Affiliate marketing is the digital equivalent of commissioned sales. It is easy, and simple – through an affiliate marketing program, you can connect with influencers relevant to your product to boost sales. They receive a commission whenever a sale is converted through their lead, by means of a unique affiliate link.
A win-win for everyone. Businesses get an additional revenue + an advertising channel, that is largely personalized and targeted. Influencers get their share of profit for the influence they exert, when a purchase is made through them.
Does affiliate building actually work?
The concept sounds fancy. But does it really work?
Yes! Think about it. Social media advertising is a massive channel. In 2019, over 80% of brands with a digital presence have associated with some form of affiliate marketing.
It has emerged as a tool to drive sales, and generate considerable online revenue. According to reputed companies offering Digital Marketing Services in Hyderabad, the affiliate marketing channel’s conversion is three times that of traditional channels, at a fraction of its’ marketing costs.
Apart from that, you know exactly where your marketing money is going, and how much it is bringing in turn – easy tracking over the affiliate network.
What affiliate Backlinks are (and Why you need them in your affiliate program)
Just what their name says, backlinks are what link one website to another at the backend. So, in your affiliate site, these could be a link from a social media platform, a thread, a forum leading people to your webpage.
Affiliate backlinks, apart from the obvious revenue channel is also:
- A relationship builder: Through affiliates, interactions with your consumer base is wider, you can make more meaningful and retained connections.
- Brand authority: With more quality affiliates, the webpage will also rank better and gain brand authority.
- Organic, hyper-targeted growth: Since SERP improves, there is a visible organic and extremely targeted growth in the consumer base.
The right way to build affiliate links:
Affiliate marketing is a marketing tool at the end of the day. Like any other tool, when done right it can work wonders for your business.
Since we’ve seen what affiliate link building can do for your business, here are a few pointers that can help create the right links:
Plan, plan, and plan more:
A marketing strategy is all about having a good plan. That includes budgeting, timing and the right marketing mix. It is no different with affiliate marketing.
In your affiliate marketing strategy, you should plan which platform to set it in, commission rates and modes, influencer selection, and the most important aspect – timing.
Have an affiliate Marketing Manager:
Set aside a resource, or dedicate time to be a Marketing manager. With so many influencers, timelines, platforms and campaigns to manage, it will definitely help!
Skilled Communication:
Communication is key! An affiliate manager should not just be good at talk and sending out mails/messages, they should coordinate seamlessly with the influencers on new products & campaigns. Getting to the right influencer, keeping up with them and just plain, good old communication is key!
Choosing the right platform:
This is a very subjective yet a crucial factor in affiliate marketing. They can be broadly categorized into:
Guest posts: On forums, blogs or doing an AMA session, you can add backlinks to the content in the bio or as a hyperlink within a post/comment. When it comes to guest posts, one must ensure that they
Choose the right blogs – based on target consumer preferences
Industry experts – by establishing a connection with industry biggies, you are increasing your brand authority and trust.
Audience engagement: Through links to landing pages, you must engage with your audience the right way
Metrics & Monitoring
Nothing speaks like numbers do. Monitoring and measuring how a campaign is progressing is vital. You may have to reset, offset or exit certain decisions based on what has worked, what could work better, and what didn’t.
Affiliate marketing is easy, but like PPC it could drain your revenue if not deployed right. Consult with reputed Influencer marketing services in Hyderabad, India, run A/B tests with different influencers, check RoIs and KPIs and keep the ones that profit the most. Always be open to new strategies, and changing your existing strategy.
Invest in good design
Site design is extremely important for good backlinks. Imagine a great product, with the right influencers, and a fantastic affiliate marketing campaign that drives traffic to a webpage that looks like spam.
Research shows that online consumers judge the trustworthiness of a product/service based on their website design. Clean, professional design always scores extra brownie points, so invest in a good design. Please go beyond free templates, for it opens up wonderful back link building opportunities.
Content is king
Content strategy is always at the heart of any web based business. Your content might be of great quality (like it should be), and relevant, but remember content freshness is also key. Pay attention to broken links building, and improve content constantly.
Jet, set, go affiliate!
Affiliate link building is a growing in leaps with more businesses integrating them into their mainstream marketing.
Affiliate link building is closely connected to performance marketing, and deals with content that reaches a hyper targeted market segment organically. With a little care and investment, you can build a great affiliate marketing strategy that benefits everyone in the ecosystem – the consumer, the affiliate and you!
