Does Google hate affiliate sites? (Verified checklist)
I was once a newbie, and like many of you, I'm terrified of placing affiliate links on my site.
There are rumors that Google hate affliate sites and it will penalize sites that have too many affliate links.
So, I took a cautious approach, and place very little affliate links on my webpage.
I got very low conversion rate, and hence, little profit.
Truth is, the fear of Google penalizing affiliate sites is unfounded, if you've been following what's been taught on WA.
Google only hates affiliate sites if it has poor/thin content or you're spamming nothing but links on the page.
This is specified very clearly in Google Webmaster Guidelines on affiliate program.
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/76465?hl=en&...
Google goes on to provide suggestion on how to create an affilate site that ranks.
It sums up to:
1. Make sure that your site adds massive value to the user. Readers should have a reason to visit your site even if you're not recommending products on it. Else, it isn't going anywhere with Google.
2. Focus on a niche and promote products that are relevant to it. For example, you don't want to promote Wealthy Affiliate on a blog for aromatherapy.
3. Social engagement matter. Google mentions that you should be building a community with your website. This means reaching out to users on forums and social media to connect with them.
4. Update your content frequently. Google rewards fresh content that are relevant to the users. Merely tweaking the published date, or updating the year in the title without modifying the content does not work against Google's algorithm.
5. Be unique, relevant, updated and better than your competitors to rank on Google.
So, if you believe you're producing unique and valuable content, adding affiliate links won't get you penalized. Far from that, it could be a rewarding for users and Google loves that.
Now, I'm adding affiliate links where they deemed fit and I'm getting better results.
Hope this helps answer your doubts about adding affiliate links or whether Google is against affiliate sites.
Cheers,
Kenny
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Great advice, Kenny! Thanks for sharing!
Jeff