I’ve been making money with the Amazon Affiliate program for about 18 months. My first few product postings were abysmal.
I’ve since gone back and cleaned up the posts and have gotten more views (and more click-throughs to Amazon) on my first posts by following 3 Simple Steps.
I’ve also decided to tweak my blog posting strategy. To make more money online with my main website I studied what the affiliate marketing gurus suggest and have implemented 3 simple strategies with a lot of success.
Here are 3 Simple Steps to Increase Amazon Affiliate Sales:
Contents
If you want to Earn Money Blogging, I suggest you study your website and see if you need to tweak what you are doing to increase traffic and Amazon sales.
Choose the Right Keywords to Target
When I started writing for my niche I used a generic all-encompassing keyword for each post. I wasn’t ranking well for anything because I wasn’t targeting key words that were a smaller segment of the monthly search traffic. When I began to focus on specific words instead of the broader general topic, my site stats increased and my clicks to Amazon also increased.
If you are writing about Outdoor Smoking and Grilling, try focusing on key words like Best Electric Smoker under $200 or Best Electric Smoker or Electric and Pellet Smoker Reviews.
This site, The Grill Outlet, has done an excellent job of writing for a specific keyword in a niche and ranking well.
This post about Electric Smokers, also known as electric bbq smokers, ranks on page 2 of Google when searching for “best electric smoker”.
This is great because on page one of Google are Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Good Housekeeping, Home Depot and Cuisinart posts.
There is no way a blog is going to beat out branded websites for ranking on page 1 of Google by simply writing about Smokers and Grills. So, the article by The Grill Outlet is the first review from a normal blogging person or blogging company that ranks in Google because they have a strategy.
When searching for “best electric smoker under 200” The Grill Outlet ranks on page 1 of Google. They have used the “Best Of” formula to rank high. Writing about Grills is a broad term, but by finding a smaller niche in a broader category, The Grill Outlet has been able to rank well with a solid product review.
Reading a review from real people is often what consumers want. And, by writing for a smaller niche within Smokers and Grills, they have ranked high in Google.
For my particular niche I have one post which is one-third of my monthly blog traffic. The specific product I write about generates a lot of my clicks to Amazon. And, the specific products in that post are purchased monthly.
I focused on a specific key word for this article and it ranks on page 2 of Google behind a lot of large websites who make the broader product I write about.
What to do:
Find the keywords in your larger niche that you can focus on and write specific posts about these niched down items.
Drill down deeper into your niche market so that you can increase your rankings in Google.
You can update existing posts about affiliate products by tweaking the key words in the existing post.
If you have some posts that are not getting very many views- update them today! Add in key words that are easy to rank.
Maybe you just wrote “kitchen blender” in your post but using the words “one of the best hand held blenders for smoothies” may work better to get a higher rank in Google.
Look at your posts and study how you can make them better with targeted key words!
You’ll find that your Amazon Affiliate Sales grow as you laser target into your niche.
PS – If a post is ranking well and getting a lot of views – don’t touch it unless you think you can add more value. If Google already likes it, and your viewers do, too…. leave it as is.
Write Bestseller and Best Of Lists
My number one post is a simple article about “3 (blah blah) Items Under $(insert an affordable amount)”.
I’m not including the specifics here to my site, but if I were to go with the above example about Electric Barbecue Smokers, it might read: 3 Best Electric Smokers Under $200 For Summer Grilling
Best of lists tend to lead to the most traffic and create a lot of conversions with Amazon Affiliate Links.
Providing lists that are concise but offer great reviews and advice to the reader are worth their time to write.
You don’t have to actually buy any products for your reviews, you just need to find 3 items that are popular and have great reviews on Amazon.
You can generate the list by reading what the features are of each item and note some of the key differences. Is one all white, is one made of chrome details, do they come with different attachments, will they appeal to a different type of customer.
What do people say about each one in the reviews – have they compared their purchased blender with another you are considering writing about?
Is one brand typically better than the other?? Overall, the Best Sellers or Best Of lists will rank well in Google and will give your reader what they want: Information to make the best decision.
You will get more clicks if you write reviews that give your readers info on why each one is a good option or why one is the Best Option out of the 3 items.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time on these.
What to do:
The post on my blog is pretty simple. I include images of each product – sourced directly from the Amazon item’s page. I don’t purchase the product and take images myself. I use what is already on Amazon.
With each image I include key words in the “alt description” so that the image can rank well in Google.
I link the image with my Amazon Affiliate code so that when the reader clicks on it they are taken directly to the item on Amazon.
I make sure to check the box on the image that says “open in new window” so that my blog stays open as well as opening a new window to the Amazon item.
How long does the review list need to be? I think my list is about 518 words only. It’s not a super long review, but it ranks well.
Most successful Amazon Affiliates suggest writing really long posts (read this article!!), but my success has come from writing a solid post which ranks well despite the shorter length.
So, my recommendation is to write a post that is GOOD, meets the needs of the reader and doesn’t kill your brain in the process. If you want to write a 1000-2000 word post, go for it. Frankly, I am impatient and have a hard time with long posts!
But, you might try writing a simple post around 500-800 words that has all the hallmarks of a good post – key word, images, outbound links, internal links, plenty of Affiliate Links, great images and a well written title that will rank well in Google.
Write Consistently
My biggest failure starting out as an Amazon Affiliate blogger was to write a few posts on random items in my niche and then forget about my blog.
I would start one blog and then move onto another idea quickly and let the prior blog die on the vine.
When starting out as a niche marketer who wants to earn money blogging, ideas are a dime a dozen. It’s actually hard to focus on one or two blogs at a time with success if you are making a new one every week.
Amazon sales increase when focused attention is given to research, consistent writing, and intelligent design.
What to do:
You have to focus on writing 1-2 articles a week for the first couple of months. Again, my best post is only 518 words, but I use the Best of list method… link to products in my photos and text… give readers what they need, advice to make a solid purchase.
By writing consistently using a simple formula my blog traffic has increased exponentially. I went from about 15 views a day to almost 100 views per day or about 3000 views a month. My sales are on track to be double of what they were in 2015 easily.
Consistency is the key – but consistently improving is the hallmark of making more money online.
Also, it’s a known fact that Amazon Affiliate sales increase in the fall. People are gearing up for Christmas purchases in the fall and reading more reviews. Perhaps they want to buy something for their partner who is a techie… or loves cameras. They may want to get a few key items for their lover for Christmas.
Best of lists, Top 10 posts, and other simple advice type posts can generate a lot of traffic. By writing these posts for your blog in the summer, Google will have a chance to start ranking your posts. By fall you should be in a good spot to get more traffic.
And, if you are savvy and start placing links to your site in forums and on other related blogs, you will help build credibility in Google and drive traffic to your site.
If you really want to Earn Money Blogging, you’ll start blogging about Amazon Affiliate products more strategically.
I know that I was so excited to try every freaking idea that came across my mind when I started my niche websites. I couldn’t focus and so I fizzled out. My family even told me I was scattered and needed to commit to a couple of ideas instead of shotgunning it on every idea that I had.
Since I’ve been focusing on one niche website, applying the 3 Simple Steps above, and seeing what works, I am stoked to see my earnings increase and my traffic grow.
2021 will be a stellar year for me – and yes, I’m excited about making $100 or so a month from my key site… because in August of 2019 I made my first $0.02 and was jumping up and down about it… fist pumping and all. Since August of 2019 I have made about $600.00 combined through the Amazon Affiliate program.
It’s all about exponential growth with Amazon.
All the guys and ladies who use it say the first couple of years are tough, but because they didn’t give up they have all seen profits in the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that, my friends, is worth the few hours a week it takes to make it!
If you want to learn more about Affiliate Marketing, here are some of the gurus I follow:
Neil Patel | Spencer Haws of Niche Pursuits | Chris Guthrie of Upfuel.com | Smart Blogger
It’s easy to get excited about Affiliate Marketing, and easy to get discouraged very quickly.
The keys to success are:
- CONSISTENT Effort
- CONSTANT Learning
- QUALITY Link Building
- – and Not Giving UP!!!
Follow the bloggers above and see how they’ve become successful. And, follow me as I grow my earnings, too!
