| One of the most important aspects of | | | | The first and most important goal for Trevor |
| affiliate marketing is testing. This allows | | | | is to get traffic to his site. Without |
| you to know what works best for your | | | | traffic, this website is as good as your |
| particular website and gives you the warning | | | | personal hand written diary. Traffic |
| signs that you are possibly going down the | | | | encourages an excitement about your website |
| wrong route. Testing gives you the ability to | | | | and will ultimately make you money. There are |
| build the optimal website on which every | | | | hundreds if not thousands of different ways |
| space is filled in the most profitable way. | | | | to get traffic to your site. Each feature you |
| | | | add or remove from your site, could change |
| It is vital that you have access to Real Time | | | | your daily ratio from 10 to 1 visitor or just |
| stats if you want to be able to test out your | | | | as easily, from 10 to 10000 visitors. The |
| ideas. Most affiliate networks offer this | | | | beauty about testing is it never ends. |
| feature for free, and there are plenty | | | | |
| software packages on the market which will | | | | Once Trevor has sufficient traffic visiting |
| track this for you. In this way, you will be | | | | and revisiting his site, he needs to work a |
| able to see straight away if the change you | | | | way that encourages the visitors to stay and |
| have made has had any benefit to your online | | | | browse. Through informative articles or |
| business. Sometimes the crucial make break | | | | interesting campaigns, Trevor is now able to |
| changes, do not immediately track a huge turn | | | | test what works for his visitors and what |
| around of your business, but often there will | | | | does not work. As Trevor gains knowledge in |
| be some hint which gives you the hope that | | | | the power of testing, he will look for the |
| you are moving in the right direction. | | | | hidden, less obvious changes to test. A good |
| | | | example of this, is the difference it can |
| What exactly is testing? It can be as small | | | | make whether the name of the website is |
| as moving a banner from the top right hand | | | | displayed at the top middle, top left or top |
| corner to the top left. It can be as huge as | | | | right of the page. The importance of this |
| rethinking your whole model of how you will | | | | decision can have a significant impact on the |
| get traffic to your site. It could simply | | | | amount of type-in-traffic Trevor will receive |
| mean you need to replace the campaigns you | | | | to his site. |
| are currently running. Whether your goal is | | | | |
| to get visitors to your site, give your | | | | One of the most important parts of affiliate |
| visitors a wonderful time or it is to make | | | | marketing is testing. This allows the |
| money from every visitor that enters your | | | | affiliates to know the impact of each new |
| site, testing will give you the tools to spot | | | | idea and determine whether every change made |
| what is working and what needs to be | | | | will benefit or improve their site. Testing |
| rethought. | | | | hints or spells out exactly what works and |
| | | | what needs to be rethought. Thus, if you are |
| Let us look at an example. Trevor is running | | | | interested in affiliate marketing, make it a |
| a website on Disney World. He joins an | | | | goal to be interested in testing. |
| affiliate network and picks 3 offers which he | | | | |
| will run on his Disney World website. They | | | | Testing is not restricted to websites. It is |
| include an email submit campaign, a zip code | | | | just as effective if you want to improve your |
| campaign and a shopping site where his | | | | mailers or blogs as well. Don't hold back on |
| visitors can purchase Disney goods. He also | | | | testing, it is one of the most powerful tools |
| puts a bit of adsense on the top and left | | | | for success, and vital if you want to |
| hand side of his website. The rest of the | | | | succeed. From the moment you decide to build |
| site is filled with content and pictures. At | | | | a website, start a mailing list or write a |
| these early stages of the website, Trevor | | | | blog, testing each step can only be of |
| already needs to start testing. | | | | benefit to you and help you succeed. |
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