The Foundation of Your Success

In late 2005 Pew/Internet, one of the most respected names in online research published a
report about search engine usage. Their report concluded that on an average day, nearly
60 million people use search engines. Search is now the second most popular online
activity, just behind e-mail.

Search engines have transformed the way people buy products and services both online
and offline. Search engines represent a huge opportunity for affiliate marketers. In order
to leverage the power of search engines, affiliates must first understand the importance of
keywords. Put simply, keywords are the words and phrases people use to find what
they're looking for in the search engines. Keywords are the foundation of every
successful affiliate marketing campaign.

Before I register a domain name or build a website I spend a lot of quality time doing
keyword research. This keyword research helps me to better understand the products and
services I'm promoting, and helps me to plan my website and marketing strategy.
It's not only important to find as many keywords as possible, but it's also critical that you
focus on the right keywords. One of the biggest factors that have contributed to my
success as an affiliate is keyword research. The more (good) keywords you have in
your list, the more opportunities you have to drive targeted traffic to your website, which
will lead to more commissions.

This section will show you how to build and manage a highly-targeted and
comprehensive keyword list.