I'm in the same boat as you on trying to decide between direct linking and landing pages as it's my understanding right now landing pages are really just used to HELP convert those viewers to buyers for the more tricky expensive products you may be trying to sell via whatever affiliate network your working with.
Just want to start making some dough here
Ok, I'll chime in here quickly.
Yes, PPC done
"CORRECTLY" and direct linking can be the FASTEST way to start making money online. (Not to scare you off, but people have lost their asses in PPC who did not understand how to use it properly.)
With that in mind I will add this:
1.) You really should look at Adsense as the TIP left at a restaurant. (You are the restaurant owner and want to be paid for the MEAL!! LOL)
As said above, it should really only be used on pages with no call to action for anything else. (Though it is still BETTER to just find another offer that relates to those pages and then put in a call to action for that offer.)
2.) If you are using PPC to drive traffic to an offer as an affiliate, the only times that "I" would consider using a landing page is:
A.) You are promoting an offer with stiff competition and want to set yourself apart by offering people who buy through your link something extra for free that they can redeem after making a purchase.
When you use your own landing page for an offer that already has a GOOD LP your click through rate will be lower to the offer.
B.) You are going to be promoting other similar products and want to start building a LIST of people who are interested in that niche so you can market to them later without having to use PPC the next time around. You can offer them something FREE like a PDF ebook (BOO HISS!! LOL) with more information about the subject and BE SURE to have the offer's link in it with a call to action. These leads can actually be MUCH more profitable long term than the current offer that you garnered them from.
If option
B is the point then you are actually making a Squeeze Page.
I'm a pretty firm believer in building lists. Lists are YOURS!! You have control of the people seeing an offer with a list. You can market to the same people multiple times. It's also a proven FACT that a person who has bought once, will be more likely to buy again provided they had a good experience the first time.
A lot of people look at SEO for the long term. Algorithms can change and your page can go up & down.
If you are a diligent list builder and maintain that list you will not have to worry about getting traffic to any offer or site that you are promoting. Just shoot out an email and get people to look at the site/offer. One of the nice things about a list is that you don't have to keep getting TONS of new domains to offer new products. You can just have ONE main domain and then for each new offer you promote you can just create FREE sub-domains with your host and not even have to worry about what to name the domain. Since it will be a sub-domain and you will be marketing to a list without concern for search engine rankings, you can use the EXACT name of the offer/product. (Less time and headache for each new offer.) Then, if the offer petters out just kill the sub domain. No problem.
It really does NOT take that much effort to keep lists up to date and active. (Once you get the hang of it that is. Lulz)
Another good thing about having ACTIVE and RESPONSIVE lists is that affiliate networks really like working affiliates who have large lists to put their offers in front of. Not to mention the Joint Venture opportunities that arise from list sharing.
Of course list building does take some time, but it's WELL worth it for the long term. There is NOT one 7 figure earner out there that does not have and use lists for their businesses. You start building a list the first day you start doing business online.
Learn about list building and Opt-Ins as soon as you can. Most people either ignore this or do it poorly. The old adage of "The Money is in The List" is absolutely true.
OK, to sum it up in a nutshell:
You can either SLAUGHTER the sheep and sell the whole thing outright. One time profit from that commodity. Granted, it may be a higher initial payout, but you only get it once.
OR
You can decide to just harvest and sell the sheep's wool. Maybe a lower payout at first, but it will be an income source for the life of the sheep. So, you just get more sheep to stay on your farm/list so that you have more fleece to harvest and sell each sheering season.
Since you have some money and programming experience you are a good 80% ahead of anyone starting in IM/AM.
I wish you well in your endeavors.
P.S. Just did a quick search and this blog pretty much says what I feel and also gives you something to AVOID on a squeeze page.
Tellman's List Building Blog
(domain is now defunct).
