5 Tips for Adding Affiliate Links without Trashing Your Site
Whether you’re considering adding affiliate links to your site or are already reaping the benefits, it’s important to do it right. Affiliate marketing programs offer an opportunity to add additional streams of revenue to your website, and can even become a significant income source when implemented properly. Check out our post on the top affiliate programs of 2015. In fact there are plenty of people who have made a business just out of becoming affiliate marketers. Affiliate programs are also ideal for newer sites with limited traffic. An advertiser might not yet be willing to pay for placing an ad on your site, but many companies are willing to pay you based on sales and/or traffic you send their way.
There is a potential downside though. We’ve all seen sites that look unprofessional, crowded and trashy, with ads and links scattered everywhere. Not only are they trashing their sites, they’re probably not seeing the results they had hoped for from their affiliate programs. When implementing an affiliate marketing strategy, keep these tips in mind to balance affiliate opportunities with your site’s integrity:
1. Keep it relevant. Your affiliate ads should enhance, not detract from your site. This means picking affiliate programs that are complimentary to the products and services you offer. Obviously you don’t want to display ads for competing companies, but there are almost certainly companies that offer complimentary products and services to your own, without detracting from your business. For example, If you are a business coach, you might post an affiliate ad linking to a page on Amazon.com that lists your personal reading recommendations.
If you’re not retailing books on your site, this won’t compete with your services and will add value for your clients. Plus, you’ll earn a commission anytime someone you refer makes a purchase on that page, as well as any other page on the affiliate’s site. On the other hand, an ad for a dating site, while it might pay a higher commission, will cause your site visitors to question what your business is all about.
2. Play favorites. We all have our favorite retailers, services and resources. Many of these offer affiliate programs, allowing you to capitalize on a recommendation you would make anyway. The advantage to this is that you’re referring people to businesses you’re familiar with and with which you already have a relationship. If your favorite office supply store is Staples, for instance, you can become a Staples.com affiliate and get paid when your site visitors buy from their site. Staples is happy, you’re happy, and you know you’re referring your visitors to a company you trust. It’s the very definition of a win-win-win!
3. Consider your audience. You know who’s visiting your site, right? And hopefully you have a good idea of their wants, needs, and buying habits. (If not, that’s a blog for another day.) One way to avoid trying to be everything to everyone – which never works out well – is to fill some of your visitors’ needs by sending them to sites with which you have an affiliate relationship. Again, relevance is important. Just make sure that the sites you’re referring people to are relevant to what you offer and to what your visitors expect from you.
4. Less is more. Website visitors prefer clean, uncluttered sites that are easy to navigate. If your site is packed with ads and affiliate links, it will turn off your customers. That doesn’t mean you have to limit your affiliate relationships though. Ad management software, like that offered by AdButler.com makes it possible for you to rotate ads, even tracking visitors so they don’t see the same ad over and over. This way you can limit the amount of space dedicated to ads on your site without limiting your opportunities.
5. Play the Numbers. It should be no surprise that all affiliate programs are not created equal. Some offer a percentage of sales, some offer a flat fee per sale, and still others offer a small commission just for qualified leads. For example, the popular jobs site, Beyond.com’s affiliate program pays out $.60 just for a referred visitor signing up for a free account. Now, sixty cents obviously isn’t much, but if you have a site that is likely to drive a lot of traffic their way, it can add up to a nice little extra check every month. Whatever affiliate partners you choose, be sure to check their program’s performance. Without going into details about click through rates (CTR), and earnings-per-one-hundred-clicks (EPC), just know that it’s important to evaluate each affiliate partner the same as you would consider any business decision.
Go Make it Happen
If you haven’t yet delved into the world of affiliate programs, hopefully now you’ll be able to do so with confidence, knowing you don’t have to compromise the look, feel and integrity of your site while adding some extra income to your business. And if you’re already an affiliate marketer, hopefully you’ve picked up some information to optimize your efforts. Either way, be sure to share your thoughts, feedback and ideas.
If you’re thirsty for more information about affiliate opportunities, Commission Junction is a great place to start. As the world’s leader in affiliate marketing, their online learning tools (CJU) are second to none, and surprisingly unbiased. They also offer thousands of affiliate programs in every conceivable category, so you’ll find plenty of opportunities to maximize your affiliate efforts.
Do you have additional thoughts, suggestions, or advice for would-be affiliate marketers? Please share your comments below.
