A presentation from the Amazon Associates Roadshow showcasing the best practices to montise your website. Presented by Olaf Schmitz.

1. Monetise your Site
A Best Practice Guide

2. The Content Flywheel

3. Research Your Topic
Explore the subject areas you want to focus on

4. What is your Passion?
Great content comes from expertise. What are you
passionate about what would you like to share with the
(online) World?

5. Don’t be Afraid to Fail
Just because your boss tells you to do something,
doesn’t mean it will be good…

6. Finding a Topic
Useful Tools:
Google Keyword Planner: A free
tool that allows you identify global and
local, search volumes for specific and
related terms (remember some of the results shown by the
tool i.e. competitiveness will only be for paid search, but the
results should be indicative for organic as well
 Find a balance between searches and competitiveness
 Focus on global not just local.
 Don’t choose any keywords with less than <1000 searches
per month; usually target keywords that have around 15%
of your current monthly traffic
 Don’t pick any highly competitive terms. Focus on the
Longtail and grow your keyword target list over time.
 Seasonality, dependent upon your niche, you will need to
anticipate search volume fluctuations.
Ranking
Low = 3months
Medium: 6-12 Months
High: 1+ Years
Great volume + High Competitons

7. Finding a Topic
Useful Tools:
Google Trends: A tool to delve deeper into specific keywords
 Check seasonality
 Find traffic spikes
 Compare with other search terms
 Compare region interest

8. Finding a Topic
Useful Tools:
Answer the Public: Powerful tool
to identify keyword searches and
suggested topics
 Search by location
 How do users search: Questions & prepositions,
 Extreme granularity
 Simple UI
Please ignore the creepy man…

9. Finding a Topic
Useful Tools:
Amazon Associates: Use
purchase information to guide areas of
interest for you users
 Product purchasing on Amazon
 Clicks & conversion
 Track individual pages
 Optimise based on commission

10. Structure
Unique Content: Format: Layout

11. Relevance
There will always
be competition:
Make yourself
distinct; be
unique
Typically, sites which
rank well in Google will
receive traffic. Use these
sites as a benchmark
Olaf’s Top Tip
Try “longtail” keywords first
(Best pillows for bad necks)

12. Structure: Check List
Content Checklist:
 Relevance: Is your content relevant to your user base; is the
content related to the overall topic of your site?
 Providing Insight: Are you helping your user answer a
question? What is the best product? Where is the best place to
have Italian in London?
 Unique: Is your content unique? Does your content differ from
that of your competitors? What makes you better than the rest?
 Shopping Experience: Consider the users purchase journey,
are you helping your users find what they want to find?

13. Providing Insight
Content Checklist:
 Answer a question: Does your content help answer a
users question/problem? What value does your content
offer the user?
 Provide a recommendation/opinion: Your users trust your
opinion, provide them with a concise and clear
recommendation. Your are the subject matter expert!
 Make it detailed: Make sure that your content is detailed.
600 words + should be the aim for great content.
 Shopping Experience: Provide your user with a next step;
when they have finished reading let them decide if they
want to buy.

14. Providing Insight
Leverage your
Passion!
Content Checklist:
 Custom Photos etc.: Don’t
always think of stock photos,
provide your own photos and
video. Make your site truly
unique.
www.openclipart.org
 Make it your own: Share your
thoughts, likes/dislikes. Be
honest with your users.
 Be quirky: People like your
site because they like your
style; never be generic show
your personality through
content
www.spokeandco.co.uk

15. Shopping Experience:
Conversion raiser
Use Amazon
Style

16. Shopping Experience
Custom
Photos
(+Cat)
Custom
Video
(…+Cat)
Use “Cut
Price”
Easy to
navigate, great
content and
clear call to
action
Content
review

17. Customer Journey
Your site visitor
Engages with a piece
of content
The user is inspired by
you’re your
recommendation
An Amazon “Call to
Action” is present
Amazon converts the
user to purchase
Opinions &
Expertise
Clear CTA
Amazon
Pedigree
Make it
relevant
Great user
experience =
Return users

18. Technical Etiquette
Making sure you are technically savvy

19. Fix Technical Errors
Technical Toolkit:
 Site Loading Speed: Google Page Speed Insight
 www.developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights
 Mobile Friendliness: Google Mobile Friendly Check
 www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly
 Duplicate Content: Siteliner
 www.siteliner.com
 Fix broken external links
 Check your redirect chains
 404 Errors
 Change 302s to 301s
 Check for canonical errors
 Watch out for duplicate META data
 Make use of Sistrix Optimiser

20. High Quality Back Links?
Relevancy/Authority
Sistrix/
Majestic
Moz Open
Site Explorer
SimilarWeb
Linking
No Link
Farms!
Remember
No Follow (for
link out)
Remember
Relevance
Organic Linking
Use social
channels
Make people
want to links
Don’t spam
forums
Create
content for
linking pages

21. What’s Next?

22. Have fun!