You want to be in the top three – or four – of the organic search results on Google? Done.

You want to get a free website from Amazon? Done.

You want to be the first thing a consumer thinks of when they’re searching for your product? Done.

So you want to grow a business online using SEO and paid search? You can do this, but it takes some work. And to be honest, a whole lot of patience.

Here’s the thing: Google (and other search engines) don’t just show you what they think you want to see. They also show you things that are relevant but maybe not exactly what you’re looking for. In other words, they help you find what you need, even if it’s not what you wanted. So if you want to grow a business using SEO and paid search, you have to make sure that you’re constantly refining your strategy and analyzing the results of your work. This is easier said than done, I know, but it’s worth it in the end. In this post, I’ll tell you exactly how I started my own agency and compiled a plan that worked like a charm.

Step one: Identify your target audience and make sure that they’re highly interested in your product.

In my case, I wanted to grow a business creating websites for small businesses. I came from a marketing and media background, so I’m used to working with consumers, businesses, and other digital marketing agencies. But since I was starting from scratch, I didn’t know exactly who my target audience was going to be. I knew that I wanted to target small businesses because there were lots of them and I thought that they might be the ones who could benefit the most from having a website.

So I started doing some research and came across a fantastic blog post by Neil Patel. In it, he listed seven reasons why a small business website is crucial for every business. One of the reasons was because customers have a hard time finding what they’re looking for. Even if your business is located in a small town, chances are, you’ll never get noticed if you don’t have a website.

In addition, customers can find all kinds of information on the web that can help them make better decisions. For instance, if you sell car parts and accessories, and the customer is looking for information on automotive repair, you can provide them with tons of helpful resources right on your website.

Step two: Identify your key performance indicators (KPIs).

You need to have a clear idea of what you’re measuring and how you’re going to measure it. In my case, I knew that I wanted to track the number of visitors to my website. And since I was using a free blogging platform, I could do that by simply logging in and checking my site’s analytics.

But to be able to grow a successful website, I also needed to understand what made up the bulk of my site’s visitors. So I started doing some research and came across some fantastic blogs and websites that could help me gain some insight. One of those was Built To Sell. On this blog, you’ll find case studies and blog posts from bestselling affiliate marketers. By analyzing the strategies and tactics that they use, you’ll be able to get a better understanding of how to grow your own business online. And that, in turn, will help you decide what makes your product unique enough to be worth selling and what works well with your target audience.

Step three: Set your budget and set some milestones.

Budget is always a key consideration when trying to grow a business. You don’t want to blow your revenue on costly ads when there are cheaper and more effective ways to grow your business. Similarly, you don’t want to set yourself up for failure by not having enough funds to cover the cost of a product you intend to sell.

Fortunately, with affiliate marketing, you don’t need to worry about budgets. When you’re generating income through affiliate marketing, you’re automatically getting paid what is known as Affiliate Marketing Income (or AMA).

That’s pretty convenient, right? No need to worry about getting paid what you’re worth. But despite the convenience, some people still opt to pay commission themselves rather than have it covered by their affiliate programs. Why? Because, in some cases, the minimum payout is so low that it could be considered a hassle to have it covered. Especially if you’re trying to generate a steady income. So in this scenario, having the affiliate income covered by a third party makes a lot of sense.

Step four: Choose your payment options and create a budget.

Once you have a clear idea of how much money you’re going to need to make, you can start choosing your payment options. There are several ways that you can make money online, and one of the best – and free – options is affiliate marketing. In the next section, we’re going to cover the basics of how affiliate marketing works and why it’s such a great option for entrepreneurs.

To get started with affiliate marketing, you simply need to create a website that contains articles and reviews about your product or service. Then, you’ll need to pick an affiliate program that suits your needs. Finally, you’ll need to identify products that you can promote on your site.

When a potential customer lands on your site and makes a purchase after reading your content, you’ll earn a commission. So it all comes down to these three steps. And to be able to succeed in this venture, you’ll need to follow them diligently.

Affiliate marketing basics.

Now, let’s take a quick look at affiliate marketing so that we’re all on the same page.

Here’s the deal: you’ll need to create a website containing articles and reviews about your product or service. These articles can be anything from product comparisons to customer reviews to tips and tricks on using your product.

Once you’ve got articles on your site, you can start choosing your affiliate partners. These are businesses or websites that you think might be interested in promoting your product. When you join an affiliate program, you’ll be assigned a unique URL that you can use to identify when someone clicks an affiliate link or buys a product that’s been promoted on your site. If someone clicks an affiliate link and joins an affiliate program, the merchant (which could be you at some point) will earn a commission if they make a purchase within a set period.

Keep in mind, though, that the longer that someone is a customer of your affiliate partner’s, the more commission they’ll generate. So if you’re running an online store and want to expand your reach, consider joining affiliate programs offered by companies like Shopify, Uber, and Squarespace.

To be able to succeed in this venture, you’ll need to follow these three steps:

Choose your product.

The first step is to choose your product. You want to pick a product that you feel is going to be relevant to your target audience. In my case, I chose affiliate marketing software specifically designed for small businesses.

Why? Because, as a small business owner, I knew that there were lots of tasks that came with the position that needed to be taken care of. And keeping up with them all would be hard on my own. Having a tool that could help me was worth the effort.

Set your budget.

The second step is to set your budget. Now is the time to consider how much money you’re willing to spend on ads and on making sales. You don’t want to blow your budget on ads when there are cheaper and more effective ways to gain the same results.

Luckily for you, I’ve got good news: you don’t need to spend a large amount of money to get started with affiliate marketing. You’ll find plenty of reputable affiliate programs that don’t cost much to join. And the great thing is that you don’t need to make a single sale to start profiting from affiliate marketing.

Choose your payment options.

Now it’s time to choose your payment options. There are several ways that you can make money online, and one of the best – and free – options is affiliate marketing. In the next section, we’re going to cover the basics of how affiliate marketing works and why it’s such a great option for entrepreneurs.

To get started with affiliate marketing, you simply need to create a website containing articles and reviews about your product or service. Then, you’ll need to choose an affiliate program that suits your needs. Finally, you’ll need to identify products that you can promote on your site.