When you last visited a site that disappointed you, what did it look like? A collection of links on a page, or content with keywords and key phrases littered throughout worthless copy? Gone are the days when a site might rank well but be either of little worth or a terrible annoyance to the site visitor. Those sites just hoped that you would, in frustration, click on one of their merchants, and that they’d be tagged to receive commissions for a certain number of return days. The web has changed from a transactional sales channel to one that is significantly more relationship-based. What does this mean to the affiliate who is faced with heavy competition? Two words: Differentiation and value.

If your site has a “plain vanilla” look and lots of links on the landing page, you’re destined for what pilots call a “touch and go” – a quick landing followed by an almost instant takeoff. People require context and an environment they’re comfortable in, and the mood is set by that first page. If you have a long distance bicycling site, a review of the season’s newest hydrating drinks, or a how-to about fixing a new kind of gear, or maybe an article about a once-in-a-lifetime breathtaking trip. This takes the visitor into the environment of biking, and your site become more of a sales consultant than a bazaar hawker. Which do you think sells more?

Just as in the offline world where it’s not enough to just set up shop without something special, neither can the online seller. Use your primary and secondary keywords, but make the copy they’re in valuable to the site visitor. Tell them something new, show them how to do something, entertain them, give them product reviews or comparisons, downloadable freebies, tips, reprints (with permission, of course) of terrific articles written by authorities.

Karen Kari's articles and more information on the affiliate business can be found at:

http://www.affiliatebandit.com
http://www.advertisingcellar.com
http://www.billionfreeads.com