend among consumers to skip Google altogether, and to just go ahead and search for the product they would like to buy on Amazon.com, or, on mobile in an Amazon app.
There’s data to prove this trend is real. According to ComScore, Amazon search queries are up 73 percent in the last year. But it makes intuitive sense doesn’t it?
Why go through these steps …
- Google search “rubber galoshes,”
- Analyze some text links,
- Click on one to go to a product page on some e-commerce store,
- Click to add the item to your cart,
- Input your credit card,
- Input your address,
… when you can just …
- Search amazon for “rubber galoshes,”
- Click one button to buy the product with your usual credit card and have it shipped to your normal address.
On mobile, where Amazon has its own app and Google is just a search bar for a smaller-screened browser, the equation tips further in Amazon’s balance.
The scenario gets even scarier for Google if Kindle phones and Kindle tablets gain ubiquity.
If you have a Kindle phone, which comes with free movies and books because you have an Amazon Prime account, which also gives you free shipping, why in the WORLD would you ever search to buy something through anything but Amazon?
You wouldn’t.
That’s why Amazon is practically giving its hardware away.
It’s also why Amazon scares Google more than anything Facebook or Apple are up to.
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