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How to get better results with affiliate links to gain maximum value, here we give you a few ideas that can make a world of difference.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

What are affiliate links?

For those that are new to this marketing, I will give you a brief explanation of Affiliate links.
This is linking to another business for them to close the sale for you. You are the referring site and they are the salespeople and for your effort, you get a cut of the income.

Many companies handle their own affiliate business however others place them with aggregators who act on behalf of many clients.

Examples of aggregators are:

• Share-a-Sale
• Unwin
• CJ or Commission Junction
• Clickbank
• These companies may house any number of Affiliate sites
  
  

Then there are the retail environments that will give you a go

• Amazon
• Walmart
• E.bay
• Etsy
• Alibaba

Entry is generally quite easy however performance is essential or they close your account

Examples of those that do it directly include:

• Wealthy affiliate
• Jaaxy
• Generate Press
• A.Weber

The difference is really in the management of the process. Sometimes it is easier to become an affiliate when dealing directly with a company whilst managed accounts may want proof of ability.

The process is the same, you refer a new client obtained with your actions and they complete the transaction and cut you a share.

How to get better results with affiliate links and pick the best ones

Which Affiliate companies are the best?

The answer is pretty simple. It is the ones that most suit your activities in the market.
If you are selling Skateboards it is no good referring to a Knitting site.
You need to pick companies that are closely aligned to your niche market and that have products that will interest your readers.

Every product you can think off will have an affiliate opportunity just waiting for you. It is a low-cost way to market that gets you to do all the leg work, weed out the rubbish and present them with interesting opportunities ready to take the plunge.

Can you be an affiliate for more than one company?

There is no limit to your associations and you can include more than one link in a blog or page. This gives you several bites at the same apple.
It is recommended that you have a portfolio of associated companies that cover the different needs of your readers.
However, chose them carefully and use them often.

Are you disadvantaging your readers when they click on your link?

The reverse is probably true as you can direct them to the best discounts or plans. This will include free trials and other benefits that may be available.
One important point is that many companies have an upsell and a good associate will generally point them out. That way you are aware of what you are in for.

I generally recommend trying a free trial so that you understand exactly what you are getting and if it benefits you. We all have buying frenzy at some point so it is good to have a backdoor.

How to get better results with affiliate links by understanding pixels

Many links have a small window of opportunity

A lot of companies have a short period where your link applies. This may be as low as one day in the case of Amazon and forever in the case of Wealthy Affiliate.

Prospects don't always complete the deal on the first look. Some take the opportunity to shop around and then come back to the first base, however, your link may well have expired so you do not get credit for the sale. Unfair but true.

Another trap is trying to buy for yourself or your family and get a commission for the sale.

Unfortunately and in most cases, this won't work. You don't get paid for internal sales.

How many links are allowed on a page?

The only real limit is that of reason however, Google does have an opinion.

For new sites, it is recommended to have no or few links. Any that you do have should be well down the page so readers need to spend time on your page before linking away.

For older sites with good traffic, it is still recommended that you allow at least 25% of your page before inserting a link.

Google is all about Content. Content ranks higher than Keywords in modern-day SEO.
They use artificial intelligence (AI), think Robots, to review your work before giving you a great position on search results.

Therefore getting rid of readers too early is going to get you a bad mark and slip your post down in the ranking pages.

How do you show your links for the best returns?

The most common form is inline linking as part of a conversation. My main source of income is with Wealthy Affiliate which runs my websites and training.
The link is highlighted in color and is part of our conversation.

You can not place links too close together

It is important that your links don't overlap because this will process badly on a mobile search. Many people are now using Moblie devises so we need to cater for them as well.
This can also include Pictures and inputs that occupy a large space. They won't show on a small device and the link will be lost.

Sometimes you want to show a Link in a more flashy manner and this can include a button

Monster Insights headline analyzer for every post

Here we have placed the link in a Button to make it a bit different. Next, we go to a page split

To show them in another way

Jaaxy Keyword Tool

Jaaxy is a market premium Keyword
tool that everyone should own

Jasper AI writer

Want a Robot to do all the
hard work for you. Well here
is a chance to try it out
and see if it works

Using a Google disclaimer

This is an important inclusion that comes with WordPress and many similar page builders.

Google does not want to follow you to affiliate sites. He gets quite angry when he wastes time going to a place from which he will never buy.

Under your link, a little box will pop up. You tick the sponsored link and no follow box to tell Google that these are affiliate sites.

I have also highlighted to Open in a New Tab box. When your readers wander off to the affiliate site and finish there they can either log out or if this box is ticked return to the page they came from. You keep them on your page.

Some people want a cheap website host to practice with a few blogs before venturing out into the world. Here I have done a Link but inserted some background color.

How to get better results with affiliate links using Bluehost

I use Blue Host a premium partner

The next thing to do is insert some code into the sight that will give you a nice image with an affiliate link included. In WordPress, this is done by selecting The custom HTML box and inserting the link obtained from the Affiliate.

This is a very common form of Link building as it carries a professional image and includes material set up by marketing experts

Using YouTube Video effectively

Including a video has several advantages. It boosts your reader time on-page which is a high-ranking SEO component.
You can either link to a Video and here is one we did on the benefits of using the Wealthy Affiliate training package Yes I have it no follow and return to this page so I can gather the SEO benefits whilst you get a great Video. Importantly this is also an Affiliate link

The other method is to imbed a video

This video is very long and does not come with a recommendation it is to show you what a site looks like and how you can access it

Conclusion

The windup here is a simple statement.

“If it does not work change it.”

You can do lots of other tricky bits with a different font, lines around it, or whatever your page builder will allow.

How to get better results with affiliate links by Peter Hanley

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