October 28, 2020 / ClickMeter

6 SEO Copywriting Tips for Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is claimed to be the fastest way to make money online.

Here is how the affiliate business works. You create content, publish it on your website, and direct your visitors to a website of a merchant you partner with. If visitors make a purchase or complete another required action (for example, fill in a form), the merchant pays you a commission.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, in real life, the way to affiliate marketing successes is not that smooth. If you choose the wrong niche or collaborate with unreliable merchants, you will be unlikely to make big money.

Besides, for building a profitable business, you should have a clear understanding of how to write content for affiliate marketing the right way.

Today, we will share six SEO copywriting tips to help you start an affiliate marketing career.

Are you ready? Let’s dive into it!

Identify your target audience’s search intent

Before you start creating affiliate marketing content for your project, you should answer the following questions:

Who is your target audience, specifically (working moms from Canada, yogis from Bali, etc.)?
What is your target audience’s search intent? At what stage of the customer journey your website visitors are: awareness, consideration, decision-making stage?
What kind of content does your target audience look for (product reviews, how-to-guides, etc.)?

If you are a newbie in affiliate marketing, you should understand one important thing. Your target audience may slightly differ from the target audiences of the merchants you partner with. Since you are more likely to work with multiple brands, you should focus on the target audience of your very own website.

Once you get a clear understanding of who visits your affiliate website and with what search intent in mind, you will be able to build an effective content strategy.

Research keywords like a pro

Every good SEO copy for the affiliate website starts with the properly chosen keyword.

Before you start writing your first product review or how-to article, invest your time in keyword research. Use tools like Ubersuggest, Moz Keyword Explorer, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, and Google Keywords Planner to find low-competition, high-volume keywords.

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In 2020, Google expects copywriters to use keywords that naturally reflect the motive of the users’ search intent. What does it mean to you as a content creator? It means you should not only find a suitable focus keyword but also come up with a list of the keywords that are relevant to search intent.

Let’s consider an example.

Imagine you are going to write a review about Vichy mineral deodorant. Your readers are looking for proof that this product is effective for hyperhidrosis and safe to use. If you provide such proves, your readers will visit the merchant’s website and make a purchase.

You choose a focus keyword “Vichy deodorant review.” What other keywords will be relevant to the search intent of your audience?

Best aluminum-free deodorant
Best natural deodorant
Deodorant for excessive sweating
Sweating through deodorant
Hyperhidrosis treatment
Hyperhidrosis deodorant
Pregnancy safe deodorant

By adding these keywords to your product review, you will convince Google that you provide readers with the useful, valuable information they are searching for. And, as a consequence, you will improve your website ranking.

Write a killer headline

Sometimes it happens that writers create great content for the affiliate website but fail to drive traffic because of the poorly chosen headline. Don’t make such a mistake. You can write a compelling product review, and you are capable of coming up with a killer headline, aren’t you?

Here are a few tips on how to write catchy headlines for affiliate marketing:

Intrigue the reader. For instance, replace the headline “Morning routine of supermodels” with the headline “20 Supermodels reveal their beauty secrets.” The words “reveal” and “secrets” will make your readers curious and, consequently, increase the click-through rate.
Focus on the benefits. What will users get after reading your blog post? Will they gain new knowledge or master new skills? Specify that in your headline. For instance, you can promise readers that after reading your how-to guide, they will learn how to “spot a fake designer handbag,” “choose skincare products for their skin type,” or “cook vegan lasagna.”
Use the words that resonate with the readers. For instance, instead of using a standard phrase “weight loss tips,” you can write such a headline, “10 ways to win your battle with weight loss.”
Use digits. It’s an old trick, but it always works. Use headlines similar to these: “5 simple steps,” “10 useful tools,” “25 tips,” “11 best products.”
Add a keyword. Don’t forget to use one of the keywords in a headline.

Choose anchor phrases wisely

To achieve high results, you should know not only how to write content for affiliate marketing but also how to pick suitable anchor phrases.

When you are adding a link to the merchants’ sites or any other online resources, make sure you’re anchoring the right phrases. If you choose the wrong anchor, you will risk getting penalized by Google.

There are two basic rules you should follow.

Never anchor phrases like “click here” or “read this article.” All anchors you are using must be descriptive and relate to the keywords of the linked page. For instance, if you want to direct your readers to the website of a vegan food reseller, you can use anchors like “best vegan burgers,” “X brand vegan burgers.”

Perfect anchor consists of 2-5 words, and its total length doesn’t exceed 60 characters. The only exception is the brand names and website names.

Don’t forget about proofreading

Google doesn’t tolerate grammar mistakes and syntax errors. So if you want to create SEO-friendly content for an affiliate website, you can’t ignore the importance of proofreading.

You should check every paragraph and every sentence for mistakes. You should ensure that neither web crawlers nor blog readers will spot typos in your texts.

Fortunately, we live in 2020, where tedious tasks such as proofreading can be easily delegated. You can get your texts proofread by professionals at TrustMyPaper and BestEssaysEducation or AI-powered tools like Grammarly. Make your affiliate marketing content 100% error-free, and you will smooth your way to success.

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Check the formatting

Web crawlers analyze not only the quality of the textual content but also the formatting of the page. If your articles are poorly formatted, don’t expect to see your website on the first page of search results.

To make Google love your content, you should do the following:

Use relevant headings and subheadings (every 100-200 words)
Add bullet lists where possible
Keep your paragraphs short (2-3 sentences per paragraph)
Keep your sentences short (under 20 words)

Your texts must have a skimmable structure, so users and Google bots can scan it through quickly.

Once you format your articles, your website will look more visually appealing. It will help you to engage readers and decrease the bounce rate.

Wrapping up

Now you know how to write content for affiliate marketing, and nothing can hold you back from achieving success.

Don’t be afraid to participate in new affiliate programs, including high-ticker ones. Use SEO copywriting tips, and you will make big money in any niche.

Your writing talent and your understanding of the market trends are all you need to start a business. So don’t hesitate to take the first step today.

Author Bio

Marques Coleman is an editor at GrabMyEssay and a freelance writer. He has vast experience in creating content for affiliate websites and enjoys sharing his knowledge with the newbies in the field.

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