How do affiliate links affect your search ranking?
56How do affiliate links affect your search ranking? The simple answer is, not at all.
Most affiliate programs are managed by a third party e.g. Commission Junction. Whether you link out to these programs as an affiliate, or have inbound links as a merchant, the affiliate network acts as a filter for passing any value in the link.
If you've joined an affiliate network as a merchant then your objective should not be to improve your own site's rankings. If it is, then your strategy will not work. Your objective should be to help your affiliates improve their own sites in the search engines by providing them with advice, tools and content. Your affiliate's success is your success.
If you're worried that your outbound links to affiliate programs will affect your site negatively in the search engines, there is no evidence to support this. Google don't care what affiliate programs you link to, only that your site adds value to the sales process by providing unique, useful and relevant content. If you're promoting an affiliate product your job is not to sell. That's the merchant's job. Your job is to pre-sell. In other words, send your visitor to the merchant's site in the right frame of mind - informed and ready to buy.
Linking for SEO and affiliate marketing are two different endeavours. To do well in the search engines you need to have a linking strategy, but affiliate programs shouldn't be part of that strategy.
Affiliate Sales Programs
- Social Power Linking Review
Social Power Linking is a new resource developed by Jack Humphrey. Jack has long been an authority on link building (I bought his original Power Linking book some time ago) but in recent times has been focusing his attention on social marketing and “Web 2.0″ sites to build links and traffic. And whether he likes [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Social Power Linking Review", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=15" } ); - 10 months ago
- Web 2.0 Traffic Stampede Review
Web 2.0 Traffic Stampede is a new book by Chris Freville. Chris has had a fairly low profile in the Internet Marketing world, but has had considerable success using social networking and Web 2.0. Web 2.0 marketing is an area I have been paying a lot of attention to lately, particularly on the site you are [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Web 2.0 Traffic Stampede Review", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=14" } ); - 10 months ago
- Confessions of a Lazy Super Affiliate Review
After the last info-product I purchased (Google Snatch), which turned out to be a dud, I was bit skeptical about this. Anything that appeals to lazy people just has to be a bit sus, right? But I received the recommendation on Confessions of a Lazy Super Affiliate from Allan Gardyne, a guy with an impeccable reputation [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Confessions of a Lazy Super Affiliate Review", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=13" } ); - 11 months ago
- XSitePro Review - Poor Substitute for Dreamweaver?
It’s been a while since I published an XsitePro review, but with Version 2 just around the corner I thought it was time for a re-evaluation to see if it still stacks up against Dreamweaver. Version 2 promises to add a lot of new features and perhaps correct a few shortcomings. I’ll publish an update [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "XSitePro Review - Poor Substitute for Dreamweaver?", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=12" } ); - 11 months ago
- Google Snatch Review - Why I Don’t Recommend
Since I posted my previous comments on Google Snatch I’ve been reading some of the reviews going around the Web. Most (not all) are positive, but then they are usually written by an affiliate. So, am I being too harsh on Google Snatch when I say it is overpriced, poorly-written waffle? As I mentioned before I [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Google Snatch Review - Why I Don’t Recommend", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=11" } ); - 11 months ago
- How to Find PageRank-Passing Blogs
Commenting on blogs is a neat way to build inbound links and direct traffic to your site. Unfortunately, because of that fact, the practice has been widely abused. To combat comment spam a special HTML tag known as “nofollow” was devised which tells the search engines not to pass value on a particular link. The nofollow [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "How to Find PageRank-Passing Blogs", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=10" } ); - 11 months ago
- Technorati Profile Updated
Technorati Profile This is a special post to update my Technorati profile. What is Technorati? It’s a “Web 2.0″ style website to keep track of all your favourite blogs. I’ve just added this blog (affiliate-sales-programs.com), which is known as “claiming” your blog on Technorati. This post allows Technorati’s spiders to pick it up and automatically add it. If [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Technorati Profile Updated", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=9" } ); - 12 months ago
- Affiliate Product Reviews - Buyer Beware
The nature of affiliate marketing is, by its very definition, based upon an affiliate earning commissions on the products being promoted. The problem with this basic concept, however, is that affiliates sometimes (often?) promote products which they have either not used themselves, or they know to be not particulary good, simply because of the financial [...] SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Affiliate Product Reviews - Buyer Beware", url: "http://affiliate-sales-programs.com/?p=8" } ); - 12 months ago
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Comments
Good information about..
Thanks..
You could of course be both an affilate and a marketing in which case you need to seperate strategies, and it can be hard to keep them straight.
Excellent information.
Thank you
Thanks for this page. I think its a great way to think. Rather than focus on just improving your site rankings actually focus on giving affiliates as much help and support as possible so they sell for you (which of course then improves your site rankings)
working
scwealth says:
9 months ago
this is some very good info for people to read and to learn from.
I look forward to checking back here for more of your writing's
Scott Crawley
skype scott.crawley