As content creators, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are an opportunity to increase affiliate income and boost site exposure. With countless ads, blog posts, promotions and sales announcements, standing out from the crowd requires creativity and planning.
Beyond every day best practices, pubishers should take extra steps during Q4 to ensure their content is viewed by a wider audience for an income boost. Consider following these five tips to optimize your site and increase affiliate sales.
Review SEO fundamentals
Content is king, and continues to be paramount to effective online marketing. To ensure organic and sustainable traffic to your blog, reviewing your SEO (search engine optimization) is critical. Google and other search engines like to show the best pages for a query someone is searching on their site. Search engines have algorithms that look through content, structure, design, domain, and other factors to filter out the best sites to appear on the search results. A basic understanding of SEO allows publishers to create content optimized for search engines.
- Keywords: Review your blog post and ensure it contains keywords a reader would type when looking for information similar to yours. Take the extra step and use long-tail keywords and phrases to fuel organic traffic. For example, instead of ‘living room décor’ use specific phrases like ‘small living room décor ideas.’ By using longer, targeted keywords, your content will most likely rank higher for the search results using than if you used general keywords.
- Organized content: Content should be easily digestible for readers with proper headings and subheadings. Organizing content in a logical way allows site crawlers to identify your site as a high-quality one.
- Technical SEO: Technical SEO is all about building a solid foundation. Identifying your blog’s 404 errors, redirects, and optimizing page speed can improve a visitor's experience on your site.
Build holiday landing pages
Design a space on your blog that caters to holiday shoppers. Themed holiday landing pages will drive affiliate conversions and delight your readers, while also providing relevant gift ideas. Plus, having a place for holiday content will make the shopping experience easier for your audience. You can also promote your landing pages directly to your followers via email and social media.
Create reviews
Shoppers want to make sure they are purchasing a quality product. Review any merchandise relevant to your audience and share those experiences on your site. If brands send you products, this is a great opportunity to give your honest opinion. Remember the reader wants to know the benefits, product info and your personal feedback.
Utilize social media following
Publishers can leverage their social media channels to create anticipation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Followers are looking for the latest news and updates on what’s happening on your blog, so make sure to share what you're doing to generate excitement and viewership.
Consider boosting with paid advertising
With so many social posts being published daily, affiliates should consider boosting social posts with paid advertising. Paid advertising allows you to take advantage of niche, micro-targeting. With a paid boost, social posts will receive impressions and engagement from users that fit your target criteria.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, publishers should use these tips to generate meaningful traffic to their blog and increase affiliate conversions. For more information on how to optimize your Black Friday and Cyber Monday activity, contact our publisher management team.
