Part 2 in a series of posts about how I set up ebay niche websites successfully

In my previous post I gave you an overview of ebay affiliate marketing and shared some of the sites I have put together. This post will focus on what components you need to have in place before flipping the switch and making your site live.

If you want to duplicate my success with the ebay affiliate program please follow along very carefully. I’m not saying my way is the best way. This is my formula for setting up my niche websites in less than one hour, driving traffic to my websites very rapidly and getting listings displayed in a timely manner.

I have had many people asking exactly how I put my sites together. I’m going to write this post under the assumption that someone brand new to the ebay affiliate program has stumbled across it. If you are experienced with the program already and need to know how to fine tune your site for more success, this is for you as well, but you may need to skip to the appropriate place.

This is #2 in a series of posts that describe how I quickly and painlessly set up my niche websites. In posts following this I will get into the fine details of site setup. Due to the amount of information that goes into how this is setup, I am breaking it up into multiple posts. To get instant updates when I post a blog, please sign up using the form on the top left of the screen.

The Nitty Gritty

Ebay Partner Network

Ok, do get his thing kicked off, you will need to sign up for the Ebay Partner Network. Signing up is a piece of cake and you can get a response back and be ready to go quickly.

While you are waiting for your response, you can begin getting the tools in place that you need for your website.

Keyword enriched domain name

Next, you need a domain name for your website. My advice to you, from experience, is to try to find a domain name that includes keywords that are relevant to your niche. CheerfulDomains.com is a great place to buy domain names.

Reliable Web Hosting

You can also purchase incredibly reliable web hosting at CheerfulDomains.com. I set up MANY ebay niche websites. I use a new domain name and a new install of Wordpress for each. CheerfulDomains.com has an AWESOME plan that allows you to host multiple sites with one account! With the Deluxe plan which is super cheap, you can sign up for monthly or annual hosting with 150GB of space! This is plenty of space to setup quite a few unique ebay niche websites. Another great feature available at CheerfulDomains.com is being able to setup Wordpress with just a few clicks. This sets up the database, the default them and everything else you need!

WorkTracker

Purchasing a Wordtracker package has been one of my BEST investments this year. Wordtracker gives you INCREDIBLE incite into what keywords you should be optimizing your site for for search engine optimization. WordTracker offers a 7 day free trial to let you try out the full version of their system. I was sold after two days! Wordtracker also offers a free downloadable pdf to help you get started with keywords and their system.

WordPress

You will need a copy of WordPress to set up ebay niche websites the way I do. WordPress is super simple to set up. Most hosting packages offer a quick and easy install. If not, you can download WordPress from WordPress.org. It comes with easy to follow instructions on how to get it live and ready!

Wordpress Plugins

Plugins are where the magic happens.

PageMash
The WordPress plugin PageMash helps you to categorize your pages in any way that you like. You can create directories and sub-directories of products or pages on your niche sites.

Google XML Sitemap
The Google XML Sitemap plugin is an invaluable resource to have when setting these sites up. With it, whenever you post a new page on your site, it will instantly notify Google, Yahoo, MSN and ASK and their spiders are all over your site. This helps to get new pages indexed quickly.

Google Analytics
Another critical tool to have is the Google Analytics plugin. If you do not have a Google Analytics account, be sure to sign up at www.google.com/analytics. This is a free service and offers you incredible incite into who is visiting your sites, for how long, how they got there, etc.

The mother of all plugins

Do you value your time at all? Do you enjoy spending countless hours trying to get something to work that should be very simple? Guess what… I spent many many hours trying to get ebay RSS feeds to work on my WordPress sites. Then, I came across this! This IS THE BEST purchase I have made this year. Most WordPress plugins are free. This one is so worth the money. With it, you can put ebay ads on your WordPress blog or website with one simple line of code. Want to hear a bonus I was presently surprised of? You can also post Amazon affiliate content links with it as well. The creator of this plugin is incredibly swift at responding to any questions or needs you have. Go get this plugin now and experience how quickly you can add listings to your site.

Time to get started

Ok, this is enough to get you started. For some of you experienced with doing this, it may be all the info you need. If you are new to creating niche websites for ebay or Amazon, this is plenty of information to get you going.

In my follow up posts this week, I will be talking in more detail how to set up the sites like my sites I have displayed in my previous post. I will also be talking about methods I have discovered that will EXPLODE your traffic INSTANTLY! These methods are changing how I put blogs and websites together as you read this! To receive instant notification of these posts, you can signup for my blog posts the second I push the submit button by signing up at the top left of this site.

Thanks for reading and look forward to more posts soon!