Creating a Google-Friendly Affiliate Site

[djbaxter]

Affiliate programs
Google Webmasters/Site Owners Help

Our Webmaster Guidelines advise you to create websites with original content that adds value for users. This is particularly important for sites that participate in affiliate programs. Typically, affiliate websites feature product descriptions that appear on sites across that affiliate network. As a result, sites featuring mainly content from affiliate networks can suffer in Google's search rankings, because they do not have unique content that differentiates them from other sites on the web.

Google believes that pure affiliate websites do not provide additional value for web users, especially if they are part of a program that distributes its content to several hundred affiliates. Because a search result could return multiple sites, all with the same content, they create a frustrating user experience.

If you participate in an affiliate program, there are a number of steps you can take to help your site stand out and to help improve your rankings.

• Affiliate program content should form only a small part of the content of your site.
• When selecting an affiliate program, choose a product category appropriate for your intended audience. The more targeted the affiliate program is to your site's content, the more value it will add and the more likely you will be to rank better in Google's search results and make money from the program. For example, a well-maintained site about hiking in the Alps could consider an affiliate partnership with a supplier who sells hiking books rather than office supplies.
• Use your website to build community among your users. This will help build a loyal readership, and can also create a source of information on the subject you are writing about. For example, discussion forums, user reviews, and blogs all offer unique content and provide value to users.
• Keep your content updated and relevant. Fresh, on-topic information increases the likelihood that your content will be crawled by Googlebot and clicked on by users.

Pure affiliate sites consisting of content that appears in many other places on the web is unlikely to perform well in Google search results and can cause your site to be negatively perceived by search engines. Unique, relevant content provides value to users and distinguishes your site from other affiliates, making it more likely to rank well in Google search result pages.

 

[djbaxter]

As some of you know, I'm quite new to affiliate marketing, though not to the net or to SEO, and I'm trying to make some decisions as I prepare to get into this indiustry. I came across the Google Guidelines posted above in the course of my research.

Now this raises a question for me: I have an existing Blog where, as the description says, I post "Occasional commentary on psychology, psychiatry, mental health, and life by an Ottawa psychologist". This includes book reviews, which are of course linked to Amazon.

Now my question is this: Would I be further ahead to start adding affiliate product or service posts to the existing blog (primarily for health related products and services, of course, but could also include some software, technology, and educational items), or to start a separate blog for that purpose?

The Google Guidelines would seem to suggest that mixing the affiliate pages in with the existing blog content is best, but I'm wondering what your experience is.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Yes you are right David, I would add affiliate links in with existing content. What Google (and your readers) want to see is value add content, not just a bunch of affiliate links.

So when you make blog posts and/or do reviews you are adding content that makes everyone happy - the SE and visitors. Plus the links that convert best are links within the content, that are contextually relevant.

 

[djbaxter]

Excellent. Thank you, Linda.

 

[seo_marketing]

I am sure this will help those who are planning to engage themselves into affiliate marketing. However the success rate of SEO marketing is higher as compared to other marketing channels.

 

[Nelle]

David, This is just what I've spent the last six months working on. Monetizing my long-standing blog. I've done it very gingerly, because I didn't want it to become just another thin affiliate site. I've only added products that are directly related to my travel niche. And for every affiliate link. I've had atleast 500 words of original and unique content supporting it.

In addition to that I've set up satellite blogs about travel and travel related products, that work on much narrower niches within my original niche, these then link back to the original site. I've plotted out which keywords I want to use in the anchor text. There is adsense on these blogs but no other affiliate links. Sometimes the anchor text link is the name of a product featured on the original blog.

This is by no means a done deal. So far so good, but I'm learning in this game, nothing is a done deal.

 

[djbaxter]

David, This is just what I've spent the last six months working on. Monetizing my long-standing blog. I've done it very gingerly, because I didn't want it to become just another thin affiliate site. I've only added products that are directly related to my travel niche. And for every affiliate link. I've had atleast 500 words of original and unique content supporting it.

In addition to that I've set up satellite blogs about travel and travel related products, that work on much narrower niches within my original niche, these then link back to the original site. I've plotted out which keywords I want to use in the anchor text. There is adsense on these blogs but no other affiliate links. Sometimes the anchor text link is the name of a product featured on the original blog.

This is by no means a done deal. So far so good, but I'm learning in this game, nothing is a done deal.

I'm also on an early learning curve when it comes to AM. Like you, I'm trying to do it the way I've done everything else on the net: with a view to the long term and not the quick buck. Everything have seen and learned in the past 13 or 14 years tells me the is the only real route to success.

 

[Ron Bechdolt]

I think the following from above really says it in a nutshell for anyone working with affiliate links:

Pure affiliate sites consisting of content that appears in many other places on the web is unlikely to perform well in Google search results and can cause your site to be negatively perceived by search engines. Unique, relevant content provides value to users and distinguishes your site from other affiliates, making it more likely to rank well in Google search result pages.

Even with someone who has nearly 10 years experience in this business, I took the time to read through Googles advice a couple of time. Still, that one paragraph states the most important facts.

Thanks for sharing that.

 

[keywordresearch]

This reminds me that I need to get around to beefing up the content on my thin affiliate sites. It would be nice to get some Google love instead of being stuck with just bing & yahoo traffic. I have other sites that are almost 100% affiliate content, basically a big catalog of 1 merchant's products. Do you think a site like this has any chance at all on Google? I can't exactly add enough articles, forum posts or whatever to match the size of this catalog. Am I SOL?

 

[benchmarkman]

so when i both add fresh content and quality backlinks
then google gonna love me ,right?

 

[bigcat1967]

so when i both add fresh content and quality backlinks
then google gonna love me ,right?

fresh, interesting content. If it is interesting - you will get ppl linking back to you. That's the best backlinking you can get - natural backlinks.

 

[sylviad]

I've had an affiliate site offering mental health products for about 6 years or more. When I began, I had one product and a few articles. As my knowledge of affiliate marketing grew... thanks to some excellent authors on the subject... I took the advice and began building a content site.

At first, it was a few articles and product reviews until I learned about the benefits of adding a blog to my site, which I did about 4 years ago. As it turned out, the majority of my traffic comes in through my blog which contains months of articles on related topics.

I finally began to make money with my site.

So adding related product reviews and good content seemed to do the trick.

My site actually earned a PR of 3!

But I have a question of my own on this topic - getting and maintaining the traffic flow without adding more content. So far, I've focused on article marketing to get traffic but that dries up in a matter of weeks when I stopped writing.

Should I start my own thread on this? Don't want to hijack yours.

Sylvia

 

[Linda Buquet]

But I have a question of my own on this topic - getting and maintaining the traffic flow without adding more content. So far, I've focused on article marketing to get traffic but that dries up in a matter of weeks when I stopped writing.

Should I start my own thread on this? Don't want to hijack yours.

Hi Sylvia, congrats on getting sales and a PR3!

It might be better if you started a new thread. Not so much that you'd be hijacking this one, but your topic is a little different than the original post which was about "Creating a Google-Friendly Affiliate Site". Seems your question is more about how to keep the traffic flowing and you may get better answers and interaction with a new thread with a descriptive title.

 

[Marry86]

so when i both add fresh content and quality backlinks
then google gonna love me ,right?

yes it will surly love you. fresh contents & quality back links are back bone of SERP.

 

[pengerik]

until I learned about the benefits of adding a blog to my site, which I did about 4 years ago. As it turned out, the majority of my traffic comes in through my blog which contains months of articles on related topics.

I finally began to make money with my site.

So adding related product reviews and good content seemed to do the trick.

My site actually earned a PR of 3! a

Blogging is powerfull, and combined the way you did is just perfect. A static affiliate site alone needs relevant traffic, connecting a live and kicking blog to it is just perfect for getting more relevant users to your site. Thanx for sharing your experice and congrats with revenue and a rising PR

 

[justineoaker]

Thanks!

Thanks a lot! I learned a lot By just reading your discussions! This site is really great! I'm quite the beginner in these kind of things particularly in SEO and Google. I think this forum is the perfect place for beginners like me who wants to have further knowledge about the business! Keep it up guys!

 

[mian]

Yes Google loves fresh new Content, they love sites who provide valuable content to the visitors who seek it and if you site has what it takes, you will rise and traffic will depend on what keywords you choose. Of course having relevant, high authority links greatly help a great deal.

 

[mian]

I'm new to affiliate marketing also, hoping to find what affiliates that my site can benefit from?

 

[Mike22]

It is very important to optimize affiliate websites because the competition is very high.

 

[Saabs]

so when i both add fresh content and quality backlinks
then google gonna love me ,right?

A frequently updated page will get spidered more frequently, so this can be helpful if you?re adding new pages or new links to the site ? as those links will get found and indexed more frequently if the page is spidered more frequently. Yes Google loves fresh content!