Affiliate links are a hotly debated topic, and if you’ve seen both sides of the argument, you might be wondering if you should pursue affiliate marketing or just avoid it together.
As The Blog Starter says, affiliate marketing is a good way to make money from your blog, so long as you follow the rules and disclose your relationship. However, there are some valid concerns to consider before adding affiliate links to your blog.
This article will address some of those concerns.
Are website visitors put off by affiliate links?
Perhaps the biggest reason people avoid adding affiliate links is due to the fear of losing visitors. Some affiliate websites look cheesy and spammy. It’s obvious they were built specifically to market affiliate products. Many people see these sites and run the other way. Because they don’t want to be sold on products and services by someone getting paid to market them.
The general consensus is that affiliate links make blogs feel spammy when overdone. However, what’s considered ‘overdone’ is highly subjective and depends on the blog and the products/services being sold.
For example, the woman who runs the While She Naps blog explains why she doesn’t do affiliate marketing, and she makes some compelling points. She was approached with an affiliate opportunity and turned it down. She didn’t want her readers to think she was promoting something to make money. She didn’t want to lose her readers’ trust.
For many blog owners, this is the right choice to make. You don’t want your visitors to lose trust in you and become wary about what you promote, wondering if it’s a sincere promotion or if you’re just doing it to make money.
On the other hand, if you know about products and services that will provide a direct benefit to your readers, there’s no reason not to promote them and get paid for your efforts. This is the fine line all serious bloggers need to consider.
You can get paid to promote products you authentically support
The sweet spot for affiliate marketing is promoting products you’ve used and consider valuable. When you promote services or products you’ve had real experiences with, your visitors are more likely to trust your opinion.
When you come across as authentic and wanting to help, visitors are more likely to trust your opinions and make a purchase. It will help you earn more commissions.
You can rank affiliate sites in Google’s SERPs
One of the biggest questions bloggers have is if adding affiliate links to their blogs will make them stop ranking in Google. While it’s true that spammy affiliate sites won’t rank because of low-quality content, it’s possible to get affiliate blogs to rank in the SERPs, but there’s a strategy.
To rank an affiliate blog in the SERPs, your content should focus on one niche only and not look like a desperate attempt to generate as much money as possible from tons of products.
You’ll also want to create valuable, in-depth content for each page. This might mean writing 4,000-word blog posts to accompany your affiliate links. Google loves content. Your affiliate blog needs to be seen as content with affiliate links, not the other way around.
There’s nothing wrong with making money
It seems like many bloggers have it in their mind that making money is wrong or bad and that they shouldn’t taint their blogs with such efforts. The truth is, there’s nothing wrong with earning money when you do it in an ethical manner. Affiliate marketing may have a reputation for being spammy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it with class.
Tips for integrating affiliate links into your blog
If you’ve decided to experiment with affiliate links on your blog, here are some tips to make it work.
1. Don’t overdo it
Keep your link quantity per page reasonable. Add links strategically throughout your pages.
2. Stick to your niche
Only promote products and services related to your niche to maximize trust and commissions.
3. Promote products you can vouch for
Try to only promote products you’ve personally used. Be sure to give a full review of the good, bad, and ugly. People will trust you more when you share everything.
Affiliate links will be an excellent addition to your blog
When done correctly, adding affiliate links can be an excellent addition to your blog and will earn you some generous cash over time. The key is to do it with intention and make sure everything you promote is relevant to your readers.
