Affiliate marketing has been around for many years. In that time we’ve lived through many changes to the industry, largely driven by the development and advancements made within technology. In addition, we’ve witnessed some terrible mistakes, some old-school approaches that unfortunately still crop up every now and then. So let’s learn from the past and stop these school-boy errors.
Buying Traffic
There was once a time when buying traffic from questionable sources was common practice. It was typically carried out by newbies and those looking for a quick win. Buying traffic never works. It does not convert due to its poor quality, and you have no idea where it is really coming from. In the end, it impacts your SEO efforts and adds no benefit to your affiliate marketing strategy. Buying traffic will result in an immediate ban on your publisher account.
PPC traffic and social media advertisements are not the same as buying traffic. These are great methods for reaching relevant real people. However, if a company or website is offering you traffic to your website in return for a payment, turn in the other direction.
Copying Content
Affiliate marketing can be a competitive business. Everyone wants to be the next super affiliate, earning a six-figure income from anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, in the past, there have been affiliates who have tried to steal content in order to replicate another’s success. This does not work and never will. Firstly, any affiliate reported to have stolen copy, images they do not own, or any other type of content, will be removed from any reputable network.
Secondly, Google will massively penalise duplicated content, meaning you will never rank in the search engines like the original has. Google’s advanced algorithm is designed to ensure only high quality websites are shown in their search results. Even duplicating just one or two blog posts from another website can have a negative impact. It’s much better to take inspiration from something you enjoyed and re-write it in your own unique words. Consider outsourcing this task if you’re not a strong writer or you struggle to come up with new exciting topics.
Promoting Everything
You can’t target every different type of audience all in one place. It’s confusing to land on a website and find tips on gardening, adverts for female health products and content about men’s fashion. We’re not sure what kind of website we’re describing here, but it’s a common newbie mistake to try and promote everything. We totally get it, you want to maximise your earnings so you’re trying to promote as much as possible. The problem is, you’re not going to attract an audience with a genuine interest in any one niche. Any traffic you do receive will probably leave immediately and no conversions equals no payout.
