It feels, at times, like I've covered all the niches and sub-niches there are, but something catches my attention, or in this case, someone says it outright, and voilà! Another niche to look into and write about.
Such is the case with this week's Niche of the Week.
I was staring at a blank Word doc, thinking about what to write for the coming week's NOTW, when another Affilorama staff member, bless her, says to me: Have you done a feature on shopping cart affiliate programs?
I hadn't, but here it is now. Grin.
Digital Shopping Carts
Shopping has gone digital. So the carts did, too.
Shopping carts aren't just the carts we push around at the store. They also include the electronic setups where the items we want to buy from an online store are placed until we "check out" and pay. Shopping carts are essential if you want to sell anything online, making them a crucial e-commerce tool.
E-commerce covers business-to-business marketing, online shopping and online marketplaces. It is a multimillion-dollar industry that continues to grow year after year. It's easier than ever for someone to set up an online shop and start selling. You don't even need a significant amount of startup capital thanks to dropshipping.
This has given rise to various e-commerce platforms that offer shopping carts, buy now buttons, store hosting, and various tracking for inventory and sales — in short, everything you need to set up an online store.
If you already run a successful online shop, or you've always wanted to run one, you can use these affiliate programs to boost your income.
"Shopping Cart" Keywords
Competition is stiff, and there are hardly enough variations to add to your list either.
There's a decent amount of competition in this niche, as seen in the Competition column in our keyword research results. The obvious target keywords are "shopping cart," "shopping cart software," and the like. All of them have high monthly search values alongside equally high competition.
Keywords in these niche are mostly keywords with buyer intent: "best shopping cart," "ecommerce packages," and "get shopping cart." You'll also see interest in "free" keywords, like "free shopping cart." They have good monthly search values, but there's not so many of them in this niche compared to others. Probably because there aren't that many free shopping carts available.
I went over to Affilotools to see if I could get better results but it's pretty much the same. You're going to need to dig a bit deeper to get some viable keywords in this niche. Ubersuggest.org can give you good variations. However, you should really consider related keywords that you can write about in blog posts and articles, like "setting up your online store," "successful online business." or "what you need for your online store." These are keywords that are related to the general e-commerce niche, but you can write an article about them that includes and refers to shopping carts. They will also help establish you as an expert, leading your readers to trust you.
Shopping Cart Affiliate Programs
The trick to finding them is to check out eCommerce service providers.
As always, I checked on ClickBank's Marketplace first before searching online. There were no shopping cart affiliate programs. However, I did come across an interesting WordPress theme that will turn your site to an e-commerce website. It's related to what I'm looking for, but not related enough to include here.
So, I went online yet again to look for shopping cart affiliate programs. Some of the good ones are as follows :
1. e-Junkie
e-Junkie primarily offers shopping carts but they also have an active Marketplace where you can buy unique digital products.
They also help merchants manage their own affiliate program, and affiliates can equally register to access
How much can I make?
20% of your referred member’s monthly subscription.
How do I apply?
Find out more, or register, through their affiliate page.
2. X-Cart
X-Cart provides small and large businesses alike with e-commerce solutions ranging from an SEO-friendly catalog, to a newsletter feature for marketing. It's like a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs looking for a good e-commerce package.
How much can I make?
15% on all orders.
How do I apply?
X-Cart manages their own affiliate program. You can check out their affiliate page for more information.
3. CS-Cart
CS-Cart provides a comprehensive shopping cart package, including an eBay add-on and a cloud storage option. The site also offers multi-vendor software for the daring entrepreneurs who want to create their own marketplaces.
How much can I make?
15% on the first software license.
How do I apply?
BlueSnap manages CS-Cart’s affiliate program. You need to register first as a BlueSnap affiliate and then go to the CS-Cart affiliate page for more details.
4. DirectPay
DirectPay is yet another eCommerce solutions provider that offers mobile payment tools and business development along with their online shopping cart system.
How much can I make?
30% of all monthly fees for the life of the account.
How do I apply?
No affiliate network to sign up with. Just go to the DirectPay affiliate page to register as their affiliate.
5. 3dCart.com
3dCart.com has been offering eCommerce solutions since 1997. The provide small business with B2B eCommerce solutions, subscription software and point-of-sale alongside their staple shopping cart solutions.
How much can I make?
As much as 300%.
How do I apply?
3dCart.com manages their own affiliate program so you can head on to their affiliates page for more information and to register.
Shopping for Links
Let people know you have just the shopping cart solution for them.
Link building is challenging, but it's a crucial step in getting traffic to your site. Knowing the various link building methods, and having a link building strategy in place helps a lot in transitioning from site building to traffic generation. Make sure to have at least a rough draft of your plan before you build the site so that when the time comes for building links, you won't get stuck.
Content Strategy
Long gone are the days when an e-commerce store could just stick up some product descriptions and call it done. If you want your online store to thrive, you need to think about content — even before you start thinking about link building.
Content strategy is about planning and managing the content you publish on your site. You can't just sit down and write something when the mood strikes you. If you want successful content that turns readers into loyal customers, then you need to do proper research on your topic, be creative on how you present your content , and publish regularly. You can do blog posts, videos, and even infographics related to trends in your niche, shopping guides to help people select products, information about sales promotions, and of course, information about shopping carts and e-commerce software. Then, you can spread your content via email newsletters and social media to help get the word out and encourage people to share links back to your site.
Link Indexing
This is an oft-forgotten link building method, probably because you don't really have to do it often. You can gather the backlinks you've created, and after a certain point, run them through sites link Pingler.com and get them all indexed.
Don't let any good backlinks you've made sit and wait to get indexed. You can help speed up the process, which means you might see changes in your search engine results sooner than later.
Press Releases
Businesses often have special offers to help increase sales. They also have product launches, and other sales events. You can write press releases sharing this information, with a link going back to your site. These backlinks have an advantage in that they'll bring consumers eager to buy right to your site.
Shopping Cart Affiliate Programs: In the Bag or Back on the Shelf?
This niche can be highly lucrative, but requires more work than others.
20%
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15%
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15%
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30%
Comission
300%
Commission
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Shopping cart affiliate programs go in the bag. Definitely! The commission might not seem a lot, but e-commerce packages usually costs hundreds of dollars a year — and sometimes more than $100 a month! A 10% commission for a $300 package gets you $30. Some of the commissions are recurring, too, so you earn as long as the member you referred is subscribed to the service. Give your customers some good resources to help them thrive and you'll have commissions rolling in for a while.
You have to watch out for the competition though. Be ready with your link building and marketing strategies. Having a solid content strategy in place is a must: High-quality, creative content can get users to your site, and get them to keep coming back.
I would recommend this niche to people new to affiliate marketing, but I would suggest they build a site that focuses on e-commerce as a whole. There's only a few truly great shopping cart affiliate programs you can promote, and you can only write so much about them. I would include some web hosting affiliate programs too, and maybe some email marketing affiliate programs as well. These are all related to creating an online shop.
But I would start small by focusing on any of these affiliate programs, then add more later on.
I hope you enjoyed this week's Niche of the Week! Please share it using the Share buttons below.
Would you go into the shopping cart or e-commerce niche? Are there any niches you think are better than this? Leave a comment and let us know!
Read more: affilorama.com
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