The Affiliate Link Question: How Many Is Too Many?
As I was working through another training today, I created my second post (yay!) and this time I was so excited to have learned how to affiliate link! I just couldn't wait!
Until Kyle's words came through the video tutorial that you shouldn't have too many affiliate links in your post as Google will look upon that negatively in your ranking.
Oh no! I don't want to be viewed as just a pusher of products, by either Google or my readers. So the question of the day became, how many affiliate links are too many?
This is where the awesome WA community came to the rescue. Question asked and in no time at all I got multiple excellent responses!
Here's what I learned:
- Definitely DON'T clutter your post with affiliate links. It will hurt your Google ranking
- Google wants to provide its users with quality results where they don't have to go through multiple clicks to get their information and providing a lot of affiliate links will make it "look" to Google like the user may not get the best information the most directly
- There was a concensus that 2-3 links is usually standard and acceptable
- It was also suggested that 2-3 links for every 1000 words in your post is ok
- It's also recommended to have a smattering of posts with no links in webpage - this makes total sense - you're a resource first and foremost, not just a sales platform
- If you are referencing a product in a post that you have affiliate linked in another post, instead of just re-affiliate linking, consider linking back to your prior post with the original affiliate link
- I still have questions about this one from a user experience standpoint as it is an additional click and I would be concerned about losing conversions...but I think that's probably an advanced question and I'm not there yet
So basically, WA yet again came to the rescue today, and I posted (what I think is) great content with appropriate affiliate links.
Now I just have to keep following the steps to drive traffic...one step at a time!
Best wishes for all of your success!
Christina
Recent Comments
2
You got it right, Christina :)
In terms of the last point, here is what I do:
Let's say I have a post with 10 best products. I talk about a product and if I have an individual review, I will add a link to that individual review. Right after I have a CTA button to Amazon.
This way I am giving my visitors options: whether they want to learn more about the product or they are ready to make a purchase. Win-win and you don't lose conversions :)
Thanks, that's a great idea! I definitely don't want to overload the affiliate links, but ultimately I do want to provide educational information and options for my reader to select what products work best for them. Ultimately, I don't want to be a solely "comparison" website, I want to offer true value.
Now, I need to learn how to make a CTA button to amazon!