Wealthy Affiliate Training: Affiliate Links Aren’t the Holy Grail (But I Thought They Were)

byRobbyofstone

448 followers

2 days ago

Wealthy Affiliate Training: Affiliate Links Aren’t the Holy Grail (But I Thought They Were)

I touched on this subject not long ago when I posted an update on my journey so far with Wealthy Affiliate. Here, I want to explain my thoughts in a little more depth.

When I first started affiliate marketing, I thought the secret to success was simple:
Sign up for as many affiliate programs as possible, load up the site with banners and links, tie it all together… and watch the cash roll in.

I was all-in. I chased down approvals for both the Amazon US and UK programs, knowing there was a 180-day probation period before I could fully utilise Amazon’s sales assets. This seemed too far ahead of where I wanted to be, so I grabbed every relevant-looking affiliate program and their banners that I could find—some closely related to my niche, others loosely connected. Then, I overloaded my early posts with them, making my site resemble a digital local ad mag rather than a trustworthy resource.

But here’s what I didn’t realise back then—and maybe this will sound familiar if you’re just starting out:
My content wasn’t ready for it.

Looking back, I now see that my writing lacked the quality, structure, and depth that readers might expect. I hadn’t built traffic or a following, and I was focusing on promotion before foundation.

I was doing quite well in terms of Google rankings—loads of first-place positions—but that doesn’t mean much if no one is searching for those terms. I had great impressions but few click-throughs because my niche was too narrow, and my content wasn't suitably presented in a way that appealed to a wider audience.

All of this was before AI tools became widely used and before WA introduced the tools available today. Back then, I was working in Word, manually researching everything, still in the early days of learning, and still missing the mark.

If I could go back and tell my earlier self one thing, it would be this:
Build your content base first. Post after post. Create value. Then layer on the links.

✅ The Do’s (What Actually Works)

• Do focus on the reader. What are they actually searching for? Solve their problems first.
• Do write naturally. Speak to your audience like a person, not a salesperson (or an AI model).
• Do build trust before pitching too heavily. Trust turns readers into clickers, and clicks into buyers.
• Do use affiliate links carefully. A well-placed link is effective; a post overloaded with them feels spammy.
• Do use internal linking. Guide readers to related content and build a web of useful resources on your site.

❌ The Don’ts (What I Learned the Hard Way)

• Don’t rush to monetize. Unless you’re highly experienced, focus on solid content first. Learn to walk before you run.
• Don’t join every affiliate program. More links don’t mean more money—relevance matters far more.
• Don’t assume a banner equals trust. Readers see through it—value builds trust, not graphics.
• Don’t forget your ‘why’. If your site becomes all about links rather than helping people, your audience will sense it.

Final Thoughts

Affiliate marketing works—but not quite the way I first thought. And the Google changes had their impact too.

It’s not about how many programs you’re signed up for or how fancy your site looks. It’s about how many people your content genuinely helps. Then, the affiliate links they might be interested in.

One thing I’ve learned while building my local website is that people in different countries respond differently to how content is presented. The ‘where’ matters. A sales approach that works in one region may not be as effective in another.

If you’re new and feel like you’re falling behind because you haven’t added ten affiliate links to every post… you’re not behind. You’re ahead if you’re focusing on real, helpful content first.

The links are important but that will follow when your posts have attracted the readers.

I hope you find this post helpful

Rob