Traffic and earnings flatlining. Set to be another statistic?
Myself and my partner Bea have now been members of WA for 4 months and as with all things that are new and gradually become more familiar, the initial enthusiasm has worn a little thin. This is especially so when the traffic and therefore monetization of our site is essentially minimal. Recently, despite all the positivity on the WA site, this led us to question whether the journey we’d embarked upon will ever bear fruit.
A bad day at the office.
Earlier in the week we got two pieces of bad news on the same day.
1 - Some days before the day in question I received an email from Amazon suggesting our site had had only one purchase qualifying for commission in 90 days. Unless there were at least three in the first 180 days, our affiliate status was likely to be deactivated. Curiously when people close to us made orders through our site it failed to result in any commission. This particular day, after doing a little research reading a number of online (Amazon) documents and other articles online, I determined that certain friends and relatives who may purchase goods in this way are detected by Amazon and deemed as linked to you as an affiliate. Consequently their purchases do not qualify for commission. It is unclear how Amazon establishes this connection as it is not transparent but no doubt embedded in their AI technology. They can of course be wrong and you can contest it, but it may not be worth the time. See the article by Darren (Dalwhu) in a WA blog at :
Additionally, the following is a link to an Amazon page discussing the same
Both of the above may be useful eye openers for those out there that are not already familiar.
2 - After a number of prior submissions to Google Adsense (where the request to use it was turned down on the basis of unclarified ‘errors’ on our website (maybe insufficient pages), I received an email that was clear - your site does not meet the criteria for Adsense, so the request to use it is denied.
I am not a big lover of Adsense anyway as I feel sites that use it look cluttered and the advertisements are sometimes persistent, annoying and get in the way of the article you’re reading. However, it just seemed like another useful tool we could use to potentially monetise our site.
Are we getting unduly worried too early?
Admittedly, we have not posted many blogs - recently we just passed 20, so perhaps it is still early days, but both of the above happening in a single day was a body blow to us both.
On the same day I read a WA blog (I have lost the link/ reference now) where the author had similarly become disenchanted for their own reasons and had let their site become inactive. They posed the question - will I become another statistic of failed WA affiliate members?
This question rang a bell with us both on this day so we had to contemplate further.
A different perspective
Significantly, if nothing else, the recent COVID19 lockdowns have provided an environment where keeping the site going has kept us busy and given us a real sense of purpose. Bea has ‘found her voice’ and a forum for sharing her thoughts and feelings. I am grateful to be learning lots about setting up, configuring (and contributing a little content to) the web site. Being an IT professional however, I am of course in my comfort zone here. Our conclusive answer to the question however was a resounding NO, we will not become another statistic (as said the author). Not right now anyway. We will persist further and will not go down without a fight (if it’s PC to say that now considering the oratory coming from a certain Mr Trump).
Perhaps coincidentally, on the same day we discovered for the first time how we can use the AIOSEO score (a recently added feature). If you didn’t know it stands for All-in-one Search Engine Optimizer and is essentially a page’s readability score that search engines use to rank them. Curiously, our latest blogs scored higher than earlier ones that had been scored at all (anything posted or last updated before December 2020 is not scored). With a few minor tweaks we got a couple to score even better - so this is another tool we’re going to use to help improve the site.
Traffic of course is what it is all about and had it not been for Bea’s wider circle of friends & family, our site statistics would have been dire and comments posted on the site even less. We have utilised Instagram and the Whatsapp ‘broadcast’ feature to achieve a little more traffic but ‘alien’ traffic to the site still seems to be minimal.We have to admit however that we have struggled to reap any benefits of using social media as a means to significantly increase traffic. The number of followers is clearly key here but to address this we may need to investigate further education and training.
We have analysed what we’ve been doing and going back to old blogs, can see the improvements over time. We want to continue to improve the look and the quality of the content. We are however realistic enough to understand that we now need to diversify a little from our initial eco-friendly mantra and post more diverse articles with our view on particular items and events - to attract more traffic to the site. We always like to add value from our research in each item and our blogs will continue in Bea’s inimitable kind and friendly way (being our primary author).
Conclusion
Conveniently being the start of a New Year, Bea and I have decided on a list of actions (resolutions) we intend to follow through on. These will hopefully improve our situation. The list itself I may perhaps document in a future WA blog, maybe including what impact, if any, they had or are having. One of the main items I must document this time however is related to the WA community itself. Both Bea & I have essentially been inactive in the WA community, visiting the WA site only very infrequently. We have been busy ploughing our own furrow with our web site independently - clearly to no avail. This polarization and independence we have vowed to address and to engage more with the WA community. Primarily this is for help, to offer help when our experience qualifies us to do so and also for encouragement - which we know we’ll continue to need.
Postscript
No doubt other WA members out there have had similar days and experiences. We’d be happy to hear any thoughts or advice you’d like to offer in relation to them. I will report back on our status in a few weeks.
Ian
Recent Comments
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I appreciate your angst. But I will say this: Keep your head in the game. Things don't happen over night, and I know you both realize this. I remember when I took my first sales job with a major paper manufacturer. My training was supposed to last one year. ONE YEAR. I promise myself I will give myself one year now before I make any decision to cut. I hope you will also.
Hi Vicki. Thanks for your response. As I said to Jim below, any new endeavour takes time to perfect. Clearly something you understand and yes, a year is perhaps what we should give before we consider any further course of action :)
The "success" of my sites eb and flow, but I keep thinking about the amount of time I have taken to learn a new job or even become accomplished in a new part of a familiar job. In those circumstances, I have controlled almost every part and it still takes a while. How much more difficult is success for a business of any kind when most of the variables are totally beyond our control? You are investing probably very little $$. Stick to it, eventually you will find the correct formula for you.
Very wise words Jim. We sometimes lose site of the fact that we have very little control of things out there on the internet. Moreover, as you say, it takes time to refine your skills in any particular endeavour and four months is nothing. I guess it's human nature to feel a little disheartened, but comments like yours make us reflect on the wider picture and re-evaluate. Thank you.
Hi Simone. We will hang on in there. I'm sure as you say that it will get better especially with encouragement from people like yourself and advice from WA members
Hi - yes, it is typical to feel discouraged at this stage, but be reassured that this is early days yet. It typically takes around 6 months, and perhaps 40 posts before Google sees you as an authority on your niche and starts ranking your posts high enough to be found by organic traffic.
As regards Amazon, yes, they have some very strict rules, which can get you banned from their program. This includes not allowing your friends and family to buy through your links.
I took a look at your site, which you mention elsewhere, and you are also breaking another of Amazon's rules, as your Affiliate Disclosure does not use the exact wording they require. Take a look at this training. Affiliate Disclosures, FTC Guidelines, and Amazon Rules Google AdSense also expects your Affiliate Disclosure to be clearly visible, in your top menu, rather than just being in each post. This alone could be the reason you were turned down. However, as you say, you probably don't have enough content yet.
Your posts are also quite short, I can't see that any of them reach the recommended minimum of 1000 words. There is no reason to have split your latest post into 2 halves of 700 words each. It would be better to have just one informative post of 1400 words.
Another thing to consider, is that a lot of your posts are seasonal, or related to current events such as Covid. With a brand new site, as I said earlier, it could be 6 months before your posts are seen. By that time, nobody will be searching for anything Christmas related, and the whole situation regarding the virus changes on a daily basis anyway.
You should write about subjects that are "evergreen", that people will always search for, no matter what time of year.
Hi Diane. Very high value response as I've come to expect from you. We also appreciate the time taken to document your comments.
We will take action on all of your points. On blog length, we have tended to keep them shorter as the comments we have had from some is that they were a little too long. Our thought was that between 600-1000 words was better. However, this can of course be related to the way the content is written so we will address this accordingly as you say.
On the disclosure side, again we will take action. I have seen many sites where the disclosure could be regarded as hidden - ours is certainly not. However, you have advised us on this before and it could be a potential reason for the Adsense response as you say. I guess it's good practice and perhaps more in keeping with the WA way to be up front about this. It certainly should do no harm.
Our biggest action I think is to post more, and more that is, as you say 'evergreen'. We concur with you on this and our experience to date suggests it is a good way forward.
Thank you again.
Hi Diane -
About disclosure.
The link you referenced in your reply to my last post I recognised, so I believe you'd sent me that before. I thought I had acted on it's recommendations.
The link I've added below is the Amazon.co.uk Associates Program Operating Agreement. Section 5 suggests an affiliate site should make a statement as specified in quotes OR any substantially similar statement. Having explicitly mentioned Amazon in our disclosure (although not their actual wording), I thought this would broadly be in compliance. Legally this may not be so & I do not want to be the one to test it.
https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/help/operating/agreement
As an aside, many posts I've seen suggest websites MUST adhere to FTC regulations. However, my further research suggests sites outside the US have different rules and it is those that need to be abided by. I believe the UK regulations are less rigid in this respect. My point is that as I understand it, those that suggest everyone must adhere to FTC guidelines and regulations on disclosure are not wholly correct as these do not apply worldwide.
This having been said I would value your opinion as to whether you believe our site's disclosure approach would benefit from a makeover on the following lines. Brief disclosure on each blog, but point this to a full disclosure on another page and perhaps have that page also as a permanent menu item - resolving the possible Adsense issue likewise and hopefully satisfying Amazon too.
Hi - I think the difficulty lies in the fact that the regulations relate to where your website is seen, rather than where it is based. So, for example, a couple of my sites actually receive more visitors from the US than the UK. Therefore, it seems prudent to ensure that my affiliate disclosure meets requirements worldwide.
Those who are using the US Amazon program received an email last year advising that the specific phrase "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases" must be used and that it be placed as close to the link as possible.
If you have a full disclosure in your top menu and a shorter disclosure in your posts that contain Amazon's specific phrase, then you have covered all bases, including that of AdSense.
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Yeah dude, It looks like you know what you're doing, but here's my advice:
-MORE BLOGS!
The fact that you've only written 20 blogs says a lot... 20 blogs in 4 months is 5 blogs a month... that's barely over a blog a week. By comparison, my site has been up for barely two months and I'm almost at 50. You and Bea will have to step up your content creation at least 3x what you're doing now. I understand you have other obligations, but I'm giving solutions, not excuses.
-How's your direct response marketing?
If you're relying on basic Google traffic and metrics alone this early in the game, you're twiddling your thumbs. Google will get you the traffic and money, but playing "command center" staring at your Google metrics all day isn't the same as actively manipulating engagement yourself.
If you guys are active online and in blogs or forums, begin aggressively plugging your website. Hit up 100 people per day, at least, and record the results that way. Advertising and actively promoting is always going to be faster than SEO.
-Find other ways to promote authority.
Think of all of the skills it takes to build and maintain a website. There are hundreds of small ebooks you can write on the subject alone. Try and find ways to make both your skills and your website as a testament to your authority.
It gets kind of old posting stuff like this on here because I know most ppl will ignore it, but good luck.
Hi Arviel. Thanks for this. We do need to post more as you say and this will be our single most important action going forward. At first one post a week seemed a challenge, but we've learned enough now to step this up and as you say this can only be a good thing. Hitting 100 people a day will certainly be a challenge for us, but a good steer for us to bear in mind. Additionally as you say SEO alone is only part of the equation and we also realise we'll need to complement this with other activities. We, like probably many others new to blogging, are reticent about explicitly promoting our site believing we have no real authority at this stage. Clearly however, this is a mindset that changes over time - especially as your postings grow.
Certainly you've given us much food for thought.
If you are knowledgeable about what you are talking about in your niche, and you set about creating content that solves problems, no one will label your websites as spam, I promise you.
You only have to fear if you know that what you're promoting has no value whatsoever.