Affiliate Link Building: How to Do It the Right Way by @annaleacrowe – Info SEO

I don’t blame you if you equate affiliate links with lots of dollar signs and spammy links.

All those nofollow links and the workload – sample blog posts, different banner sizes, and monthly perks – don’t come cheap or without bundles of time.

And though you probably already have enough link building tactics that work, that doesn’t mean it’s set in stone.

With long months of content creation ahead of you, it’s always nice to pick up a few fresh links or brand mentions that will keep your brand top of mind.

That’s where affiliates come in.

While it was rumored that Google was going to demote affiliates websites that were using dated framework in both their organic and paid results, affiliate marketing shifted toward increasing stand-alone resources.

Gawker Media is a great example. Gawker Media has received $10 million in e-commerce revenue in 2014 alone using Amazon affiliate links.

Also, the Penny Hoarder said it’s more sustainable than display advertising.

Even Uber and Hotels.com are getting in on the affiliate marketing action.

Google handles affiliate links without an issue.

Just remember to always add the nofollow attribute because affiliate links are technically paid links.

It may not pass link love, but it counts on other search engines, like Bing.

Affiliate links give brands another opportunity to gain user-generated content as well as unique blog posts for the main influencers who you may not have identified without your affiliate marketing program.

This also gives you a chance to connect with these key influencers for blog posts, contests, or any upcoming campaigns.

Affiliate marketing may not be in your link building wheelhouse, but I believe it’s an evolving channel you need integrate into your online marketing efforts to succeed.

Whether it’s the current model of affiliate marketing and buy links, or you transform that into a secluded group of your top 25 bidders.

You decide what works best for your content and exposure. It’s all about performance marketing and focusing on content closest to the purchase decision.

Summary

Timeframe: Month 8, then ongoing monthly

Results detected: 4-12 months

Average links per month: 30

Tools:

• Affiliate marketing platform (CJ, Amazon, ShareASale, etc.)

Benefits:

• When starting a new site, I focus almost exclusively on affiliate and organic traffic because it’s the cheapest and has a high ROI of traffic and revenue.
• Affiliate marketing increases your brand mentions and new links during slow months.