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Affiliate marketing competitions seem to be all the rage these days and why not? Everyone involved wins out in some way. Affiliate networks gain a lot of exposure and new affiliates, merchants get their offers promoted by the best in the business, and affiliates sharpen their skills to compete, learn new tactics, and win some awesome prizes on top of commissions.

The latest network to come out with a noteworthy contest is Direct Agents in partnership with Bidz, the largest interactive jewelry auction site.

Just for some background information, Direct Agents is a very small affiliate network trying to gain some exposure. Honestly, I didn’t really know about them before this promotion, but I’ve heard some great things from trustworthy. For example, affiliate Ian Fernando says that they don’t have a lot of offers, but they have the right offers with high conversion rates. The Direct Agents support team of affiliate managers is also very friendly and accommodating – a big benefit of working with a smaller network.

Now on to the competition…

The top 3 Direct Agents affiliates who drive the most number of leads for Bidz.com between February 15th and March 31st April 15th will win the following prizes.

1. Trip to the Caribbean for 2
2. 42″ flat screen TV
3. $300 gift card to use anywhere

Sound interesting? Learn more about the Direct Agents/Bidz Affiliate Challenge and sign up to participate.  I’ve actually run the Bidz.com offer in the past so I’m going to give you a few pointers on how to make money using this offer. Heck, maybe you’ll end up winning. 

Tips for Making Money Promoting the Bidz Offer via PPC Affiliate Marketing

1. Try out the smaller PPC networks
There’s a lot of competition and volume in Google, but you can do a lot better in Yahoo if you play it smart and can handle the clunky interface.

2. Come up with various keyword variations and test them

• Use the Google keyword tool to find search frequency values and use them to come up with an initial keyword list.
• Use a competitive keyword service like KeyCompete to find the keywords that competitors and Bidz.com itself is bidding on.
• Come up with your own variations using the different features of jewelry (e.g. silver necklace, gold ring jewelry, etc.). Look at the category listings on Bidz.com for more ideas.
• Also be sure to track everything and add in negative keywords to your list so that your ads don’t show for irrelevant keywords.

3. Make your ads highly specific & relevant
There are a ton of keywords you can come up with for all of the different types of jewelry. Make sure that they are tightly grouped into related ad groups and make your ads specific to that group. For example, if you’re bidding on “women’s gold necklace”, you want your ad to target that phrase, not just live jewelry auctions in general.

4. Optimize your landing page
A landing page that matches in style with the actual Bidz.com will perform best. Use the same background, font, and layout. You’ll see much higher conversion rates. Also do a search on Google for obvious keywords like “live jewelry auctions”. You can see what the other affiliates are using and copy some of your favorite elements. A long-running ad for a competitive (and expensive) keyword usually means that the affiliate is making good money.

5. Try Facebook and MySpace
Both Facebook and MySpace have PPC advertising programs that allow you to target specific audiences. There’s definitely money to be made here. Hint: try targeting middle-aged women – it’s the audience that works best with the Bidz offer.

I hope that helps you get started in this competition and in your affiliate marketing efforts in general. Are you a Direct Agents/Bidz affiliate yet? Try running the campaign and see how it performs for you. Good luck!

Internet Marketing Blog – Make Money Online Copyright 2009 Winning the Web. All Rights Reserved.

Winning Tips for the Direct Agents & Bidz Affiliate Marketing Challenge

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