All of my niche site income currently comes from Google AdSense, and I have to say that AdSense is one of the easiest ways to monetise a website, but as I’ve mentioned in previous posts I would like to start earning income through affiliate links as there is potential to earn more and also focus on a different way of producing and marketing sites. The problem is that I’v earnt nothing though my affiliate sites.
I have a couple of domains that I was hoping to use for affiliate sites but I’m not too sure if they will work as I probably underestimated the competition in those niches, but the fact is that I’ll keep them going with some content on and see what happens. Luckily I am able to analyse the traffic they do get using free , and I can see that although I’m not ranking well for the main keyword, a few other keywords have popped up which I’m ranking well for and perhaps this could be an area I could focus on.
Counting my eggs affiliates before they’ve hatched
I guess my main problem with the affiliate sites is that I’m focusing on monetising them and embedding affiliate links before I’ve even done the hard work of getting the sites ranked. I’m sure that if I did things the other way around then more visitors would equal more clicks. It’s simple logic but I guess that eluded me in what is a new concept of niche site. It’s a simple and naive thing to do, just making a site and expecting visitors. So it’s back to basics for my affiliate sites, and a lesson not to get too ahead of myself.
Do you have any tips for making affiliate sites? What works best? Reviews? Articles? Recommendations? What works for you?
Hey Adem,
Couldn’t agree with you more mate. I actually made a point of saying “build traffic first, then monetize later” recently. People get too set on the idea that putting the ads (or affiliate links) in place will somehow magically lead to an income. But it’s the traffic that makes the difference.
Cheers,
Tom
With my AdSense sites I don’t have a problem with putting ads on immedietly as the sites aren’t a destination, and I want people to leave (via a click on the ads), but I think I need to act differently with affiliate sites as I don’t want people just to click on a link, I want them to click and buy, so I have to do a much better job of providing good content, getting them to trust me, and then believing that what I’m offering is the best thing for them.
I love Adsense too. Once you have traffic, the click and CTR will come inline.
I do Amazon Affiliate and have 4-digit a month success with it. I think it would be great for you in the UK too.
Definitely awe-inspiring. I’m tremendously fascinated as to what I read here.