Many people create affiliate websites in a bid to make money selling products or services without having to organise shipping. The sale from the website simply gets sent to another site (the retailer) where the order is completed.

So how does it work? Well if the product sells via your website, you get a percentage of the items value. This means that creating a website with expensive products will get you a larger cut of the sale. That said, if you’re selling a highly expensive item people are unlikely to pay for it on impulse and they may do their research a bit more first, perhaps finding the item on another website. Going somewhere in the middle can be a good shout because you get a decent cut from each sale and you’re likely to receive more orders than you would with high value items.

That’s great but how do I make the website?

Well there are many great third party platforms out there that allow you to set up online shops with affiliate items. WordPress is one of the most popular and you can use the Woocommerce plugin to connect with the retailer selling the item. Creating a site on WordPress isn’t too difficult if you practice building pages, and you an download a theme which essentially dresses up your website, leaving you to fill in the blanks.

Amazon have an affiliate marketing scheme that can be connected to WordPress websites, so you’re able to pick and choose from their huge range of products. You can obviously choose other suppliers too, and more retailers are seeing the benefit of allowing people to sell their products for a small percentage. Just remember, the website is just the starting point; you need to create a brand and market that website to maximise sales.

Many people believe marketing to be a great job in the UK and that’s great, but some argue there aren’t many opportunities when you look to move abroad. Of course, in non-English speaking countries you’re going to lack the communication skills but there’s no reason why you can’t progress in the likes of Australia, New Zealand and America among other countries. If you have a great deal of experience in marketing, then it’s important to understand your skills do count, wherever you are in the world. There will be many marketing jobs suitable for you in English speaking countries so don’t feel like you can only gain a marketing job in the UK. Marketing, design, copywriting and photography can be an asset to many employers around the world so make sure you take confidence in your skills and don’t shy away from opportunities abroad.

SEO is an essential part of website design for all businesses. Focusing on local SEO helps draw traffic from people who are already close by. Consider these tips when optimising website content for local search results.

1) Do Local Keyword Research

Business owners should know what keywords are ranking locally for their particular industry. Tools such as Google Insights can provide a window into what people are searching for and help determine which keywords to include in website content. Input likely keywords and narrow the results to a particular location and period to get the most relevant data along with related terms and new search trends.

2) Include Location Information

Every business website should include full location and contact information on each page. Business name, physical address, phone number, and e-mail address should appear in a prominent place so that it’s visible to both visitors and search engines. Include the same information along with the main website URL in all social media profiles to boost visibility in search results.

3) Use Local Online Listings

Business directories such as Yelp, Yahoo, Google Places and Yellow Pages offer another way to increase local visibility. Listings from these sites appear in search results and provide users with complete business information along with maps. Some also offer user reviews, which many people rely on for help when making purchasing decisions.

4) Don’t Forget Google+

For users with Google+ accounts, the social network has some influence over what they see in search results. Businesses can take advantage of this by creating a Google+ Business page and getting it listed in relevant categories of Google+ Local. This service integrates scoring and user review summaries from Zagat to help users choose everything from stores to restaurants. Users can also visit individual Business pages for more information, generating fresh traffic and potentially resulting in click-thru to the official business website.

5) Think Mobile

Depending on the industry, a business website may get as much as 50 percent of its traffic from mobile users. This makes it essential to have an easily navigable, mobile-friendly site. A growing number of people are performing mobile searches, looking for restaurants, retailers and other business locations that are accessible as they go about their daily activities. Mobile websites make businesses more readily available to active users and open the door to new marketing opportunities.

6) Track Keywords

Using an analytics tool like Google Analytics to keep track of keywords allows a business to see which terms are generating the most traffic. These results can be used to tweak website content or create fresh content that helps improve local SEO and boosts organic search rankings.

7) Be Visible Locally

One of the great ways to garner attention for a business is to get involved in the local community. Attending fairs and festivals and participating in community events such as fundraisers puts a business in the spotlight and may generate media coverage. Newspapers and local television stations post local news on their websites, increasing visibility for any business or organisation mentioned in the story.

Marketing to a local demographic allows businesses to take advantage of a large customer base in the immediate community and the surrounding area. A solid local presence can generate repeat customers from within the community and increases word-of-mouth advertising both online and off, leading to even more local traffic.

It’s all to easy to say the best marketing methods are digital. Many people will argue that direct marketing is old, but to say that it’s outdated is just wrong. Improvements are constantly being made in the direct marketing field. Email databases are easier to cleanse. Graphic design is more spectacular than ever. Printing has gone up a gear. Packaging can now be more personalised than ever before. Direct marketing is established and proven to some degree and it still presents plenty of opportunities for small and large businesses. Creating something special online is great, but being able to hold that physical, personalised message can be better, and it can can go further, so never rule this out as a marketing method.