Steps to revamp an Affiliate Marketing Site

by Sapphire (June 7, 2005)

Yesterday, I said I was going to do some revamping on an affiliate marketing site that looks like it has some potential. Today I’m going to list a few of the things I plan on doing with it… and we’ll see how fast I do it, how often I change my ideas in mid-process, and just how it all turns out. Kinda like “This Old Website”, except with a host who is, I assure you, at least slightly hotter than Bob Villa.

At the moment, I’m looking at the following improvements:

• Get rid of the home page. Just make it another product page, with no distinction from the other pages. This alleviates two things: an extra page for visitors to drill down through, and the need for me to create special copy, highlight specials, etc. Note: Normally, an index page highlighting exciting stuff that’s one click away is probably a good idea. But on this site, I don’t think so: the inventory is too stable, and I’m looking at this almost like a content site rather than a sales site. That may not be a sensible approach, but it feels right to me when I look at the site as a visitor (which I did over the weekend, being in need of the very sort of products my site offers).

• Double check my redirect for the 404 page, because I’m going to be rearranging pages, and I don’t want the SE bots getting error pages. Anyone clicking on a page I’ve nuked will be redirected to the home page. (Here’s how to set up a 404 redirect in .htaccess.)

• Some of my links are dead, but I’ve also got a new merchant I just recently qualified to work with. So I’m just going to rebuild each page with brand new links, rather than try to pick out the bad ones and replace them. They will be rebuilt with a focus on this new merchant, who has a stellar EPC. I’m hoping this is a clever way to really revamp the site with very little effort on my part.

• I need some copy that lets visitors know, “You’ve found the site with the best of the products you’re looking for, there’s no need to keep looking elsewhere”. I’m selling stuff that people tend to consider carefully before purchasing, and I want to let them know I’ve already taken their discretion into account, and done the shopping for them. Will it work? I hope! It’s definitely worth the small effort this will take.

• My copy needs more verbs. Ya gotta tell people what to do. I’m not talking hard sell - I’m saying, if your site actually does deliver something of value, then sometimes people appreciate a firm, confident approach. (It’s when people bluster at you over crap with no subtance that it’s called a “hard sell” and tends to flop.)

• I should probably put this one first, because I think it’s most important: I need a new stats package on my site. AwStats doesn’t allow me to follow a visitor from their search phrase on MSN to their entry page to their exit page. It just doesn’t really cover visitor flow, and I want to know not just how many people are coming to me and what road they’re taking - I need to know what they do when they get there.

I’ll update you on my progress.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing
Subscribe to the feed or email updates