WordPress is an amazing platform. Not only can we use it to blog, but also to create full force content management sites to do pretty much anything with it. One of these options is to use WordPress to setup a BANS clone site.
What is BANS?
BANS stands for “Build a Niche Store” and it is a software that allows you to build unlimited websites based on the EBay affiliate program. It is an ideal software to build niche sites with but the draw back for many people is the cost attached to it. For a once of cost of USD $97 you will get:
- Your own licensed copy of BANS
- An unlimited site license which allows you to build as many BANS sites as possible
- A BANS user manual
- Professional templates to stand out from the crowd
- Access to the BANS member area
- Free lifetime updates
If you are prepared to spend the $97, then BANS is an incredible software to help you build niche sites fast. But hold on. Traditionally BANS doesn’t require WordPress at all, so how come I’m talking about setting up a BANS site with WordPress then?
It’s easy really. We will use WordPress to setup a BANS clone site without spending the $97. The advantage of doing this is that we can actually use a SEO optimized WordPress theme. These can easily be found by doing a Google search for “SEO optimized WordPress theme”.
Tools you need for your BANS clone
Ok, before we go any further, you do need to be aware that you need some tools that cost you money. If you are using your own WordPress blog you will most likely already have your own hosting. Great! Besides your own domain name, this is really all you need.
I suggest you use hosting from Hostgator which will give you a “baby croc” account for under $10/month. A bargain considered you can setup unlimited domains on the same server. Alternatively you can also use Bluehost which is slightly cheaper. This means you will never pay more (except of course you will get thousands of unique hits to your site and eat up your whole bandwidth).
To be honest, most bloggers never need to upgrade at all.
Your domain name can be acquired from GoDaddy. GoDaddy is the worlds best registrar and will sell a domain name to you for under $9/year. If you do a search for “GoDaddy+Coupons” on Google, you can even get them for $6.
Just make sure you are targeting your niche keyword when buying a domain. This isn’t a requirement, but does help with SEO.
Once you install your WordPress software on your hosts server, you can setup your BANS clone.
Become an EBay affiliate
To setup a BANS site with the original software, or doing it the “el cheapo” way through EBay directly,
document.write("you will first need to sign up for EBay\\'s affiliate program");you will first need to sign up for EBay’s affiliate program
. This is free of charge and will only take a minute or two. You should receive instant confirmation.
Up until today, the EBay affiliate side was managed by CJ (commission junction), but EBay decided to take matters into their own hands which is a great idea, since CJ’s tracking left a lot to be desired anyway. All existing CJ members using the BANS network will have to re-apply with EBay.
Once you are approved by EBay you can set about creating your WordPress niche sites. First you will need to write some related blog posts to get started. I suggest you write about 5-10. These posts will have to be keyword specific, since you ARE targeting a niche. So if your niche is aimed at pants, then write about pants using a nice sprinkling of keywords throughout your posts. This is important for SEO purposes. After all, you do want your site to look legitimate and be of some value to your visitors.
Inserting EBay code and creating a BANS clone
Now you have some content on your blog, you are ready to go for the final step in creating your WordPress BANS clone site.
document.write("Log into your EBay affiliate account");Log into your EBay affiliate account
and navigate to “widgets”. You are looking for the Editor Kit. The Editor Kit will allow you to insert relevant (to your niche) EBay auctions right into your WordPress blog. They are fully customisable and can be adjusted to suit your WordPress theme.
You can also filter the results by topic and category to drill down into the results.
This is it. Now you will have your very own SEO optimized WordPress BANS clone site. To make it all better, it only cost you money for your hosting (which you need anyway with BANS) and your domain name (Which you also need with BANS).
Enjoy
Monika
