Ask The Super Affiliates a Question – Part 2

Following on from the "Meet the Super Affiliates" session at this year's Expo I thought I'd follow up this post and answer some of the questions posted that we didn't get a chance to on the day.

Question from Patrick Altoft: Where do you stand on SEO and obeying Google's guidelines when it comes to affiliate sites? People cloak links, block affiliate links using robots.txt and buy links to promote their sites. Where do you draw the line and does the line vary according to industry?

A. Personally speaking for sites that I plan to promote long term I always stick to Google's guidelines. Especially when it comes to buying links, as there's too much at risk if Google were to find out and instantly ban you from the SERPS. It's just not worth it.

Question from Daniel: As a merchant wanting to work with super-affiliates, what are the top 5 things I need to do?

A. This is a really easy one, yet it's amazing how many merchants either don't follow it or understand it. All merchants need to do is (1) offer a fair commission in line with the sector, (2) communicate effectively with ALL affiliates, not just your top ones (3) offer a wide range of marketing tools, i.e. good selection of banner sizes, datafeeds (up to date), widgets, plugins etc. (4) don't have silly PPC restrictions like NOT allowing affiliates to mention your product/brand in sales copy for fear of outranking in the serps and (5) be fair, don't cut affiliate commissions on popular products that sell well at certain times of year, i.e. the Wii at Christmas.

Question from Jude: We see super affiliates being extremely successful at what they do - however, have there been instances where projects you’ve worked on have gone pear-shaped? Are you successful at everything you do? Or are the super affiliates mere mortals like the rest of us?

A. God yes, I've had loads of projects that have tanked, or fell flat as I have got bored of them. However these are just as valuable as the projects that work as you can learn from your failures.

Question from Richard: Which companies would you recommend seeking inbound links from, excluding the major media portals like the BBC or The Guardian. In many cases they will be paid links, is this acceptable or are there risks attached?

A. Never pay for links, ever. If you do you need to accept the risk that Google could find out and kick you out of the serps, ask yourself is it worth it? Instead just concentrate on soliciting links from similar on-theme sites to yours. Its that simple.

Question from Ray Johnson: Please tell us more about how to be successful using your techniques. What are the risks involved. Being a newbie how and where should I start?

A. I've always said that when starting out you should create a site about something your are very knowledgeable and passionate about. This will make it so much easier for you when it comes to updating your site every day. Don't forget about link building either, most of the successful sites I know either employ third parties to build links for them or do it themselves. It's absolutely vital to do this.

Question from Mark: To what extent do you think the more famous / well known ‘bigboys’(& gals) are really the main super affiliates, with being a ‘name’ pretty much part and parcel of the super affiliate moniker, or do you think the well known supers are just the tip of the iceberg, with many, many 100’s of others doing equally well without anyone really knowing about that much about them?

A. Without a shadow of a doubt there are a load more guys doing very well in Affiliate Marketing who for one reason or another are not connected to the A4U Forum or Expo. In my other business I regularly come across people making a serious living from this industry who keep themselves to themselves and don't attend networking events or even participate in forums.

Question from Elaine: Do you think that Affiliate Marketing is a sustainable business model going forward, say 10 years? Have you any thoughts as to what the next big change will be?

A. Yes. As long as you have successful sites then there will always be plenty of opportunity to monetise them, with affiliate marketing being one of the streams available. Especially as it is a pay-for-performance model and quite often the most profitable marketing channel for merchants. As for challenges I think that as we are in a growing industry the competition will continue to evolve, there will be more of it and more money thrown into it from the big players. Still plenty of room to shine though! What I'm listening to right now: Justin Timberlake – "Magic"