Over the years there has been constant talk about algorithm changes at Google that kill the rankings of affiliate websites overnight. If you don’t know what that means, the Google algorithm is a formula that they use to rank sites in the search results.
You need to be informed about the purpose of these changes as an affiliate marketer so you can plan your business, writing, and SEO tactics accordingly from the very first day. You don’t want to have to make constant updates to your site just to keep in favor with search engines.
Obviously, the algorithm is pretty complicated, but even minor changes can alter the way things are done by internet marketers. I have a lot of sites, so I was able to gather my own opinions about these changes and not depend on what others claim. I’m going to share some of these with you in this SEO guide for affiliates.
Exact Match Domain Names
Many people were expecting a huge event where exact match domain (EMDs) names take a big hit, but I believe that Google has already put changes in effect to tone down their effectiveness. I have certainly noticed a difference over the years, but exact match domains will never completely lose their effectiveness when used properly.
Exact Match Domain Example: You want a #1 ranking on the search term “personal finance” so you register personalfinance.com as your domain name.
Google could really care less that you buy an exact match domain name to go after a specific keyword phrase. What Google does care about is balance in the search results and QUALITY in the search results, above anything else.
I’ve used a lot of exact match domain names to make great affiliate money every month, so I can guarantee that they are not the real problem here. They’re also not the solution either though. Great content is the permanent SEO solution that almost guarantees great rankings long term if you do it right.
High-Quality Content
This is what Google is really after: spam, duplicate/auto content, excessive affiliate promotion. Those are the types of sites that are always targeted with Google ranking changes.
I often notice that my site building strategies are more effective than ever when there is an algorithm change. I usually don’t lose a single #1 ranking during changes and I often gain quite a few new #1 rankings.
One of these new #1 rankings is on an exact match domain that gets 7,000 Global and 3,600 Local exact phrase monthly searches on Google (just for the main keyword phrase).
What’s my point? My techniques work.
I focus on building high-quality, unique and useful content that provides in-depth information about a specific topic. That is exactly what a search engine wants in their results, so that is why my rankings often improve after an algorithm update while other marketers see a decline in rankings. When you try to cheat the system to get easy search rankings without doing the real work, you might win short-term but you will lose those rankings eventually.
General SEO Tips
What are my techniques? To put it simply, I make useful websites with well thought out, unique content and a minimal amount of advertising.
I generally put a single, styled ad box on each page of an affiliate website, although I don’t put ads on all pages (especially not the front page). My ad tactics will change for other types of sites though.
In addition to that, I may use plain text link ads within an article or on particular pages of the site but they are not overused. For 99% of my pages with ads, they won’t contain more than a couple of ad links per page (one styled & one text is common usage for me).
I NEVER use auto-generated content. I write a unique article for each page of the site.
Try to inform the website visitor and help them solve a problem instead of trying to sell them a product with your words. Don’t ever build pages without articles that are loaded with ads.
Push-Button Riches
I see the popular Clickbank and JVZoo product releases these days. Almost everything offers a push-button fantasy in a box, for one low price. YES, some of these products and schemes may work for a while, but they all have one thing in common: they don’t last.
I have been making a full-time living online for over 13 years. Many different money making tricks have come and gone, but there is one thing that is always a constant: quality websites make money. I build the types of websites that I build because they stand the test of time. They last for a few different reasons. Exact match domain names that target a certain type of product or niche will always have value as long as the website is high-quality.
Another reason is because useful websites with unique content actually help people. When a website like that exists, it’s talked about, linked to and bookmarked. This type of activity results in longevity that even the best search engine rankings can’t offer and you can only get it by putting in a lot of hard work.
When you figure out that you can’t take a shortcut to success, remember the things I have said. All of the training, knowledge and expertise in the world will not be able to do one thing for you: MOTIVATE!
Dig Deep for Motivation
Here is millions of dollars worth of online money making advice, absolutely free….
Instead of trying to find out the fastest, easiest way to do something, motivate yourself to put in the work and effort required to do something the best way possible!
That’s right – determination is not sold on my website or in a cute little bottle at the store. If you think you are determined to succeed and are still trying to find the easy way to success, then you have been brainwashed by one of the best marketing tricks online in the past two decades.
Automatically generated content was quite possibly the best marketing trick of the last two decades (best for the sellers and not for you, the person using it). A marketer realized that they could sell something like crazy if it would do all of the work for someone else to help them make money online. They came up with inventive ways to do this, but it’s a simple fact that Google will not allow those tactics to succeed long-term. The marketers have made their millions and now the average person, you, is left with the Google fallout.
Take my advice and stop buying into the gimmicks. Stay and learn some of the things that I have to teach – it will be the best decision you’ve ever made.