AdWords: Winning The Battle

There was a time, not long ago, when all it took to be a successful affiliate marketer was to carefully choose a product or service, put together an AdWords campaign, and make the destination URL your affiliate link. You didn’t even need your own website to be successful. This process of direct linking came to be known as the “Google Cash” method. While the AdWords game is no longer as simple as it once was it is still worth playing.

These days the AdWords game has gotten a lot more complex. And while it’s in your best interest to become familiar with the other pay-per-click options, for now, Google’s AdWords is the undisputed king of the hill.

The key to success in playing the AdWords game is knowledge. You must acquire a fundamental understanding of how the AdWords system works and stay abreast of all the latest changes to the program. On top of that you must stay in the know on the latest techniques for taking advantage of the system. This includes blackhat tactics, whether you choose to use them or not.

Staying ahead of the curve is becoming a necessity for the AdWords marketer. The crackdown on direct linking put many affiliate marketers, riding high on the “Google Cash” cow, completely out of business. The problem was that the direct linkers had put all their eggs into one basket so when Google took the basket away they had nothing left. What the direct linkers failed to understand was that the direct linking method, like AdWords itself, was simply one means of generating traffic, and not meant to be an all or nothing measure. Those who understood this weathered the storm and continued to make money.

The buzz in the AdWords community of late is that the affiliate mini-site approach, (created when the “Google Cash” method became much less viable), is about to undergo its own version of the Google Slap. Those in the know say Google wants affiliate mini-sites to include much more free, useful content, and will begin penalizing those that are nothing more than product pitches, with prohibitive keyword minimums. It is also said that soon they’ll be cracking down on Url cloaking methods that are currently being used to get around the one Url per keyword policy.

As Google’s AdWords standards are ever-evovling so too must your strategies. The current workaround strategy is the creation of a directory from which you can indirectly promote your affiliate programs. Directories are both content and keyword rich, and should satisfy Google for a while.

Of course there’s always the old fashion approach: take the time and create a substantial website, filled with free, useful content. From such a site you can promote whatever you want without having to worry about the ever-changing moods of Google’s AdWords program.

In the midst of all the AdWords minutiae it is vitally important not to lose sight of the fact that AdWords is just a tool. Remember, your goal is to drive traffic to your chosen site. Mastering a few of the other approaches to generating traffic will strengthen the foundation of your affiliate business.

Always remember, AdWords is ever-evolving; first they cracked down on direct linking, decimating the “Google Cash” cow, and now they’re going after link cloaking and affiliate mini-sites that lack, in their view (the only one that matters), sufficient content. Who knows if or when they’ll go after directories? The bottom line is you need a multitude of weapons in your arsenal: search engine optimization, AdWords and other pay-per-click options, classified ads, forum posting, ezine advertising, articles, rapid mini-site creation, press releases, viral, blackhat, and anything else that comes along. In short, be prepared for whatever may come, and sufficiently diversified in your approach to promoting your products.

To learn the latest techniques and strategies for making money with AdWords, visit http://www.adwordsunderground.com.

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