The next step of being an affiliate marketer is creating your own website. Building a website maybe is easy for some and difficult for others. If you have no idea how to create one and/or would like to learn how to make it easier for yourself read on… The purpose of this article is to break down step by step how to create a website. We can create a website in 5 to 10 minutes. It is that simple. The longest process are the researching and planning.
Why would we even want a website? A website is a store front for your online business. It is much more than a business card. It provides information about you, your services, and your products. It is almost like a resume and much more. Anyone can access it at any time and you don’t have to repeat or explain to your customers over and over again. Every time you meet someone new, you can refer them to your website. The best part is that your website can sell your products even when you are sleeping or doing something else.
The website, itself, cannot sell. It contains primarily information that you provide. SEO and marketing are the keys that attract consumers to your website. I will talk about SEO in a different article all together because there are way too much information to mention in one article. Here is a great video of an introduction on how to get your website SEO ready:
I am so excited about building the website that I am getting ahead of myself already. Before we even think about the SEO video above, we need to build your website.
Domain Name
The first step is think of a name for your website. What do you want to name your business? What is your product or services? What is your niche? If you are not sure yet, check out my article “What is My Niche Market?” then come back here when you are ready.
Now, you have a niche. Yay! Remember, you don’t have to sell a product or provide a service. Your website can be compilation of blogs and information about a niche such as Vietnamese cooking. I am throwing that out as an example because that is something I am totally familiar with. Even Vietnamese cooking maybe too popular at this time, we can narrow down to Vietnamese vegetarian cooking. Let’s use “Vietnamese Vegetarian Cooking” as an example for a name.
From my niche name, I can create a website with a domain name VietnameseVegetarianCooking.com. A domain name is a name or an address of a website. You have heard of “dot” com, “dot” net, or “dot” gov, right? Those are the most common extensions to a domain name. To learn more about domain names, please visit “Domain Name Registrar Review” for more information.
Do you have a name? Good. At this point, you probably have a name in mind. Two steps that I would recommend for you to check are
1. Find to see if your domain name is being used or registered by anyone yet. It has to be unique for each website. After all, it is your unique address.
2. Find to see if the domain name is a good keyword for the search engine.
I used a keyword software called Jaaxy and did a search for “Vietnamese Vegetarian Cooking.” Here were my results:
The “Vietnamese Vegetarian Recipes” is the best choice. It is available for “dot” com, net & org. The SEO keyword ranks at 96 out of 100. I didn’t choose “Vietnamese Vegetarian Recipe” even though it ranked at 97 because it was missing an “s” in recipe. It is important to choose the keywords that make sense to you. Are you planning to provide one recipe or multiple recipes?
You don’t have to use Jaaxy. There are other software and websites out there for you to do your research. Although, Jaaxy is free for you to try out if you are interested. Finding good keywords are a big contribution to rank your website on the search engine.
Godaddy.com is also another place for you to check out to see if your domain has been registered or not. However, it will not provide the keyword ranking for your name.
Once you find a good name for your domain, you can now register it. The price varies from $0.99 to $100 per year depending on who you register with. You can register the domain using companies such as Godaddy.com or WealthyAffiliate.com. I have registered with both and I found WealthyAffiliate.com much more beneficial.
Godaddy.com seems to be cheap at first but they have extra fees added on as you want and need more services. In the long run, Godaddy.com becomes more expensive. WealthyAffiliate.com is a one stop shop with one inclusive price especially gear toward affiliate marketing. Once you are a member, you can also access the keyword software, Jaaxy Lite, for free.
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Hosting
After registering your domain name, you will need a location for it. A location is the host for your website. It serves like real estates except it is online and intangible. You cannot touch or feel it. You can only access it through the computer with the domain name or IP address. This hosting location provides gigabyte server space for you to rent monthly or yearly just like renting an office space.
Here is an article “What is the Best Small Business Web Hosting Site – The Best Three Comparisons” to give you an idea what to choose from. In addition to register domain and provide keyword search software, Wealthy Affiliate can also host your website at once price. It makes my life much easier for sure. Wealthy Affiliate can take care of the technical stuff while I can focus on the contents and making money. Click on “Wealthy Affiliate Hosting Review – Is Making Passive Income for you?” to read more.
Website Layout
Find a hosting site yet? Ready to move forward to the next step? There are many ways to set up a website. The most popular websites are driven by WordPress. WordPress is no longer for blogging only. It has expanded tremendously over the years. Of course, there are other website setups such as Wix and Joomla.
The process of setting up the website layout can take a long time or can also be quick. It all depends on how complicated or simple you want your layout to be. The learning process usually takes more time than anything else. There are many layouts. Most affiliate marketers use WordPress as the foundation. I do too. My websites are primarily information, tips and instructions through blogging.
Here is a great video on how to create a website in under 30 seconds:
Content
The content is a very important aspect of a website. There are many ways to create the content of a website. One of many is creating a theme around your subject, topic, or niche. As a blogger or internet marketer, you may want to gain the consumers’ trust. You will want to be as transparent as possible while sharing who you are, your knowledge and information about your products, services, and/or teachings.
Here are common pages of content in a website:
– About me Page
– Privacy Policy Page
– Affiliate Disclosure Page
– Product / Service Review pages
– Blog / Recipes / How-tos / Videos / etc…
Here is a great video on “Writing Your Content with Intent – Amplifying Engagement and Conversation” by Kyle from Wealthy Affiliate
You can also do your own research and explore different websites available regarding your topic or niche. Compare and contrast to see what you like most and modify to your liking. Remember, one most important thing is never plagiarize articles from other websites. It is a no-no. Google engine crawl through the internet and will find duplicate articles. You will be marked and penalized.
My Final Two Cents
Create a website is quick and easy once you know what you want. The planning and researching of what you want take time. You don’t have to do everything on your own. Why not use the model that has been used over and over again successfully, make it your own and elaborate upon?
My major in college was computer science and I thought I could handle all the technical stuff on my own. I grew up to be DIY (Do It Yourself) kinda girl. Think again. There are so much to learn and to keep up. Sometimes it is better that someone else can take care of my technical needs and I can focus on the creativity to write articles or blogs.
I recommend everyone to check out Wealthy Affiliate if you are interested in becoming an internet marketer, affiliate marketer, website designer, etc. Wealthy Affiliate hosts and manages your website, teaches you step-by-step how to become an entrepreneur as an affiliate marketer, and provides the mentors (people who are successful affiliate marketers) to guide you on your journey of success.
Wanna to know more about Wealthy Affiliate? Visit ==> “My Honest Wealthy Affiliate Review – Is It Too Good To Be True?“. I love to hear your experience as an affiliate marketer or if you have any questions or comments, please leave me a note below. I will reply within 24 hours.
