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January 28, 2019 By adamriemer Leave a Comment

Yes, Google Likes Affiliate Websites & They Can Rank.

Whether it’s a Blogger in a Facebook group claiming they got penalized for using affiliate links and warning others not to try them, or a resource or directory website that swears their Google traffic is gone because they joined a specific affiliate program, you’re going to come across some scary stories. Don’t let them turn you off from affiliate marketing.

The main thing to look for is the person claiming “Google hates affiliate programs” or “Google hates affiliate websites” and my favorite “Google hates affiliate links”.

Using affiliate links and programs is just like any other monetization plan or ad placement. Google even has an entire section in their webmaster support area of search console specifically for building solid affiliate websites to make money. For the most part, affiliate links are 307 redirects, cloaked links or just a direct link with parameters (which should be no followed). They are treated just like any other part of a page and piece of your website’s structure and anatomy. This is no different than some of the other things you’re already doing.

Just like with other inbound and outbound links, too many dilute the authority they can pass internally and externally, and you should not add them if they won’t provide value to the visitor and support the topic. You also should not load your sidebar full or place too many on a page and above the fold. It’s that simple. So why do so many people blame them for their sites not ranking or losing rankings?

Let’s dive into why some people say Google hates affiliate websites and links.

Thin content being added and banners/links in the wrong places
Irrelevant content being created
Duplicate pages diluting your entire site
Not using disclosures to say it is paid placements (use blogging penalty for sponsorships)

Thin Content Being Added and Using Ads in the Wrong Places

Some sites make their first few sales and go crazy adding new posts and pages to make more money. Others add a javascript to automatically turn a link to a store or service into a link that is monetized through affiliate programs while forgetting that anything paid should be no follow. Some begin adding ads everywhere and the wrong way which creates a bad user experience. All of these can cause a drop in traffic or rankings when done incorrectly. Here’s some examples of problems and how to do proper implementation so your site can hopefully keep its traffic and you can make sales.

Example 1 – Bloggers and their first sales.

Bloggers who make their first sales sometimes start [Read more…] about Yes, Google Likes Affiliate Websites & They Can Rank.

November 19, 2018 By adamriemer Leave a Comment

Google’s Allowing Comments on SERPs – Let The Conspiracies Begin!

When scrolling through Twitter to see if there’s anyone I had to respond too, John Henshaw from Coywolf had shared something about Google allowing comments on search results. Then Kristine Schachinger (I think it was her) linked to the webmasters post where they are indeed testing this out in a few niches. It looks like sports results are first.

The good news is more keyboard warriors have a place to vet their opinions. Because that is totally awesome and something we need more of, especially when others can view this and it can directly impact your business (eye roll and sarcasm). And we have another great side effect, scammy SEO companies who will pretend this is the all new way to do SEO and will get you to the top. It could potentially also open up the doors for affiliates to post their links or custom coupon codes that fire sales back to their accounts and directly from your trademark searches. Same goes for influencers “use my coupon and save” directly on your own search results.

This could be done on the main URL, products URLs from your own site, over other affiliates’ sites and reviews third parties have created, etc… Lots of bad that could happen (and will if it takes off), but this might have some value and good sides too. I’ll get to those shortly.

This post is broken out into three parts.

What to expect rumor wise
How it could actually impact your visibility good and bad
What to do and to avoid, assuming this is something they keep

Very similar to when Google would show live twitter results in the top top positions or boost visibility if you had connections through circles in Google+, this is going to be a fun ride, if they keep it and push it out further.

November 9, 2018 By adamriemer Leave a Comment

How to Forecast a Competitor’s AOV & Beat Them

One thing companies don’t realize when they brag about revenue and sales is that they give away a lot of their secret sauce. For example, I build (have someone build when it’s out of my skill set or I’m being lazy) weird algorithms and formulas for fun regularly (mainly because it is fun to mess with colleagues and friends) and because it gives me an advantage in the business world.

Whether it is creating a plan to destroy a client’s competitor, pitch a new affiliate or pitch a potential client who won’t share data, I can get solid estimates by simply gathering some of the data points they post publicly and weighing them out with a series of if/then, and/or statements and weights. The company is usually shocked when I start reading the results to them, mostly because they don’t realize how simple it is to do this. The best part is that most of it is publicly available, you just need to put the pieces together. So why did I just ramble for two paragraphs?

Someone recently said, you can’t tell my AOV and I won’t share it. If you know me well you know I love a challenge, so here’s what I did.

Note: I have not created this algorithm….yet….but I might in the future. =0)

October 29, 2018 By adamriemer Leave a Comment

How to Write Category Copy for SEO & UX

Category copy is one of the trickiest pages to write. Not only do you have to fit it into a space which has to be product focused and non competitive, but if the category has a few hundred or thousand products, you have to keep it simple, effective and most importantly all inclusive.

That means it needs to incorporate the theme of the page while not competing with product pages or sub-categories and also excite the end user without pitching yourself. Advanced copywriters will also define how to use the page to locate the product the visitor is looking for, and that is where UX comes in.

Because this is probably the hardest type of copy to create, we’ve developed this guide on how to write category copy for SEO and to give your end user or potential customer a great experience. This is the same exact thing I do with my employees and the clients that hire me to train their teams.

How to Write Good Category Page Copy

The most important thing when creating this type of page is to think about what it is supposed to do.

Category Copy Needs to:

Get the user excited to purchase the product
Help them to know you have the product they’re looking for
Explain how to sort through the options if you have a lot of SKUs
Make them want to engage with the page to find the product
Click through the image or subcategory and get to conversion
Answer questions they have about the category, not product specific
Not take away from user experience and hide product below the fold

The last bullet point is a tricky one and if you have huge images or leaderboards, you may want to consider a new category page design. Here’s a few ways to incorporate SEO copy into category page design wise that may help.

How to Select the Right Keywords for Category Copy

Keyword research here is tricky. You do not want keywords relevant to a specific product, instead the category should focus on the more generic ones. i.e. the category has multiple widgets and should answer questions about widgets and address the needs of people who want widgets. Product pages and sub categories are where you get into specifics.

Subcategories for example could be if the widget has 8 sizes and 8 color options. You may want to do a sub category for XL widgets and S widgets. You could also do a sub category for blue widgets and include the 8 sizes within it. Now you have a main category for widgets, sub categories for the main variations and then the copy on the product page is now product specific.

By doing it this way you can also build internal links upwards, horizontally and downwards to pass authority.

Are Questions and Answers Good For SEO on Category Pages

Yes, they are 100% great for this. Having a Q&A can answer questions about the category. Examples can be if it can solve XY problem, if they are a specific color for a specific purpose or how to use it for a specific purpose. Another one could be the effects, impacts or even proper usage and storage or care, but on a categorical basis.

By answering questions ahead of time where the products within the category are part of or are the solution, you can not only try to get the answer box at the top of the search results in Google, but you’re also giving a better user experience by answering a potential customers questions. When you clear the confusion with solid answers, you may also have pushed them one more step to conversions and that is why question and answers or FAQs that are category specific (not product or general customer) are great for these pages.

Which Questions to Include In Category Copy

Now that you have your keyword research done and know what the goal of each question should be, you need to think about other relevant information and how to get answer boxes and other rich snippets. Category copy should be about the entire grouping and not individual products or sub categories as mentioned above. A good example is a question about how long it will last or if it is compatible with an XYZ.

For category copy, unless everything in the category is compatible with XYZ and everything lasts at least AB years, then that question goes into a sub category or product page because it does not address the needs of the majority and does not add value. For sub categories where it is relevant you’re then able to say yes, each option on this page works with XYZ or is going to last for at least AB. Remember, category copy needs to be inclusive of the category and that is where you need to draw the line.

How to Increase Conversions With Category Copy

This is the tricky and fun part. The first thing is to understand “we, we” syndrome. This is where you make everything about you and your store and not the customer. “I love this”, “we have 1,000’s”, “our widgets are the best”, etc… are all “we, we” syndrome. It’s great you feel passionate about your store, products and services, but you’re not engaging the potential customer.

Instead, look for every occurance of I, we, our, my, we’re, etc… and replace them with you, you’ll, your and other words that are about the visitor. Next we try to get them to understand how they’ll benefit. Situations are a perfect starting point.

If this is fashion, don’t say the dress is made of sequins and lace. Instead say something like “Enjoy the luxurious feel of the satin styles below where each one is designed with seamless stitching and lace trim that lies gently on your skin so there are no itchy side effects. Watch as the sequins sparkle for a fun look whether it’s a cocktail party or for a formal event.”.

By mentioning how the dress will feel with the modifiers “sequins” and “lace” for dress, I was able to answer their questions about comfort and by mentioning the types of events it can be worn, I can help to get them to imagine what it’ll look like and how it can be used in multiple situations so it has a cost saving aspect as well.

Teach Visitors How to Use The Page to Find the Right Options

This is one of those things that seems like you shouldn’t have to do, but if you have a designer who went “creative” or made a mobile site for a desktop display, it is important. The same goes if you have ever changing or multi-option sorting on the top or left side of the page.

The first thing is to avoid stating the obvious and rambling. “So you’re looking for XYZ” or “Whether you want a X or a Y, or also want a Z”. Instead jump right into the topic.

Blue widgets not only do A, B and C, but when combined with a red blahblahblah, you’ll be up and running in no time.

Now that you’ve said what it is for and helped to reassure they solve the issue, think about how to drive the person into the product mix.

Look below to discover the right option that meets your needs. You can sort by size and see only x-small blue widgets or by year and model with the drop down menu to find the rare 1995 green model.

By doing the above you’ve helped the person learn to narrow down the results and you’ve given a natural tie in for internal links which can help the search engines further define what the pages on your website are about. If the page has authority, these links may also be able to help pass some of the authority through these links.

The last step is to tell the person to click on the one they like and then teach them how to use the page.

When you find the right one, click it and simply select the color, size and quantity, then proceed through our secure checkout so you can be on your way to XYZ with no more worries.

By following the steps in this guide, you may be able to increase both your organic SEO traffic and also your conversions. You’ll be helping to solve issues for past and future customers while also helping them to use your website, find the product and checkout quickly and easily. If this seems complicated, you can always hire us by using the contact form here to write the copy or simply train your team for you. Yes we train other agencies as well.

October 15, 2018 By adamriemer Leave a Comment

Affiliate Managers – What is Their Job, How Much They Make & More

Whether you’re a company looking to hire in house or an affiliate marketing company to manage your program, or you’re an affiliate and want to know what the affiliate manager you’ve been talking to is supposed to do, there can be a lot of questions.

This guide will help you learn everything about the job of an affiliate manager including:

What their job is
How much they make
Which skills they need to have
What do they do day-to-day
How to find groups

What is an Affiliate Manager’s Job?

The job of the affiliate manager can be looked at in three separate parts.

Ensure proper tracking and tools are provided
Provide support for the affiliates within the program while recruiting new ones
Protect their company from fraud and theft

Ensuring proper tracking includes testing and implementing advanced tracking including cross device when available, setting up attribution lines to credit value adding partners and the basics like regular pixel installation. Their job also includes keeping up to date with ad blockers, browser cookie blockers and rules/laws regarding tracking users. Providing support is the next job of the affiliate manager.

They need to be able to understand SEO, where and when to use affiliate links vs. CPM or CPC ads and also help to generate new streams of traffic for the affiliate. This helps the affiliates drive more traffic to the brand they manage the program for so everyone wins.

Good affiliate managers will know how to:

Send educational newsletters to affiliates (not just here’s a deal)
Write quality newsletters for the affiliate to send to their own lists that match their tone and feel
Create content ideas based on keyword research and conversion data
Help to include product links, video and other affiliate tools into the affiliates’ promotional channels
Educate the affiliate partners on new opportunities and channels like PPC, YouTube or Instagram
Develop creative including banners, html based emails and more
Troubleshoot website issues and help resolve them

They also need to work on recruiting new affiliates. This is not bringing in coupon sites and software, it is going out and finding influencers, bloggers, complementary companies, YouTubers, PPC and Social Media advertisers and other partners who have traffic they can send to the store.

The last part of the job is to protect their company or client from theft. This includes removing no value affiliates (adware that just poaches internal efforts and monetization scripts that do not generate new exposure), providing solutions for sites that poach the shopping cart so they do not get credit or as much if they aren’t adding much value (i.e. coupon websites showing up in Google for brand name + coupons) and detecting fraudulent activities like stolen credit cards, bad leads and customers who return products after the commissions have been paid out.

How Much Do Affiliate Managers Make?

Some affiliate managers make $35,000 per year while others make $100,000 plus. This depends on the location they live in, how intense and large the program is and the company itself. Many get a percentage of total sales as a bonus which is why they allow low value and no value partners in. It is quick and easy money with zero work. This is also true with outsourced affiliate managers.

A prime example is a coupon website that shows up for the company’s name plus the word coupon code. If the customer is already checking out and sees the coupon code box, they go to Google and type in your store’s name and coupon code or promo code.

If you allow this type of partner into the program, you now have to pay commissions on this sale, and the affiliate manager will also get their bonus. There is also no incentive for them to actually remove these partners since it is easy money. Many affiliate networks also encourage this because many of them also earn money on the sales. I highly recommend you do not pay bonuses to affiliate managers on these low value sales because in most cases the sale would have happened with or without them and with or without the coupon site that is only intercepting your customer at checkout.

Which Skills Do They Need to Have

Ideally an affiliate manager will have a mid-level to advanced knowledge and skill sets including:

SEO
Monetization (not just affiliate marketing)
Email marketing
Design including banners, landing pages and emails
HTML/CSS
Conversion optimization
Content writing.

Having someone who also worked in a fast paced service industry role like a server in a diner or a call center operator with a quota is a bonus. They will be used to being friendly when dealing with heated people and great at multi-tasking. These are vital skills that affiliate managers should have.

What Do Affiliate Managers Do?

This depends on if they are good or not. A good affiliate manager will send at least 30 to 50 recruitment emails per week, if not a few times a week. They will follow up with current partners to see what they need and they will test tracking on a weekly or monthly basis. Checking the tools in the program for accuracy like making sure the datafeed is up-to-date is also very important.

Good affiliate managers will also write copy for their partners or create outlines based on keyword research and conversion data and teach their partners how to optimize it on their own sites. If they don’t have the skills, they’ll use the company’s SEO and PPC marketer to help with this.

They should also be talking to the rest of the marketing team or the owner of the company about what the partners need which could include getting products for review, bonuses to incentivize them to promote the program more heavily, or to get custom deals and commissions for top performers that add value. It is also the affiliate manager’s responsibility to keep partners up-to-date on new products and with all types of possible creatives and strategies.

How to Find Good Affiliate Manager Groups

There are numerous groups of affiliate managers, but as you get involved you’ll see that many are very niche and incredibly opinionated. Some are hosted in private Facebook communities while others use chats. I personally like the ones that that use video conference calls. If you’re in a city with a large digital community, you may find a local meetup to network with. The key to finding the right affiliate managers group is to look for options with members that have similar and different opinions than you.

Some are huge proponents of adware that can take credit for other channels. I personally avoid these groups and recommend you do too. You’ll see ones that create whitelists of partners to work with.

If the whitelist is for low value and no value partners like trademark + coupon PPC bidding, or adware, and everyone is saying it’s a good thing, then you probably want to avoid these groups. With that said, if you see this type of topic, but also see members explaining why trademark + coupon PPC bidding is bad for your company, and there is a good conversation, then it could be a really good group to be in as you have both good and bad affiliate managers making up the community.

Some affiliate managers groups are for ones that do influencer and value adding programs only. These are my favorite, but you also miss out because you don’t get to keep an eye on what is bad and new trends that can hurt the company you represent.

The best way to determine if an affiliate managers group is good is to look at the topics being discussed. If you see a lot of personal conversations and complaining as opposed to actual topical discussions and debates, avoid it. The ones that have good conversations from both sides and don’t have a ton of complaining or endorsements of bad behavior are the best ones to join.

Affiliate managers are a unique group of professionals and are often underrated in their role. Good ones will have an advanced knowledge and be able to do proper SEO content writing, know how to optimize videos on YouTube for evergreen traffic, and work to prevent affiliates from poaching your shopping cart. Unfortunately many companies do not see this is a high level role so they allow entry level marketers and agencies who are only out for their own bottom line to take over the programs. That is why some other industries look at affiliate marketing as a low value channel.

If you’d like me to help write a job description if you’re hiring an affiliate manager, or you’d like to have my company manage your program, contact me through this form and I’ll be happy to help.