Posts More Important Than Pages In the Eyes of Awin
Not to be a downer, here, but I learned something really shocking today with my rejection by Etsy. There is a huge difference between Pages and Posts-- way more than I've had any indication of previously with my WA training or with my personal experience. In fact, Kyle said clearly in comments here - https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/robvallair/blog/awesome-tuto... that there is little reason to change pages to posts.
Here is the comment from Awin that brought my Etsy rejection today. I know of one other WA affliliate who recieved the same message:
"The following reason has been provided:
Thank you for your application. We noticed that the blog portion of your site has limited content. We encourage you to reapply once additional content has been added to the site and wish you luck with growing your business! Thank you!
Regards,Awin"
This is significant because I only have 15 blog Posts, it's true. But I also have 47 Pages on my site! It has a lot of quality content out there-- just not blog posts. My grand idea, as I was setting up my website, was to have an encyclopedic menu of information for beginners as permanent pages on my site. Blog posts were to be more up-to-date info, tips and tricks, reviews, and profiles of artists or professionals in my niche. I have only recently begun to focus on those, feeling that I have a nice, full site with loads of information on all those pages.
I had NO IDEA that some affiliate programs consider "Pages" to be... well... worthless. I thought that the permanent nature of them made my site more authoritative. It never occurred to me that anyone was counting the number of posts as though they are the only content that matters!
So, now I know. I'll be installing a post-type switcher plug-in tomorrow and start converting pages to posts.
Right now? Time for a break. I'm feeling a little ticked off.
Write on,
--Kelley
Recent Comments
12
Hey, Kelly, I work for Awin and I'm glad to clarify a few things.
For starters, Etsy is a merchant on Awin, so your headline is actually misleading. It wasn't Awin that decided that your site didn't contain enough blog posts, it was Etsy. Each merchant can decide the standards necessary to permit a publisher in their program. Awin decided your site was sufficient to be permitted into the network.
You actually didn't register a site when you joined, but instead identified yourself as an email publisher. (We could get that changed to content, which is what you truly are.) You don't have any sites listed in your profile, so they must have reviewed your site based on your email.
Etsy prefers blog posts over pages to link to their products. That's their choice. They didn't say you could never be a part of their program, you just have to add more blog posts to do so. They are very consistent in their review process, and hold all sites to the same standards. You actually said it yourself - "blog posts were to be more up-to-date-info." That's actually a better environment for links to Etsy. They didn't say that pages were worthless, just that they want the blog portion of your site to grow.
I know this was different than your vision, but in a way it's also consistent with your plan. When you're ready, I'll speak to Etsy on your behalf when they re-review your site.
Hope that helps,
Jeannine
Thank you for this really helpful answer! It does clarify several things for me. I have no idea why I would be registered as a email publisher, other than that they asked if I do any email promotions. I said yes, I do, and the original Awin communication was a denial because they wanted to see an example of my email promotions. I sent an example and got accepted. Somewhere along the way information got lost, on my part or on theirs.
As for the Etsy application, you are, of course, absolutely correct. My headline is blaming Awin for an Etsy decision and I should not have phrased it that way.
I have to say, the application for Etsy had the least intuitive interface of any affiliate program I have ever applied for. They sent me a first rejection based on my not listing my website-- but there was no place on their application form asking for a url. I added it to a description of my readers, for lack of any place else to list it. The process was very confusing and I was pretty annoyed by the time the second rejection came.
I have only the word of other marketers here on WA that Esty is a good program once you're in. So far, I'm sceptical.
I'm glad you found the info helpful!
I can get you changed from emailer to content publisher. I'll do that now, then the next time you log in, you can go to Account > Promotional Space and enter your URL.
The reason you weren't asked about your URL in the Etsy application was because you were showing as an email affiliate, so you had different questions in your application than a content publisher. You'll have a different experience next time.
One things that you may want to consider is the organization of your website. As you build out your pages, or posts, you want to incorporate them into the menu structuring and organization.
I find that although a site may have 20-30 posts, that some will have them all hidden within their blog roll and there is no other organization or ability for an end user to truly see how much content there is.
So that is something that I would definitely recommend. There is no reason an affiliate program should be disapproving someone if they have adequate content on their website and 15-20 pages is a good framework to work off of and should be adequate to start getting approved to most affiliate programs.
Of course, all are different and they way you present your website will also have an impact.
I would not change pages to posts just because of one affiliate program. There is no difference between pages and posts in the eyes of Google.
They have their own different reasons for rejecting you. Perhaps pages do not show anything that would promote their site. But who cares, keep the pages.
See more comments
Hi Kelley!
Thanks for your post, I am looking to apply to Etsy's affiliate program, so it is very helpful.
I was wondering if you ended up reapplying and getting approved/rejected? Just curious how many blog posts they are looking to be considered.
Any other advise is greatly appreciated, thank you so much.
Etsy is always glad to reconsider an application. There's no magic number of blog posts, but rather it's the content of those posts. Are they actually reviews of products you might find on Etsy, talking about the pros and cons? Are they "listicles" talking about multiple products which all come under the same vertical?
If you want to send me your URL prior to your application, I can take a look at it to see if there are any issues.
Hi Jean, thank you so much for the reply.
Hmm, I was under the impression Etsy really liked listed articles and gift guides?
In addition to doing bios on my favorite artists sharing their stories and brand descriptions, I was planning on creating guides and lists of different items based on category and style, etc. I have already spent months working on this type of content. My goal is to make it easier to find, learn about, and support small businesses, artists, and conscious creators.
I'm curious why they they wouldn't find "listicles" valuable if I'm helping my readers find what they're looking for based on their style and values while directing them to the right places to purchase, i.e., Etsy?
Or do you mean more like just listing a bunch of items with photos and not saying anything about each item? Because that's definitely not the type of "listicles" I write. I make sure to write about each item and seller, how it is made, where is it made, what they use, where they source their materials, how they can use/wear it, what their customers say about them, etc.
What is the type of content that would be considered worthy of being approved?
Thank you again for your time, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your insight.
Yes, some people think they are doing enough by just listing an item without sharing anything more. Etsy does well selling their items, but they truly appreciate affiliates who add value by talking about products - their design, their uses, etc. If you want to send me the URL of one of your listicles, I can get some feedback for sure.