How do they do that... there's no real content?

**MrP** · January 27th, 2011, 6:17 PM

So I've been reading some of the amazing wealth of information on experiencedpeople.com as well as here, fantastic sites well done guys.

I have been dreaming of being able to make money online for several years now and every time I start looking into it, I'd get frustrated with all the 'Buy this to find out' kind of info and would soon give up. But, after finding this place I see that as a general rule, most advice seems to say...

Research niches that follow your interests
Launch a content site related to those niches
Do seo to drive traffic to site (maybe adwords etc)
Apply to affiliate programs to monetise

This approch I can understand and although it is a big learning curve for me I think by taking it one step at time I should be able to get somewhere (maybe!)

Please... bare with me, I'm getting to the question

Right, so following something I read on experienced people, I went to Flippa.com and was looking through the recently sold web sites and got a little confused when I came across this site...

http://laptopforfree.net

EST Mar 2010, MthlyRev $550, MthlyProfit $542, MthlyVisits 6427, sold for $3500

From what I understand, affiliate networks require you to have a site before you can apply for the affiliate programs, but that site, as far as I could see, has no 'real' content. It seems to be made up completely of affiliate adds apparently making money on CPA.

Ahha... the question...

How can he/she apply for the affiliate programs and get accepted if he/she either doesn't have a site or has a site but no content (just the basic shell)?

I mean... that isn't the only site like that, I've come across many others over the years.

Any input would be great,

Regards Mr P

**benitez17** · January 27th, 2011, 7:51 PM

Not all affiliate networks are picky, or the owner of the site could have a network of affiliate sites that perform well, so the network gives them the benefit of the doubt.

Also, it is possible to throw up a site, get the site approved, and then dump all of the content and fill the site with ads.

**Thomas** · January 27th, 2011, 8:20 PM

Benitez is right.

Some of the larger or more private networks require a referral to get you in - these guys will ask you a lot of questions about volume and ad spend etc, but not usually about your sites as most professional affiliate marketer's won't show their landers to the networks anyway. Others aren't fussy at all and would let you in with a simple blogspot and a ripped article.

Once you're into a network you don't have to show them every site you have or want to run. The site you linked to doesn't actually look that bad - you might be surprised what converts, especially with paid traffic. My current top earning site looks HORRIBLE - yet makes a killing with PPC. Some of my nicest designed sites don't do very well at all.

I've gone off on a bit of a tangent there - but in conclusion, you don't necessarily need a good site to get into an affiliate network, especially if you know what you are talking about.

Edit: looks like the site you linked to is running PeerFly offers - who are probably one of the easiest networks to get into, they have a lot of "freebie" offers like the ones run on that site.

**MrP** · January 27th, 2011, 8:44 PM

Thanks for the replies.

So basically then it's down to the network you sign up with then (or get referred to). I see... I signed up with Affiliate Window and Trade Doubler which at the time turned out to be a waste of time as neither had the merchants I was looking for. Both of these asked for a site for the merchants inspect before they decide if to accept me into their program.

**Clinton** · January 28th, 2011, 3:10 AM

Research niches that follow your interests
Launch a content site related to those niches
Do seo to drive traffic to site (maybe adwords etc)
Apply to affiliate programs to monetise

That is far from the only option. You could also create a membership base, build a subscriber list, monetise by selling links, sell a product directly, bundle the information from your site into an ebook .... or even simply become an eBayer trader!

Welcome to experienced-people.net

**crabfoot** · January 28th, 2011, 4:10 PM

If a site has enough traffic to get good placings in searches, it can function quite well as an affiliate site - but it needs some SEO to get there, and a good keyword name.

Take a look at carbonbikes,co,uk - again, no real content, but the site is preaching to the converted. It gets type-in traffic, and it focuses on the widest range of carbon bikes. People go there to see the range of things they can buy, they don't need too much help ...

**visiongroup** · January 28th, 2011, 4:19 PM

FYI. The site actually does have content. It's simply hidden for the average user. If you type site:laptopforfree.net into Google you'll see they have over 800 pages indexed. Keep in mind what the user sees is different from what a search engine sees.

**MrP** · January 28th, 2011, 4:38 PM

That is far from the only option. You could also create a membership base, build a subscriber list, monetise by selling links, sell a product directly, bundle the information from your site into an ebook .... or even simply become an eBayer trader!

Thanks Clinton,

I must confess, I did try the 'eBay trader' method a few years back and although I did make a profit, I think ebay and paypal were making more from my deals than I was. I would buy bundles of ps2 games and resell them as single items. It was ok I suppose but when you take into account all the fees.... Listing fee, Final value fee, Charge for paypal to collect the money and the cost of postage... it didn't leave a lot in the way of profit.

These other ways you mention, 'membership based' would that be like a forum, blog or (just to keep my daughter happy) club penguin type site? And 'build a subcriber list' i'm guessing would be for some kind of news letter, but you got me a little stumped with 'selling links', isn't that what affiliate marketing is, selling the space on your site for the advertisers links or banners?

Mr P

**hooperman** · January 28th, 2011, 4:47 PM

Originally Posted by MrP

but you got me a little stumped with 'selling links', isn't that what affiliate marketing is, selling the space on your site for the advertisers links or banners?

Usually people buy links for the search engine rankings boost they might give. Higher PR sites tend to get higher prices, as do "authority" sites, whatever authority means.

Yet other sites might have other things to offer beside PR, like massive traffic. If you're looking to get more exposure for your site, you could do worse than to buy some advertising on a high traffic site in your niche.

**MrP** · January 28th, 2011, 5:12 PM

@crabfoot, yes, I see your point with that site. I agree that there no real content but there is a small amount of something on the home page which is more than I could find on 'laptopforfree'.

Originally Posted by visiongroup

FYI. The site actually does have content. It's simply hidden for the average user. If you type site:laptopforfree.net into Google you'll see they have over 800 pages indexed. Keep in mind what the user sees is different from what a search engine sees.

Ok, so maybe they do have 837 pages indexed in google, but apart from the 'about us', 'contact us' and 'privacy policy' pages (none of which contain what I class as content), all the rest are pages full of affiliate links. I was asking how they build a site full of links without having any 'Real/Proper' content.

Mr P