Making a hefty revenue through affiliate programs and marketing is no longer a new concept. In fact, there are a lot of online entrepreneurs who specialize in affiliate marketing as a means of earning revenue. If well planned and executed, you can replace your 9 – 5 job and pay all your bills. Affiliate marketing is actually one of the opportunities brought about by online business and e-commerce. It is very simple when stated in theory. It basically involves creating a site with high traffic and referring visitors to products or services. When visitors purchase a product, service or download a digital product, you receive a commission from the company you are marketing for. The great thing is that you can market products and services from different companies, stores or manufacturers. However, the practical procedure is not quite as simple and requires patience, determination and a variety of skills in internet marketing. Success in selling affiliate products will require some basic (preferably deep) understanding of:

– Website building

– SEO (search engine optimization) and link building

– Online payment methods

– Standards and legal frameworks

– Traffic building

– Personal creativity

You must not necessarily learn all the skills at once, although basic web designing skills and SEO are paramount if you intend to increase your affiliate income.

Search Engine Optimization and Affiliate Marketing

SEO is almost inseparable from affiliate marketing or any other form of internet marketing for that matter. Search engine optimization involves making your contents and websites (which includes the affiliate products you are marketing) visible to internet (WEB) users. SEO does not only stop at visibility. They are concepts used to ensure your web pages appear in the first page of search results, if not at the first position. In order to make income as an affiliate marketer, you must have several visitors (traffic/potential customer) to your site since the products you sell (recommend) are displayed on your site. These visitors arrive at your site by typing their search information on common search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. When they search a specific product (including information and digital products) or service in search engines like Google, it replies them with search results. SEO focuses on the algorithms search engines use to rank sites according to “relevance to the search”. You will therefore need to identify your target market and find out which keywords they type in the search. SEO also includes link building and other site optimization procedures like social media engagements. From website layout to structure and incorporation of media files such as images, videos, music files and banners, SEO is indeed a broad concept. It involves choosing the right topics, titles and keywords/keyword phrases as well as availing relevant, up-to-date quality content. Without proper search engine optimization, you can have a perfectly designed website full with content and product referrals or catalogs. You will, however, have a few visitors who actually see and click on the links you have provided. Most internet users rely on the first listed sites in the search result. A site listed in the 50th page of results is less likely to be clicked. Therefore, in simple terms, affiliate marketing and its success depends on the number of visitors to a site (traffic) and rate of conversion of that traffic. Traffic is greatly influenced by SEO which determines which sites are ranked first in a search result. Conversion simply refers to how many visitors end up buying the affiliate products you are recommending, which depends on how much you convince them (quality content, description and review).

Web designing and affiliate income

Although you need not to be a programmer in order to succeed in affiliate marketing, basic knowledge in HTML and web designing is still important. To market affiliate products, you must have a website, whether it is a running blog or just a site full of resources and product links. Blogging is one of the common techniques used in affiliate programs mainly because it is a simple way of generating fresh unique contents. You can build links to products and resources within the contents of the blog.

Conclusion

A finely designed website (featuring responsive designs, clear navigation pathway, quality content and ergonomic user interface) will keep visitors locked into your pages. SEO helps you design the content and structure that keeps you high up the list in search results thereby driving in more traffic. In summary, increasing your affiliate income will require you to build a functional and well structured website, optimized to drive in traffic and lead visitors to products or services.

Latonya Campbell is the author of FREE blog that is aimed to provide value to business owners of all skill levels. Load up on business strategies by subscribing to the FREE weekly newsletter that is jam packed with tips and tricks that will boost your online income including tips on how to drive traffic to your affiliate products at Latonya Campbell\’s Blog

Latonya Campbell is the author of FREE blog that is aimed to provide value to business owners of all skill levels. Load up on business strategies by subscribing to the FREE weekly newsletter that is jam packed with tips and tricks that will boost your online income including tips on how to drive traffic to your affiliate products at http://www.LatonyaCampbell.com.

Author Bio: Latonya Campbell is the author of FREE blog that is aimed to provide value to business owners of all skill levels. Load up on business strategies by subscribing to the FREE weekly newsletter that is jam packed with tips and tricks that will boost your online income including tips on how to drive traffic to your affiliate products at Latonya Campbell\’s Blog

Category: Internet
Keywords: Internet Marketing, Generating Traffic, Driving Traffic, Affiliate Income, Affiliate Marketing,SEO