The Importance of Trust on Your Blog

Jun
5

Increasing readership of your blog
will take time, marketing, and quality
posting on a regular basis. As a result,
you’ll need to be very careful how you
present affiliate links and related
products.

In many cases, people will simply be
turned off by the idea that you are
attempting to sell something when they
only came to your blog for information.
Careful positioning is a huge factor in
how valuable your affiliate links will
be perceived.

Web readers are looking for fresh and
new content, so there is no reason why
your posts should fall short of quality,
whether you are making a product
recommendation or even attempting a
direct sale.

A blog is a very powerful tool for your
marketing and overall business presentation,
so partnering up with affiliate merchants
that are relevant to your industry is
just as important as writing quality posts
and presenting valuable information.

Building trust is an essential element
for ongoing readership of your blog, and
you can earn your reputation as an expert
by being consistent.

If you choose to write about site and
products, make sure that they offer a
unique perspective and are not just a
simple ’show-and-tell.’ This can help
with the integrity and credibility of
your site tremendously, and will be
likely to be shared with others more
often than not.

Some bloggers use the tactic of ‘cloaking’
affiliate links by adding text links
within simple text, and not mentioning
the product at all. This can be helpful
in some situations, since most web-savvy
readers will catch the link code and
affiliate ID, and may be turned off.

Others may choose to ‘hijack’ or bypass
your affiliate link because they are
uncomfortable with this unknown link.
Others may simply be blocked by anti-
adware programs so users may not see
them. Another, perhaps more valuable
strategy, is to mask your affiliate
link by redirecting them to another
page within the site or blog.

When the user hovers over the link
itself, clicking on it will take the
visitor to an internal redirect page
that you need to create separately.

The redirect page is a simple page that
lists all the products and affiliate
links so anyone who clicks on the link
will be taken to another page with just
the product.

Another important factor to consider is
the value of comments. You may decide
to place affiliate links in comments
that you post on other websites, or in
response to reader comments on your
own blog.

Again, keep in mind the credibility and
value you are providing; if it seems
like a ‘direct sell’, you will simply
start turning off potential visitors.
Answering comments appropriately and
regularly will help you earn the respect
of loyal readers.

Increasing traffic with credibility in
mind is one of the most effective ways
to market and promote your blog, and
ultimately, your business.