Archives for May 2011

Q: I am reasonably new to the affiliates market but the website I work for has a great affiliates programme I want to promote. We have around 80 affiliates now but only 10 really sell. I was initially told that affiliate directories were the way forward but have since read a blog by you thats suggests otherwise. You said at one point that ranking highly in a google search for keywords for your website and the word affiliates is best. How exactly do you achieve this? Our PR rank is 5 which is similar to our competitors yet they rank alot higher than us on these searches.

A: For that particular issue, it’s more an SEO thing than an affiliate thing.

Anyhow, one thing I did in the past to enhance the presence of affiliate programs I managed in search results was to create a standalone site dedicated to each affiliate program.

For instance, if the company for the affiliate program is Acme.com, go out and get AcmeAffiliate.com and build it into a resource for that affiliate program.

What I would do was to make the site in the same look and feel of the main site, but the site is all about the affiliate program with details on applying, examples of create, FAQ.

Also, it’s good to include a blog with the latest information on the affiliate program to keep the site fresh and useful.

The naturally keyword rich original content will help you with your search engine marketing efforts.

Another search related technique, though not SEO, is to use Google AdWords or other paid search options to advertise to prospective affiliates.

Q: I am a Merchant and I am gonna launch my site soon. I have two questions first how can i get my name out there so affiliates can promote me, and can I use my web sites built in affiliates program or do I have to use a program like Commission Junction?

A: There are a number of ways to go out and promote your affiliate program.

One quick, easy and cost efficient method is to use Google Adwords. Just bid on terms related to your offer with the words “affiliate program” and write an ad pitching your affiliate program.

Lots of people search for relevant affiliate programs by searching on Google.

Make a handful of variations of the ads to test which work best.

Another tactic is to get active in the affiliate marketing community by commenting on blogs (useful stuff – not just to drop a link to yourself) and affiliate marketing forums.

Make yourself available as a resource without looking for anything in return. That sort of help serves as a subtle ad for your affiliate program.

Also, you should have a presence at affiliate marketing conferences.

Phone, IM and email will only take relationships so far – it’s a whole different situation in person, where you can work out special arrangements with big performers, get their candid feedback, and learn some new and better ways to do what you do.

As far as your other questions, if I understand you correctly, you’re asking if you can use software to run your affiliate program, rather than Commission Junction or another affiliate network?

While the option is out there to use software, I would highly suggest you run your affiliate program through a network.

Personally, as an affiliate, I am far more likely to promote a company in an affiliate network. It’s somewhat out of laziness/efficiency, as I do not want to have hundreds of logins.

I’d rather have a handful of accounts to manage my affiliate reporting and other associated tasks.

You may be able to build up a decent affiliate program outside of the networks, but it’s going to be a lot more work.