Are Affiliate Links On Your Blog Worth the Hassle?
Let me preface this post by stating that the affiliate programs I am talking about deal with physical goods, like those you would buy from Amazon. This post does not reference downloadable content or survey/subscription models. It also does not refer to product review blogs.
So you’ve decided to monetize your blog, and are searching for the best way to do so. There are tons of programs out there, like PPC programs, sponsored reviews, and the topic of this post, affiliate links. PPC programs can be confusing to some new bloggers, and may take some time to master. The results are easy to track, and percentages say that if you get enough traffic, you will make at least some money. Sponsored reviews usually have qualifications based on PageRank and Alexa ranking, which may not be available until your blog matures. But they are perfect for low-inspiration days. So that leaves us with Affliliate Marketing.
What could be easier than applying for some affiliate programs and slapping some links and banners on your site? The are many programs that automatically approve you once you’ve been accepted into LinkShare, CJ, Shareasale, or one of the other affiliate networks.
I just can’t see affiliate banners being a good idea for a blog. Typically, banner ads use a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) model. This is great for branding and reputation. Affiliate banners are CPA (cost per action). That better be on convincing banner ad to result in a sale. Affiliate Links are a better idea, especially when the product you are pushing fits in the context of what you are blogging about. But how many people typically click on your links? This should be the first indicator of whether or not an affiliate link is going to be successful. Of those that click on the link, how many are going to actually result in a sale?
One blog I helped set up had been running affiliate banners for about 2 months, but recently canned them altogether. The blog generated decent traffic for a new blog, but only resulted in one sale, netting the owner $4.00. She found the banner to be obtrusive and distracting to her readers, so we took them off.
I am running one affiliate banner here right now, for TextLinkAds. If you are a blogger, I believe that a program like this might be best, as it targets other bloggers, who probably make up a large percentage of your readership. I am also offering to throw in a free review as an incentive, making it a little different than typical affiliate links.
So what do you guys think? Am I was off base here? I knot that there are many blogs out there making good money off affiliate programs. But what percentage? .1%? If Technorati is correct in saying there are 55 million blogs, then that means 55,000 blogs are making good money off affiliate programs. We can probably be safe in saying the .001% is closer to the right percentage. Are your online marketing skills in the top 99.999%?
Thursday, March 29th, 2007
March 29th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I think it depends on what kind of blog you’re running. I agree that in blogs whose audience is other bloggers, they are mostly ad blind. But, if you have niche sites, affiliate marketing can be very lucrative. I have two niche sites (printables4scrapbooking.com is one, for example), and I have affiliate things on there, but I would never put them on my home site.
March 29th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Randa,
Thanks for the comment. I think you are doing it a good way in seperating most of your affiliate links on a different page and calling it a “store”. By doing this, you are being upfront with your readers that you are selling, or at least pre-selling, a product that is aimed at them. You also have 2 small unobtrusive banner ads, which no one will have a problem with. How do your affiliate sales compare to your adsense revenue?
March 31st, 2007 at 7:47 am
Oh, affiliate sales stink. Adsense is better now of course. I just know people who make a killing on affiliate stuff. I’m trying to figure out how they do it. I’m experimenting with posting about the affiliate stuff as a “benefit” to my readers, for example “here’s a 50% coupon code” in case you want to buy something at this store. This site is specifically designed to be monetized while providing good content at the same time, so some selling here and there is part of the plan. I don’t see it as deceptive at all. I think there are some who use tactics that are deceptive though, just to get people to click on stuff. The thing is, the click doesn’t earn you anything. They have to convert to a sale, so I don’t see how that gets them anywhere.
April 19th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I think a lot of people are aware of what an affiliate link is! hell I even tried my hand a affiliate links myself. if you want to make a sale then you have to have highly targeted traffic to make a sale. you have to be up front with them and tell people about what it is your selling. otherwise your chances of making a sale are very low. I made a couple of sales but not enough to keep me interested. I think if you decide to use them on your site it would be better to do a review about them. if people are interested then they will buy, but you have to generate the interest. I for now am done with the whole system and I simply provide good content that helps people. I then have adsense adds. I’ve notice I started getting a lot of traffic around 600 visitors in march. 40% bookmarked my site.
the key is you want them to come back. I think if you use affiliate links you have to think is this going to be useful. it it’s going to help people then you might have a winer. If not you might not even get a sale.
December 15th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
January 5th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
This was a great post! I never thought about how obstructive my banners could be on the blogs I use. I have had some luck, however, when I am targeting the right people. Then, the banner isn’t a problem. I think it definitely depends on who you are targeting your blog to. Keep posting such great information!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
If you can identify a proper niche, affiliate links are definitely worth it. They’ve worked waayyy better for me than Adsense.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Affiliate links is a tough choice. Anything affiliate doesn’t always excite much in me because to make just one sale is hard work.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:27 am
The nice thing about Adsense is you get paid for all the unprofitable ad campaigns (in addition to the ones that work), which makes it a close call really.
October 17th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
The Streets Don’t Lie…
Through mismanagement and inexperience eBay has eroded the trust of millions and the publishers in the ePN program. Read this forum post about how John Donahoe and Steve Hartman are quickly becoming the laughing stock of the affiliate marketing commun…
October 25th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
air plane ticket…
air plane ticket…
October 25th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
971 the ticket…
971 the ticket…
December 11th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Yeah they are worth the trouble. If it makes you money then it’s probably worth the trouble. After all, how much trouble is it to put money making links on your blog? We blog because we like it but preachers preach because they like it too, but that doesn’t stop them from passing that hat around.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I hate the concept of affiliate marketing since it is a dilution of content across the web. Imagine if every blog had affiliate links – not only would you get sick of seeing (and not trusting) such affiliate linkage, the links themselves would suffer from lower click through rates as people are jaded by such a marketing method. Also a lot of affiliate links are disguised as genuine links too.
However, for some sites it’s a necessary evil – just not my thing.
May 25th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Through mismanagement and inexperience eBay has eroded the trust of millions and the publishers in the ePN program. Read this forum post about how John Donahoe and Steve Hartman are quickly becoming the laughing stock of the affiliate marketing commun…
July 7th, 2009 at 4:38 am
kabinde son nokta üreti m ve kalite bir leşiyor.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:12 am
As an affiliate I use affiliate links at various places throughout my web site, in emails and in other online promotions. These affiliate links are usually long and have a number or word to define who the affiliate is.
As well as using these ‘direct’ affiliate links I have also used redirect pages (or what I might call ‘indirect’ affiliate links) on my web site as well. These are blank web pages whose sole purpose is to redirect the visitor to the affiliate page.
July 25th, 2009 at 9:45 am
nice post, great information
http://affiliatemarketingtipsblog.com/
July 28th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
About affiliate marketing i think if your blog is not too much popular then it is better not to use affiliate links or banners. That will bring very little money to you specially through PPC campaign. but, you will lost lots of visitors to read your blog properly.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
I think it depend on the niched , if you want to have a good result on your affiliates better choose a good niche that has lots of target viewers
August 9th, 2009 at 2:08 am
I don’t see it as deceptive at all. I think there are some who use tactics that are deceptive though, just to get people to click on stuff. The thing is, the click doesn’t earn you anything.
August 9th, 2009 at 2:08 am
I think you are doing it a good way in seperating most of your affiliate links on a different page and calling it a “storeâ€. By doing this, you are being upfront with your readers that you are selling, or at least pre-selling, a product that is aimed at them.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Bileta product that is aimed at them
August 19th, 2009 at 2:54 am
good article. thanks.
September 21st, 2009 at 3:02 am
I’ve had fantastic luck in the past putting affiliate links on my blog. As long as the product you are selling is related to what your site is about I can see your visitors buying the product. It all depends how you brand it though – a good branding could sell a a ketchup Popsicle to someone in white gloves.
September 26th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Nice and informative news just great keep it up
October 9th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
To be able to make money from affiliate links, the website needs to have some serious traffic, otherwise it is just not worth the hassle.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:52 am
good article. thanks.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:50 am
This post very helpful for me,I feel it is informative and evocative too.Thanks for sharing the information.
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:00 am
Great idea. Maybe i stop writing just for me self and start publish
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:46 am
good article. thanks
October 27th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Great idea. thanks
October 28th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Many blogger implement affiliate links in their blogs to market brands and earn money. If there is no affiliate links in blog then interest of blogger many loose. Do you know how many blogging is running today’s.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Nice post, Thank for sharing
November 28th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
insightful post – thanks for sharing!
December 6th, 2009 at 4:52 am
The best way to promote affiliate links is to create a full website for your affiliates.just my two cents
December 19th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Affiliate marketing is a good way to make online money. However, one should choose the niche carefully to succeed..
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:17 pm
you have to know what you are doing before you ad affiliate links…
February 9th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Oh, affiliate sales stink. Adsense is better now of course. I just know people who make a killing on affiliate stuff. I’m trying to figure out how they do it. I’m experimenting with posting about the affiliate stuff as a “benefit” to my readers, for example “here’s a 50% coupon code” in case you want to buy something at this store
March 29th, 2010 at 6:33 am
It is better if your affiliate program is related to your niche. You’ll have more chance in the way. For example, your niche is about blogging then the best affiliate program for you is those company the sell hosting, themes and programs.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:36 am
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April 13th, 2010 at 1:04 am
I really appreciated all the efforts to gain all useful articles and resources and provided them here. They’re just awesome. Keep it up.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:15 am
Snap!
May 18th, 2010 at 12:55 am
i have just signed up with the amazon affiliate program and i am still not earning a good deal of cash from them.~`:
June 30th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Online promotion has been the trend today as more and more internet users go..:,
July 10th, 2010 at 3:55 am
I am used to that posting a blog but i never heard that technique before thanks for that useful information really it s very significant.I am looking forward to read your next great article… Nice article, thanks.
July 10th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Amazon Affiliate program pays much better than other affiliate programs out there.~.~
July 26th, 2010 at 8:04 am
eBay is a good marketing trend ,which is been running without any interruption..amazon doesn’t provide full affiliate programs..still they have problems with it..
August 15th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Remember, “Content Is King” and very lightly sprinkled affiliate links or ads provide additional resources to that content. For example, if one was to review the newest, coolest, cell phone on the market, in which you are an expert on and have the # page on Google for, but have no ties to the manufacturer or service providers. You could use an affiliate link from a company that has ties to the product or service. This will in turn monetize your site, which is just rewards for your superior content and search engine placement.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:58 am
Such a relevant kind of post on this. Such informative one. Looking forward for more regarding this.