Optimizing Your Affiliate Marketing Conversion Rates – Part 2

In part 1 we identified what conversion rates are, what click-through rates are and why they are important. We also included how to calculate them with effective formulas for you to utilize when data capturing your affiliate marketing results.

Part 2 will cover five fundamental ways to optimize your conversion rates and drive more traffic through your marketing campaigns. 

1. Is Your Website Optimized to Load Rapidly?

In this modern digital world where social media operates at lightning speeds, if you aren’t up to the same standard then you aren’t going to generate much traffic or many conversions. Users expect to have your webpage loaded within 2 seconds! If you are operating a snail-paced website then something needs to change.

Statistics show that even 1 extra second of loading time can diminish your conversions by 7%.. time really is money and you don’t want to waste either of them.  

First run a speed test to determine how fast your site is loading. Thereafter you can contact your internet hosting provider and enquire if your plan is right for your intended marketing business, if not, they will guide you based on your articulated needs.

2. Are You Creating High-Quality Content?

Now it can be very easy to simply copy and paste a bunch of facts you find on the internet regarding the product you are promoting however, unoriginal content will get you nowhere and fast! Avoid creating content for the sole purpose of having content, and then spamming your audience with nonsense that doesn’t genuinely benefit them.

Instead, aim to create content that can be labelled as original evergreen content. This refers to content that stays relevant and valuable for years and offers a unique and personal insight into the product or service you are promoting, just like the leaves on an evergreen tree.  

Additionally, SEO or Search Engine Optimization plays a key role in any online content however, word-stuffing is a concept that’s been tried and tested. Squeezing words in for the sake of SEO, will most likely end up being flagged by Google and your business will be punished for it. 

3. Have You Added Reviews and Testimonials to Your Site?

This is an easy and highly-effective way to share a lot about your company with prospective conversions. Including client testimonials will let your audience know what your business is about, what kind of customers frequent your platform and what products or services you promote.  
 
72% of consumers say they are more likely to use a company who has positive reviews displayed on their website. Take advantage of this feature and gain further trust with your audience by including testimonials on your platforms. 

4. Have You Optimized Your Particular Niche? 

Chances are you have already identified your niche market but have you maximised its potential? A good place to start is to make a list of all your niche keywords relevant to your sector.  
 
Once you have this list, apply it to all areas of your business. You can include them on your website, in your copy, on your affiliate landing page, your social media channels, in your hashtags, in your biographies and even in your public contact information such as your business email address. 
 
As time passes and you gain more insight and understanding on what your niche audience searches, you can adjust your keywords and content accordingly. Alternatively, you can use a number of keyword research tools, free or paid, such as Google Keyword. 

5. Do You Have Visible CTAs on Your Website?

If you have included these at all, are they buried in your copy or bold and blinking at the top of your website home page?

CTAs or Call-to-Actions are vital for achieving the conversions you want. They should always be included near the top of your web pages or content, be bold and clear, easy to understand and simple enough that it doesn’t detract from the content itself but is clear to find and efficient to click on. Statistically, green and orange buttons tend to perform the best.

Be careful not to include too many CTAs on one page or make the CTA over-animated or overwhelmingly flashy to the point it annoys. These over-dramatic CTAs can turn your clients off and proverbially ‘cheapen’ your content; thus, you lose a number of conversions for a very silly and solvable mistake.  

Three useful tips for CTAs that you can always apply are:

Most importantly, when it comes to CTAs, always remember; Less is More! 

Final thoughts: 

At the end of the day, being able to calculate your conversion and click-through rates is vital for tracking your affiliate marketing campaign success. Without this data, it is very difficult to accurately determine what is working and what isn’t! Implementing some of these practices can only assist in improving your conversion rate and drive high-quality traffic to your platforms.  

Should you require help or have queries regarding any affiliate matters, feel free to reach out to our 24/7 customer support channels and one of our agents will connect you directly to an affiliate manager.   

Looking for more educational materials on affiliate marketing? Click here to learn more.