Today I want us to look at free traffic vs paid traffic because there has been a big debate lately in the affiliate marketing world, people who are selling courses, some insisting that you don’t have to learn SEO, and you also don’t need to invest in your own domain and hosting, you can just buy traffic, and get those sales and make money online.

I have seen some gurus who recommend that you just create a blog using some of the free platforms like blogger or others and then get on sites like clickaduads.com or maxivisits.com and buy traffic, now the problem with buying traffic especially when you are just starting out, is that you are not really not going to grow your online business that way because you need a huge budget.

So free traffic vs paid traffic, which one is better?

Buying traffic might help you make sales quicker than when you are working on organic traffic, but once you are not able to spend more money, then your business will come crashing down on you. I am saying that you should never use paid traffic? no that is not what I am saying. It’s actually a good idea to run a few campaigns now and then to boost your business.

Although I would rather spend money on Google ads or Bing ads than those websites where you are not even sure whether they are legit, The good thing about running ads on Google or Bing is that they are going to actually boost your organic traffic, and you don’t have to spend tons of money.

And also you might find a product that you really want to promote and make a quick dollar, then in that case you can weigh your options and see, whether it’s worth spending $50 to $100 dollars worth of traffic, if you will make profit, then there is no harm done, but for long term, I don’t think paid traffic is a realistic way of sustaining your online business.

I have seen people who start those free blogs and pay freelance content creators on Fiverr to create content for them and then they buy traffic and they think they are running a business, until they find that they are not even making sales as a result of paid traffic, and in fact they are just losing money. So you will have a blog that is founded on a free platform, so you can’t move it to another hosting, and in the end, you just end up wasting money and efforts.

I am always advocating for building your own website

As you know, I am always against trying to build your business on someone else s platform, just have your own domain and also make sure that you are in control of your business and that you are flexible meaning you can move your website anytime you want to, this means that the website is really yours.

Another problem that people face, is when they try to buy subscribers for YouTube channel, yes you might buy the 1k subscribers which is what is required by YouTube before you can qualify for monetization of your channel, but, there is another requirement that you have to keep in mind, it’s not just about the 1k subscribers. It’s also about the watch time 4k hours of watch time in 12 months.

So, if you just buy the subscribers and they don’t actually watch your videos, then again it’s a waste of money and effort.

But I think it’s a great idea to start with the organic traffic, then when you have a steady flow, and you start making sales, then you can spend some money promoting your business so you can scale it even higher. The only money I would recommend you spend when you are starting out in online business is your own domain and hosting for your website.

Anyone who is selling a course that discourages you from having your own self hosted website, they are leading you astray I can tell you that much, if someone is encouraging you to build your online income around what they are promoting, for example, they tell you to sign up for a program they are promoting and then you are supposed to stay there and just promoting that particular program and bringing more people to that program.

The true affiliate marketing training is the kind that sets you free

That is not Affiliate Marketing, and if that’s what they are teaching you, you better run. The true affiliate marketing training is when someone sells you a course that will teach you how to build your own self hosted website and start promoting whatever you want to promote, whether is kitchen appliances, sports gear or whatever you like. And the course needs to focus a lot on SEO and how to drive organic traffic to your website.

As a beginner in Affiliate marketing is mandatory that you learn how to drive organic traffic to your website, sure it’s not gonna be easy to start getting those clicks but once they start, it only gets better from thereon. Then you can start thinking about plans to boost your website. Which means even if you stop the campaigns, you will still have your steady flow of organic free traffic.

Anyone who is telling you that it’s very easy to make money online and that you don’t have to do anything, you just have to set everything automated and the money will just start flowing into your account, they are not being truthful and they just want you to buy whatever it is that they are selling and then they can be on their way and you will be stuck with a course or training that is not taking you anywhere.

I am telling you this because I have been there and I have learned the hard way I wasted my time and some money buying courses that took me nowhere. One of the way to test if the training or course that you are being sold is designed to help you start and grow an online business, is to see if they are going to help you start and grow your own brand, or do they just want you to join theirs then help them to scale their brand?

You Have To Own Your Business 100%

In order for you to truly claim that you are running your own online business, you need to be the 100% owner of that business. Sure, as I said there will be hard times, and there will be even times when you will feel like giving up, but once you establish a website that is getting visitors and you start making sales, it’s up and up from there.

The first 6 months of starting your website are going to be tough, you will be writing many articles, you will be doing a lot of keywords research and you will be feeling like you are talking to an empty room, but the secret is to not give up, but put as much content as you can, make sure your work is of the highest level meaning you give value to your readers, depending on your niche, join affiliate networks and write a lot of products reviews.

So when you finally hit that traffic gold mine, the visitors will have links to click and buy.

Conclusion

Paid traffic is a nice way to boost your website, but it’s not a way to start your online business. My advice to you if you are serious about building a money-making website, don’t go for it with a mindset of short term success, instead, go for it with a mindset of long-term success.

Look at Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, he had an idea when he was in university, and he arranged a meeting with 5 of his friends in his dorm room to discuss the business idea he had, only two friends showed up for the meeting and I bet they are glad they showed up for that meeting. Now did it take Mark two months to build Facebook? definitely not.

But he never gave up on his ideas and his goals and look at him now. So although you might not build another Facebook, you can build something else and maybe something better who knows, just don’t limit yourself and definitely don’t let anyone limit you.

Build your own website and work on it every free time you get, and in due time, you will see results and actually the starting is the hard part, as your business grows, things get easier, and you won’t have to work as hard especially after you learn how to do things correctly.

OK, your turn now. Tell me, what do you think about paid traffic? Do you think it will save you the time? or do you prefer working longer for the free organic traffic, leave your comments below.

Thank you for your time

Rose

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