Your goal as an affiliate is to make as much money as possible by selling the products you are promoting on your affiliate website. In order to achieve your goal, you have to drive traffic and convert your site visitors.

Here, you will find some small changes you can implement to help you improve the performance of your website, which will also have a big impact on convincing your customers to hit the buy button.

By optimizing your website you open doors to more conversions and revenue gains. Let’s dig in!

1. Choose the right hero image

The first impression is important and this applies to your website as well. You can create a great first impact for your site’s visitors by choosing a memorable hero image. The hero image is the main banner that you use for your homepage.

Visuals tend to impress people more that copy, so make sure you are using a high quality, professional photo that sends the right message and makes visitors stay a bit longer. Preferably, surround the image by white space and do not use too much text, in order to have a clean and clear start.

2. Have a clear call-to-action above the fold

Another way you can improve your conversion rate is to capitalize on your existing traffic and convert a higher percentage of your organic traffic. In order to achieve that, you need to understand your user’s experience: the way they navigate your site, whether they scroll down the page, and how often they click on your calls to action (CTAs).

It is very important to create an easy and intuitive buying experience for your customers or you will lose them. Nobody has time to waste.

Your main CTA should stand out as the largest button on the page, surrounded by white space. Try not to include other calls to action around it, and add it above the fold so that visitors see it without having to scroll.

Another element that you have to choose wisely is the text on the button. Take into consideration your buyer’s emotions and not just their bank account. Words like “Get it Now” will make them feel better about their purchase than a simple “Buy”.

3. Optimize your site’s mobile experience

Did you know that Google has already switched to mobile-first indexing, where they primarily index and rank your mobile pages? This decision is sustained by Google data reporting that in Q3 2019 64% of Google searches were made on mobile and a whopping 54% of eCommerce sales are predicted to come from mobile devices by 2021.

This means that you need to focus on the mobile experience your site offers, as much as on the desktop one. Any issues can cost you not just potential mobile conversions, but the opportunity to rank highly for relevant search terms.

For start, Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool can help you run a basic mobile usability test. Also, you can use the device toolbar in Chrome Developer Tools to see how your website’s pages display in different sized screen windows.

In order for your visitors to have a smooth mobile experience, make sure that:

  • You don’t have pop-ups or interstitials showing on mobile.
  • The site loads quickly/correctly.
  • The text is easy to read.
  • All content is visible.
  • Scaled-down images and graphics are still legible.
  • The site is easy to navigate.

You could also consider adding a wish list feature to the mobile version of your website, as mobile shoppers like to bookmark items for later purchase.

Implement these basic optimizations and mobile will be your friend.

4. Improve your site’s speed

I dare you to name one person who likes to wait for a webpage to load up. It is one of the most annoying things in the 21st century. Having a website that loads fast is the first part of good user experience, and it turns out that half of web users expect pages to load in 3 seconds or less. Also, page speed is an official Google ranking factor and can directly impact your SEO. A low site speed will bring you more visitors.

Do you know what the loading time for your website is? There are free online tools that you can use to find out how fast your site is, such as Pingdom Website Speed Test or Google’s Pagespeed Insights. These tools will grade your website, count and categorize all HTTP requests, and also highlight potential issues, helping you know what to fix.

Unoptimized image files are among the most common issues and you can fix them with image compression software such as Smush or ImageKit.

If your page still loads slowly after you’ve hit a 90+ score on page speed tools, you should consider upgrading your hosting plan.

5. Optimize user experience

Do not overlook the overall user experience of your website, as a better and smoother experience can make all the difference in whether a customer will return or not. It’s said that every $1 invested in UX results in an ROI of between $2 and $100.

You retain a higher percentage of your visitors by creating a more intuitive and more pleasant experience for them. It is important that your site is easy to use.

Did you know that dwell time is a significant SEO ranking factor? Dwell time measures the amount of time a visitor spends on a web page when they clicked on a link in search results before they turn back to the SERPs. It’s that brief moment the visitor spends to analyze the webpage they’ve just clicked to visit. This metric is valuable for a search engine because the higher the time amount spent to consume the content from the page just clicked to visit, the higher the probability that page satisfies the user’s needs.

You can identify the UX problems of your site by implementing UX reviews and analyzing user reports like user flow, session recordings, heatmaps, and exit pages. Once you have created a new version of a page, it is recommended you A/B test it against the original one before going live with it. A great tool that can guide your steps in improving UX for your affiliate site is VWO.

6. Display a bountiful product gallery

Help your site visitors envision themselves as the owners of the product you want them to buy. You must overcome the fact that they cannot touch what they are purchasing.

Using unique quality product images in your gallery will not only increase user trust, it will also improve the usability and navigability of your site.

Highlight the product’s strengths, using high quality images and videos that show the functionality of the product and the benefits it can bring to the customer.

A 360-degree display of the product will compensate for the fact that your customers cannot touch, feel, or smell the product before buying it.

7. Add trust badges

Awards and accreditations make people trust you, so don’t hesitate to add them to your site, preferably under your main CTA.

By adding trust badges you are one step ahead of your competitors, as your website will be associated with well-known authorities and respected companies. It is something that you can easily do and which will make a huge difference in the user’s purchase decision.

Badges you could feature include the trusted payment processing company you use, your site’s security service provider, and even affiliate industry awards you might have won. Don’t be shy – brag about it!

8. Provide social proof

How many times did you consult customer reviews before buying something? People trust other people and their opinions, that’s a fact. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools. We listen to our family members, our friends, and our colleagues and we learn from other people’s experiences.

An undecided customer can get reassurance about his decision from a review left by another consumer. In the appropriate form, social proof has a huge impact on the buying decision. So, do not hesitate to add reviews, testimonials, and star ratings from people who already bought the products that you are promoting. This will help potential clients fully understand the product and convert faster.

9. Use FOMO

Use people’s fear of missing out to your advantage. Do that by communicating urgency and scarcity.  This will help people convert more frequently and faster.

Nothing screams “urgent” lowder than a deadline. Communicate urgency by offering promotions for limited periods of time. Use countdown timers as a great way to show how much time is left before the price goes up. It gives the consumer great satisfaction to know that he’s gotten a good deal.

Studies of scarcity have examined consumers’ attitudes towards scarce products and suggest that scarcity messages have a positive effect on the evaluation of an attitude toward the scarce object. You can express scarcity by telling the consumers how many items are left in stock, making them make the buying decision faster.

10. Recommend other products

It is very possible that once the customer reaches the product page, realizes that particular item doesn’t quite fit their needs. There is one more way you can still convert them, by offering an alternative through cross sell and upsell, and still boost your revenue.

Cross selling allows you to offer a complementary product in order to enhance the customer’s experience with the primary product. At least once you must have heard phrases such as “You may also like”; “Others also purchased”; or “Products frequently bought together”. This is particularly useful when the main product is not available and you can recommend related products based on similar features. The customers will be thankful that you made the search easier for them and by having a positive experience with your website, they will remember you the next time.

Upselling is about introducing the customer to a more expensive version of the product they initially intended to purchase. This can be a premium version of that product or a similar, higher-priced product. Focus on the benefits of the upsold product and educate your customer about why it is worth buying.

Done correctly, these two marketing tactics will bring you those extra conversions you were looking for!

11. Use exit pop-ups – It’s your last shot!

Exit pop-ups are magical. From helping you get a lead or a subscriber, to delivering a personalized offer, they can do almost anything!

Nothing says “I’m leaving!” better than the exit intent.  Are you planning to do something about it? Even converting 1% more traffic can have a huge effect on your conversion rate.

By using exit pop-ups you can reach a customer who might bounce forever (70 to 96% of visitors who leave your site will never return). They are a powerful addition to your affiliate website, as they are non-obtrusive and allow you to segment the audience, delivering a customized message for your visitors.

With the help of exit pop-ups you will reduce cart abandonment, increase downloads, get email sign-ups, and potentially much more.

Conclusion

In the end, remember to keep things simple and clean. Having an easy-to-navigate website that sends a clear message and makes the customer’s journey pleasant cannot fail its objective. By implementing the features mentioned above you will have an affiliate website fully optimized for conversions.

Now that you are ready to monetize on all your hard work, Avangate Affiliate Network puts at your disposal thousands of software and digital goods products that can bring you up to a 75% commission. Don’t hesitate to be part of the #1 digital goods affiliate network!