Most people don’t think of images when they hear “SEO.”
But here’s the truth: optimized images can boost your rankings, speed up your website, and even help you show up in Google Images.
That means more clicks, more traffic, and a better experience for your visitors.
In this guide, we’re not just going to throw buzzwords at you. We’ll walk through how to optimize images for SEO step-by-step, like you’re sitting next to someone explaining it over coffee.
Whether you’re running a blog, a small business website, or an online store, this guide is for you.
1. What Is ALT Text (and Why Should You Care)?
Imagine you’re blind and using a screen reader to browse the web. When it gets to an image, it reads a short line of text that tells you what’s in that image. That line is the “ALT text.”
But screen readers aren’t the only ones reading it. Google uses ALT text to understand what your images are about. And if it can’t understand your images, it won’t show them in search results.
Why ALT Text Matters:
It makes your site accessible for visually impaired users (a legal and ethical must!)
It gives Google extra context for ranking your pages
It helps your images appear in Google Image search, driving extra traffic
How to Write Great ALT Text:
Be descriptive: Describe exactly what’s in the image.
Be concise: You don’t need a paragraph. One sentence is plenty.
Be natural: Include keywords only if they make sense. Don’t stuff them in.
Examples:
❌ image123.jpg
✅ close-up of a chocolate cake with strawberries on top
How to Add ALT Text:
In WordPress: When uploading an image, look for the “ALT text” field
In HTML: Add alt=”your description here” inside the <img> tag
How to Check Your ALT Text:
Right-click the image > Inspect (in Chrome)
Look for alt=”…” in the image code
2. How (and Why) to Compress Your Images
Ever been on a site that loads painfully slow? Big, bloated images are often the cause.
Image compression reduces the file size so your site loads faster—without making the image look ugly.
3. Choosing the Right File Format (It Actually Matters)
Not all image formats are created equal. Some are great for photos, others for simple graphics.
Common Formats:
JPEG/JPG: Great for detailed photos, keeps file size small
PNG: Best for logos or graphics with transparency (but bigger file sizes)
WebP: Modern format that’s smaller and high-quality (use if supported)
What to Do:
Use JPEG for photos
Use PNG for icons, logos, and transparent backgrounds
Use WebP whenever possible—it’s lighter and loads faster
Most image optimization tools let you convert formats easily.
Bonus Tip:
Don’t upload screenshots as PNG if they’re just full-color photos. Convert them to JPEG.
4. Resize Images to Match Their Display Size
Let’s say your site shows product photos at 600px wide. But you upload a 3000px-wide image. That’s 5x bigger than needed.
Your page wastes time loading extra pixels nobody ever sees.
Why This Matters:
Large images waste bandwidth
They slow your page down
Visitors on slow internet will hate it
How to Fix It:
Use a tool like Canva, Photoshop, or even Preview (Mac) to resize images before upload
Aim for display size ×2 (for high-res screens)
Example: If your layout shows images at 800px, upload them at 1600px max
How to Check:
Right-click > Inspect > look at the actual display size vs file size
5. Enable Lazy Loading for Images
Lazy loading means your images won’t load until someone scrolls to them.
This speeds up the first view of your page—which Google loves.
Why Use Lazy Loading:
Improves Core Web Vitals (important for SEO)
Loads only what’s needed when it’s needed
Speeds up the “above-the-fold” experience
How to Implement Lazy Loading:
In HTML: Add loading=”lazy” to your <img> tags
In WordPress: Use plugins like:
WP Rocket
Autoptimize
LiteSpeed Cache
How to Test Lazy Loading:
Open a page with lots of images
Open dev tools > Network tab > Refresh
Scroll slowly—images load as you scroll
Quick Checklist (Print or Save This):
✅ Write ALT text for every image
✅ Compress images before uploading
✅ Use JPEG for photos, PNG for logos, WebP when possible
✅ Resize images to actual display size (x2 for retina)
✅ Turn on lazy loading for images
Final Thoughts
Images are often the heaviest part of a webpage—and the most overlooked when it comes to SEO.
But now you know how to:
Make them faster
Make them readable to Google
Make them work for your rankings, not against them
Best of all? You didn’t need to learn any code.
If your site is still slow or your images are unoptimized, start small. Pick one of these tips today, and do another one tomorrow. SEO is about stacking small wins—and image SEO is an easy place to start.
Need help with your specific site? Let me know. I’ll walk you through it.
If you’ve ever wondered why your website isn’t showing up on Google—or why it’s not bringing in traffic—chances are, technical SEO is the missing piece.
And don’t worry, I’m explaining this like you’re five. Because that’s how simple technical SEO should be.
Let’s go through 25 key fixes one by one, like a friendly guide walking you through the backstage of your website.
1. Make Sure Google Can See Your Website
What it is: Think of Google like a visitor at your house. If your door is locked, they can’t come in. Your website has a special file called robots.txt that tells search engines what they’re allowed to see. If it says “stay out,” then Google won’t look at anything.
Why it’s important: If Google can’t access your site, it won’t be able to rank it. That means nobody will find you in search.
How to fix it:
Type yourwebsite.com/robots.txt in your browser.
Look for a line that says Disallow: /—that blocks everything.
If it’s there, change it to Allow: / or delete the line.
If it says “URL is on Google,” you’re good. If not, check your robots.txt again.
2. Submit a Sitemap
What it is: A sitemap is like a table of contents for your website. It lists all the pages you want Google to know about.
Why it’s important: It helps Google crawl your site more efficiently. Especially useful for new websites or large sites with lots of pages.
How to fix it:
If you’re using WordPress, install Yoast SEO or Rank Math.
These plugins automatically create a sitemap for you (usually at yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml).
Log into Google Search Console
Click on Sitemaps on the left
Paste your sitemap URL and click submit
How to test it:
Google will show “Success” under submitted sitemaps
It will also tell you how many pages were discovered
3. Fix Broken Links (404 Errors)
What it is: A broken link is like giving someone directions to a store that no longer exists. When they get there, they hit a dead end, also known as a 404 error page.
Why it’s important: Broken links frustrate visitors and tell Google your site isn’t well-maintained. Too many of them can hurt your rankings.
How to fix it:
Use tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Google Search Console
Find all pages or links that return a “404 Not Found” error
Decide how to fix them:
If the page still exists, update the link to the correct URL
If the page was deleted, either remove the link or redirect it to a related page
What it is: Your website needs to work well on mobile phones. That means it should load quickly, text should be readable without zooming, and buttons should be easy to tap.
Why it’s important: Most people use their phones to browse. If your site doesn’t work on a phone, they’ll leave. Google also checks mobile experience before deciding to rank your site.
How to fix it:
Use a responsive theme that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes
Make fonts large enough to read on a small screen
Avoid using pop-ups or elements that cover content
What it is: HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP. It keeps your site safe by encrypting data.
Why it’s important: Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal. Plus, browsers now mark HTTP sites as “Not Secure,” which scares visitors away.
How to fix it:
Get a free SSL certificate from your hosting provider (most offer this)
Use a plugin like Really Simple SSL (if on WordPress)
Set up a redirect so all traffic goes from HTTP to HTTPS
How to test it:
Visit your site and make sure the URL starts with https://
Look for a padlock icon next to your URL in the browser
7. Remove Duplicate Content
What it is: Duplicate content means having the same content on more than one page. For example, if two pages have the same product description word-for-word.
Why it’s important: Google gets confused. It might not know which page to rank—or it might ignore both.
How to fix it:
Merge similar pages into one stronger page
Use a canonical tag (a special code that tells Google which version is the “main” one)
Avoid copying content from other websites
How to test it:
Use Siteliner.com to scan for duplicates
Or use Copyscape to make sure your content is original
8. Set a Preferred Version of Your Website
What it is: Some websites can be accessed in multiple ways:
Google treats these like different sites unless you tell it otherwise.
Why it’s important: If you don’t choose one preferred version, Google may split your rankings between them.
How to fix it:
Set up 301 redirects from all alternate versions to one preferred version
Choose the same preferred domain in Google Search Console
How to test it:
Type all four versions in your browser and check that they all redirect to one version (e.g., https://example.com)
9. Fix Redirect Chains
What it is: A redirect is when one URL automatically takes you to another. A redirect chain is when a URL redirects to another, and then that one redirects again—and maybe again.
Why it’s important: Each hop in the chain slows things down. Google might stop following the chain altogether.
How to fix it:
Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to find redirect chains
Update links to point directly to the final URL in the chain
Example: Instead of A → B → C → D, go straight from A → D
How to test it:
Enter a URL into Screaming Frog and look for chains in the report
Click links manually and watch the browser bar—if it jumps through more than one URL, you have a chain
10. Remove Unnecessary Redirects
What it is: Sometimes, people link to a page that’s redirecting—but they could have just linked to the final page directly.
Why it’s important: Each redirect slightly delays page loading. Clean, direct links are better for users and search engines.
How to fix it:
Find links on your site that point to redirecting URLs
Update them to link directly to the final page
How to test it:
Click the link and watch the browser bar. If it hops to another page, and then another, you need to fix it.
11. Fix Orphan Pages
What it is: An orphan page is a page on your site that nobody links to. It’s floating out in space with no path leading to it.
Why it’s important: If there’s no link to the page, Google (and visitors) might never find it. It’s like building a great room in a house but forgetting to add a door.
How to fix it:
Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to find orphan pages
Add internal links to those pages from other relevant articles or your main menu
For example, if you have a blog post about “summer shoes,” and your orphan page is about “summer sandals,” link them together!
How to test it:
Crawl your site again with Screaming Frog to make sure those pages are now linked from at least one other page
12. Add Structured Data (Schema Markup)
What it is: Structured data is extra information you add to your website’s code that helps Google understand what your content is about—like telling Google, “Hey, this is a recipe!” or “This is a product!”
Why it’s important: It can help you appear in fancy search results, like star ratings, FAQs, and product details. These are called “rich results” and they catch more attention.
How to fix it:
Use plugins like Schema Pro or Rank Math if you’re on WordPress
Or use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to generate the code manually
What it is: The title tag is what shows up as the big blue link in search results. It tells people (and Google) what your page is about.
Why it’s important: If your titles are boring, duplicate, or missing, nobody will click on your results—and Google might not rank them well.
How to fix it:
Make sure every page has a title that is clear, unique, and includes relevant keywords
Keep titles under 60 characters so they don’t get cut off
How to test it:
Use Screaming Frog to find pages with missing or duplicate title tags
14. Write Unique Meta Descriptions
What it is: This is the short summary that appears below the title in search results. It doesn’t directly impact rankings, but it affects whether someone clicks.
Why it’s important: Good meta descriptions = more clicks. More clicks = more traffic.
How to fix it:
Write a 1–2 sentence summary for each page
Include keywords naturally
Make it sound like a mini-ad or teaser
How to test it:
Check the HTML of your pages or use SEO plugins
Use Screaming Frog to find missing or duplicate meta descriptions
15. Use Only One H1 Heading Per Page
What it is: An H1 tag is your page’s main headline. It’s like the book title. Other headings (H2, H3, etc.) are chapter or section titles.
Why it’s important: Having multiple H1s confuses search engines. They want to know: what is this page mainly about?
How to fix it:
Check your page editor (like WordPress) and make sure there’s only one H1
Use H2 and H3 for subheadings
How to test it:
Use a browser extension like SEO Meta in 1 Click or Web Developer Toolbar
16. Avoid Thin Content
What it is: Thin content means pages with very little useful information—usually under 300 words, or just fluff.
Why it’s important: Google wants to rank pages that actually help people. If your page is too short or empty, it probably won’t rank.
How to fix it:
Add more useful content: answer common questions, include visuals, write real examples
Merge thin pages into one better resource if they’re about the same thing
How to test it:
Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to find pages with very low word counts
17. Use Clear, Clean URLs
What it is: A clean URL is short and easy to read. Example: yourwebsite.com/blue-running-shoes is better than yourwebsite.com/page?id=4738201.
Why it’s important: Clear URLs are better for users and give Google more context.
How to fix it:
Go into your site settings and make sure URLs use words, not numbers
Remove unnecessary words like “and,” “the,” or weird characters
How to test it:
Just look at your URLs. Are they readable? Descriptive?
18. Check for Crawl Errors
What it is: Sometimes Google tries to visit your pages and runs into errors (like 404s, server errors, or blocked pages).
Why it’s important: If Google can’t access your pages, it can’t index them. And if they’re not indexed, they won’t appear in search.
How to fix it:
Go to Google Search Console
Click on Pages > Why pages aren’t indexed
Fix the issues shown (usually broken links, incorrect redirects, or blocked content)
How to test it:
After fixing, re-submit the pages in Search Console and wait for them to be re-crawled
19. Avoid Mixed Content (HTTPS + HTTP)
What it is: If your website is HTTPS (secure) but still loads images or scripts over HTTP (non-secure), that’s called mixed content.
Why it’s important: It creates security warnings in browsers and breaks trust. Google also dislikes insecure setups.
How to fix it:
Update image, script, and stylesheet URLs to HTTPS
Use plugins or search-and-replace tools to do this in bulk
What it is: JavaScript can be useful, but too much of it—or poorly used code—can slow down your site and hide content from Google.
Why it’s important: If important content can’t be seen or loaded quickly, your rankings suffer.
How to fix it:
Defer non-essential scripts
Remove scripts you don’t need
Use a plugin to load scripts asynchronously
How to test it:
Run PageSpeed Insights and check if “Reduce unused JavaScript” appears in the suggestions
21. Add ALT Text to Images
What it is: ALT text is a short description added to your images. Google can’t “see” pictures, so this helps it understand them.
Why it’s important: Improves SEO, helps visually impaired users, and allows your images to show in Google Images.
How to fix it:
For every image, add a clear and simple description in the “ALT text” field
Use your main keyword if it makes sense naturally
How to test it:
Right-click the image > Inspect, and check for the alt="..." attribute
22. Compress Large Images
What it is: Large image files slow down your page speed.
Why it’s important: Slow pages = bad rankings and unhappy users.
How to fix it:
Use tools like TinyPNG, ShortPixel, or ImageOptim
Save images in WebP or compressed JPEG/PNG format
How to test it:
Use PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix and look for “Efficiently encode images” in the report
Here is the full image SEO guide you can follow to ensure your images are well optimized for search engines.
23. Use Pagination Properly
What it is: When you split a long list (like blog posts or products) into multiple pages, that’s pagination.
Why it’s important: If not done correctly, search engines may not crawl your full content, or may treat each page as duplicate content.
How to fix it:
Add rel=”next” and rel=”prev” tags in the HTML (developers can help)
Or use a “Load more” button instead of numbered pages
How to test it:
Use Screaming Frog or view source code to confirm the presence of pagination tags
24. Block Low-Value Pages from Indexing
What it is: Some pages (like thank-you pages, login pages, internal searches) don’t need to show up in Google.
Why it’s important: Indexing junk pages wastes crawl budget and can dilute your site’s relevance.
How to fix it:
Add a noindex meta tag to those pages
Or block them in robots.txt
How to test it:
Search site:yourdomain.com/page-url in Google to see if it’s indexed
25. Check Core Web Vitals
What it is: These are three performance metrics Google uses:
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): how fast the main content loads
FID (First Input Delay): how fast the page responds to interaction
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): does stuff jump around as it loads?
Why it’s important: Good scores = better rankings and happier users
How to fix it:
Optimize images and fonts
Reduce JavaScript
Improve server response times
How to test it:
Go to Google Search Console > Core Web Vitals
Run a test on PageSpeed Insights or use Chrome’s Lighthouse tool
Final Tip
Don’t try to fix everything in one day. Start with the basics: speed, crawlability, and mobile-friendliness. Fix 2–3 things per week, and before you know it, your site will be faster, cleaner, and ranking better.
Bookmark this guide. Run through it every few months. Your future self—and your rankings—will thank you.
Let’s say you just launched your website. It looks great, it has all your services, maybe even a blog post or two. Now what?
How do people find you on Google?
This is where SEO comes in.
In this guide, I’ll explain what SEO really means, how it works, and how to start using it—in plain, non-technical language. Whether you’re a small business owner, startup founder, or total beginner, this is for you.
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
It simply means making changes to your website and content so that search engines like Google can:
Find your pages
Understand what your pages are about
Decide to show them to people searching for something relevant
In other words: SEO helps your website show up when people search for things on Google.
If you sell handmade soap, and someone types “natural lavender soap for sensitive skin” into Google—you want your page to show up, right?
That’s SEO.
How Does SEO Work?
To understand SEO, you have to know what happens behind the scenes when someone types something into Google.
Here’s a simple version of what Google does:
Crawls your site (like a robot scanning all your pages)
Indexes your pages (stores them in its giant library)
Ranks them (decides which page should show up first for each search)
To help Google do this well, your site needs to be clear, helpful, trustworthy, and easy to navigate.
Let’s break it down further.
Key Concepts to Understand
1. SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages)
The SERP is what you see after typing a question or phrase into Google.
It includes:
Organic results (these are the ones SEO helps with)
Ads (people pay to show up here)
Featured snippets, AI overviews, people also ask, and more
Your goal in SEO is to appear in the organic results—ideally near the top, because most people don’t scroll far.
2. Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases people type into Google.
For example:
“how to bake banana bread”
“best hiking shoes for beginners”
“accounting software for freelancers”
To rank on Google, your content needs to match the intent behind those keywords. That means:
If someone wants a guide, give them a full tutorial
If they want to compare products, create a comparison
If they want to buy, show them pricing and features
Keyword research is the process of figuring out what people search for, how often, and how hard it is to rank.
3. Links (Backlinks and Internal Links)
Backlinks are when other websites link to your site. Think of it like a vote of confidence.
The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more Google trusts your content.
That trust helps your pages rank higher.
Internal links are when you link from one page on your site to another.
This helps users navigate your site
It helps Google understand how your pages relate to each other
4. Crawling and Indexing
Google uses bots (called spiders or crawlers) to scan the web.
Crawling is when the bot visits your site and checks out your pages.
Indexing is when Google stores that information and decides whether your page should be shown in search.
If your site has broken pages, weird code, or missing information, Google might skip it or not understand it well.
That’s why technical SEO—making sure your site loads fast, works on phones, and is structured clearly—is so important.
What SEO Looks Like in Practice
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you run a local dog grooming business in Seattle.
You create a page titled “Professional Dog Grooming Services in Seattle.”
You include:
A clear description of your services
Prices
Photos
Customer reviews
Your location and hours
You also:
Add this page to your website’s menu
Submit your site to Google using Search Console
Ask a local pet blogger to mention your service (earning a backlink)
Now when someone nearby searches “dog grooming near me” or “pet grooming Seattle,” Google might show your page—especially if your competitors aren’t doing SEO.
That’s the power of SEO.
Why SEO Matters
It brings free traffic to your website
It compounds over time: the longer you invest, the more results you get
It builds trust and authority with your audience
It helps you get discovered by people actively searching for what you offer
You don’t need to be an expert to get started.
You just need to:
Create helpful content
Make your site easy to use
Learn a little at a time
Keep showing up
SEO is like planting seeds. It takes time, but once things start growing, the results keep coming.
What’s Next?
Now that you understand what SEO is, you might want to:
Are you getting the “alternate page with proper canonical tag” message in Google Search Console and wondering what to do with it? In this article, we will discuss this status in further detail so that when you see it on your Google Search Console, you can take the necessary steps to fix the issue.
If you feel this is too much work already, check out our SEO audit service to help you discover why your website has canonicalization errors, among other technical issues.
What Is a Canonical Tag?
A canonical tag is also known as a canonicalized URL, a canonical link, or a rel canonical. A page is tagged on Google Search Console as canonical when there is a duplicate version of it. A canonical tag means that Google has marked the page as the original and indexed it.
What Does “Alternate Page With Proper Canonical Tag” Mean?
In summary, Google is telling you that the pages listed here on this status have alternative duplicate pages, and Google has preferred those duplicate pages for indexing. Therefore, these pages listed here have not been indexed and are not being served on Google.
This means that Google can index alternative pages by inspecting the URLs listed here.
For example, this page is listed under “alternate page with the proper canonical tag.” I clicked on the URL, which gave me a pop-up on the side with some options. I chose to Inspect the URL to find out which page Google serves users instead of this one. In other words, which page is canonicalized?
When inspection of the URL ended, Google showed me below the canonicalized page and the page that it is showing users instead of the one above:
Under the “Indexing” sub-title, Google shows me the indexing page instead of the first URL.
Inspecting the Links in This Scenario
When analyzing these two URLs, I can see that the only difference is the forward slash (/) at the end of the link: URL 1 doesn’t have the forward slash, while URL 2 does.
URL 1: /the-cloud-mvrdv
URL 2: /the-cloud-mvrdv/
When we publish blog posts on this WordPress site, the forward slash is automatically added at the end of every link. The original blog post has the forward-slash (/) at the end. That makes the URL 2 above the original one. It makes sense why Google didn’t pick URL 1 for indexing – it is not the original link.
URL 2 is the alternate page with the proper canonical tag, which is being indexed and served on Google.
This also means that URL 1 is not being served. The message on Google Search Console is that this URL 1 link exists on your site. Even though Google found it, it is a duplicate URL and will not be preferred over URL 2, which is the original version.
Troubleshooting
You might be asking yourself, how in the world did URL 1 without a forward slash exist if all articles automatically publish with a forward slash?
Well, in this case, there is only one scenario why this URL 1 exists. Someone on the site added this link as an internal link on a different blog post but did not add the forward slash at the end of the link. Therefore, when Google crawled the site and came across this link without the forward slash, it became a duplicate version of the original link with a forward slash. Google chose not to index the page without a forward slash and marked the page with the forward slash as the proper canonicalized URL for indexing.
This is just one example of some links in the “alternate page with proper canonical tag” status on the Google search console.
How Do You Fix the ‘Alternate Page With Proper Canonical Tag” Status?
In some cases, you don’t need to fix anything. Why? Google has checked a set of duplicate links and chosen the original version—most likely the one we created first. Google has then added all the other duplicates to this list so that you know it chose the original. Therefore, Google is not indexing these pages listed under this status.
In this case, Google is correct in choosing the original page, so Google is accurate. So you don’t have to do anything.
But what if Google is wrong? In some cases, this happens. Google chooses to index an alternate page from the one listed here, but you want the one listed here to be the right page for indexing.
If that’s the case, then you need a fix.
So what do you do?
1. Set the Correct Canonical URL
These pages under “alternate page with proper canonical tag” are not being indexed because other pages are marked as canonical, and Google is crawling them instead.
Removing the canonical URL and setting the right one on the page under the “alternate page with proper canonical tag” status is the best fix for this issue.
Therefore, you would go to the alternate page that Google is currently indexing and remove the canonicalization. Then, return to the page you want Google to index instead and add the rel canonical in the page header.
In the case we shared in the screenshots above, we need to be careful about adding internal links on this site. This would ensure that the URL 1 without the forward slash would never happen. All my internal links would have the forward slash like URL 2.
I would quickly fix this issue using one of two ways:
Redirect URL 1 to URL 2 using a 301 redirect
Audit my internal links to find where URL 1 was added without the forward slash. Fix this by adding a forward slash at the end of that link.
Depending on which is more manageable, both solutions would work just fine.
3. 301 Redirects
I have used a 301 redirect because the page is the same. Only the forward slash creates a scenario where Google thinks these are two duplicate pages.
When using 301 redirects to fix this for your use case, ensure you don’t want to keep the duplicate pages. Once you redirect them, you cannot access the duplicate pages. You might as well delete the pages and implement the redirect.
We have established that the “alternate page with proper canonical tag” status means the pages listed are not being indexed. Some might be okay, while others need a fix by:
Telling Google which page to canonicalize and index instead
Going through our internal URLs to fix poorly done internal links
Implementing 301 redirects to the right alternate page with proper canonical tags. Inspect the URL to find which links Google is indexing, and then do the 301 redirect to those links.
Remember, if you need us to do a thorough SEO audit of your website, don’t hesitate to contact us. The most common reasons for canonicalization errors are excessive duplication and poor internal linking practices. Today, we can investigate these technical issues by diving deeply into your website.
ClickBank is a popular affiliate marketing network that offers a large selection of digital and physical products in many categories and niches. Given the amount of attention to online scams, it makes sense to be worried before deciding to join ClickBank. To help you decide whether ClickBank is worth your time, we will offer you an in-depth review of ClickBank, how to monetize on ClickBank, a brief on the do’s and don’ts when selling products on ClickBank, and much more.
Below is our comprehensive ClickBank review.
What is Clickbank?
ClickBank is an affiliate marketplace where businesses can post their products for sale to affiliates and affiliate marketers have access to products to offer to their audience. Affiliate marketers are paid a one-time payment or recurring commissions depending on the product. It is mostly a marketplace where digital product creators display their products, although nowadays they feature physical products.
ClickBank affiliate network was established back in 1998. No matter how new to affiliate marketing you are, you can be one of the many people who use this platform to gain experience.
Here are some noteworthy details about the ClickBank marketplace:
They have 200 million users distributed among 190 nations.
87th-biggest online shop in the United States
There are 276 categories and 21562 products listed.
There are 6 million business owners on the platform.
Annual sales of more than $200 million
They have generated commissions exceeding $4 billion.
Is Clickbank Legit?
ClickBank is a 100% legit. Below is the ClickBank rating done by different rating agencies;
According to Authority Hacker’s affiliate marketing statistics page, it is the second most popular affiliate network, after Amazon.
The Better Business Bureau rates ClickBank an A+.
Trustpilot reviewers rate ClickBank 3.9 out of 5 stars based on over 3,600 reviews.
ScamAdviser rates ClickBank 3.9 out of 5 with a trust score of 100 out of 100 and more than 3,700 reviews.
ClickBank’s merchant approval procedure is rigorous. However, ClickBank’s platform offers a wide variety of products, and not all of them will meet your standards or expectations, just like any other marketplace.
Before making a choice, we advise you to carefully consider products and read user reviews.
ClickBank is not a scam network, as proven by its wide range of affiliate marketers and long company history.
How To Monetize With Clickbank
Creating a Clickbank account is the first step towards making money off of your work.
Affiliates can easily sign up and begin earning money immediately with Clickbank as it is free to join and there is no screening procedure.
However, if you intend to sell your products or services You must pay $49.95 and $29.95 for extra accounts. In addition, sellers must register a domain name, set up a pitch page on ClickBank, and create a thank-you page.
Affiliates can earn a commission of anywhere from 1% to 75% when they choose a product from Clickbank to offer their audience.
In addition, sellers must register a domain name, set up a pitch page on ClickBank, and create a thank-you page. The seller determines their affiliate pricing, and oftentimes, they will provide an attractive deal to start attracting affiliates.
You can also design and list your offerings as an additional way to earn money with Clickbank. Also, other users of the platform have the option to sell your products and earn affiliate revenue.
Both alternatives are excellent ways to begin earning money online, and they are all conveniently accessible through Clickbank.
Type of Products on Clickbank
There is a product on ClickBank for any seller or affiliate, regardless of their niche, thanks to their impressive variety of over 1,000 different products. They include;
Arts and Entertainment
As Seen on TV products
Betting Systems
Business/Investing
Computers/Internet
Cooking, Food, &Wine
E-Business & E-Marketing (Internet Marketing)
Education
Employment & Jobs
Fiction
Games
Green Products
Health & Fitness
Home & Garden
Languages
Mobile
Parenting & Families
Politics/Current Events
Reference
Self-Help
Software & Services
New Age & Alternative Beliefs
Sports
Travel
Selling Clickbank Products
Determining which platform to sell on is the first step towards becoming a profitable affiliate with Clickbank.
It might be quite beneficial if you already have a following on a particular platform. It’s usually where you should start promoting this affiliate product first.
It’s important to spend some time determining why your target market would find this product appealing, as this will enable you to create a message that will increase the number of sales.
You can promote your products through;
Your email list
Your YouTube channel
Your social media channels
On your website
In your blogs
Paid ads
Forums
To get good results, as an affiliate, you must take into account at least half of these promotional criteria while starting a campaign for your product. Since there are so many different types of products on the market, your entire online presence should be up to the most recent standards.
Presenting a new product that will leave buyers speechless is almost impossible right now. All you have to do to rule the market is become an expert storyteller while being loyal to your brand.
Selling your Own Clickbank Digital Products
It might be worthwhile for you to invest some time honing your copywriting abilities if you are making the effort to list your product on Clickbank. Make sure your landing page is current and prepared to explain to visitors why they should purchase your product.
Though bloggers who offer digital products have a hard time attracting leads to their websites, Clickbank may offer a helping hand. You might be able to persuade those who don’t purchase your products to subscribe to your newsletter, which will allow you to reach out to them again in the future.
Below are the dos and don’ts when selling digital products on ClickBank;
The Dos
Understand Your Target Audience
Knowing your target market is essential when using ClickBank, just like with any other business. Your chances of offering products that meet the demands of your readers increase if you understand who they are, what they need, and how they think. Please do thorough audience market research before posting your product on ClickBank. You must offer a product that meets the needs or addresses a particular problem for your intended market.
Provide Quality Products
Even though ClickBank allows you to sell a range of digital products, you must create and sell quality products. Providing high-quality products increases your client base and builds your reputation.
Subsequently, the more customers you have, the more money you may make selling your items. Furthermore, ClickBank is quite selective regarding the products that are sold on its marketplace.
Use Effective Product Presentation
Your ClickBank product presentation has a big influence on how many sales you make. A product’s captivating description, catchy title, and eye-catching images can all work to attract more customers. This means that you should give your product presentation a lot of careful thinking.
The Don’ts
Don’t Ignore ClickBank’s Terms of Use
Each seller on ClickBank is required to abide by the comprehensive terms of service (ToS). Ignoring these terms could result in the rejection of your products or, worse, the suspension of your account. Therefore, before signing up and using ClickBank’s services, make sure you are aware of their policies.
Don’t Overprice Your Products
It makes sense that you want to maximize your profits, but you also need to keep in mind that overpriced goods may turn off potential buyers. Always set fair pricing for your products to draw in more customers and eventually boost your total revenue.
Don’t Have Unrealistic Expectations
While ClickBank offers an excellent opportunity to earn a big income, don’t expect to become wealthy overnight. Successful sellers often devote time and resources to developing high-quality products and an effective marketing plan.
Why You Should Join Clickbank
Clickbank is beneficial to both affiliates and sellers. If you are a product seller, Clickbank is a useful platform to help you sell more of your goods with less work on your part. It presents a good chance for making money since you don’t pay the affiliates upfront to market your products.
Affiliates benefit from Clickbank as they can market other people’s products without necessarily owning them. This can be more beneficial if you have an already existing audience.
Conclusion
ClickBank is a wonderful platform for affiliates, but due to the lower rates, it may not be equally beneficial for sellers. It is really difficult to succeed on the platform since there are just too many affiliates vying for a limited number of high-quality products.
However, ClickBank is one of the greatest affiliate marketing networks for beginners. It’s an excellent place to begin obtaining the expertise and knowledge in digital marketing that you need to close your first affiliate deal. Almost everybody can be accepted to become a member of the ClickBank Marketplace.
The journey with ClickBank can be fulfilling if you approach it with awareness, discernment, and a dedication to quality. So feel free to explore and take advantage of all that ClickBank has to offer with confidence.
Affiliate marketing has received a lot of attention in recent years. Still, one issue remains: is affiliate marketing worthwhile despite its increasing popularity? Companies today have an overwhelming number of options for promoting themselves and their offers thanks to the growth of social media and other digital marketing methods. This is a question that any brand or an affiliate needs to answer before getting started on affiliate marketing. So, if you are wondering if it is worthwhile to establish an affiliate marketing business this article got you covered.
What is Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when you earn a commission for the online promotion of another company’s product or service. Essentially, affiliates perform online marketing on behalf of a merchant, to drive traffic and conversions for the merchant’s website. For every click or conversion earned, the affiliate is paid by the merchant.
Essentially, it involves three key parties: the merchant (or advertiser), the affiliate (or publisher), and the customer:
Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?
Affiliate marketing is worth it if you have a plan for promoting products or services that your target audience will find useful. And that is not all. The statistics below show that affiliate marketing is worth investing in for brands.
The affiliate marketing industry keeps growing. The global affiliate marketing sector is expected to grow to $27 billion by 2027, up from $15.7 billion in 2021. This is a huge increase in just a few years, so there are plenty of potential clients for new publishers and influencers. Additionally, there has been a consistent increase over the past five years, and it does not appear that this will stop anytime soon.
Affiliate marketing spending is growing. Over 80% of businesses use affiliate marketing, and they invest billions of dollars in these programs.
Spending on affiliate marketing hit an all-time high of $8.2 billion in 2022, continuing an upward trend that had been ongoing for more than ten years.
Affiliate marketing accounts for 16% of total internet orders in the United States.
Here are some situations where affiliate marketing can be worth it;
1. You are promoting quality products and services
You don’t have to promote the very best quality in the world but at least make sure it is worth the money.
Evaluate your offers against those of competitors to make sure yours are up to standard, and address any apparent shortcomings.
2. Are passionate about your niche
As an affiliate marketer, you will dedicate a significant amount of time to thoroughly studying and actively advertising the product of your choice.
Since you will not see results immediately, you should choose a niche you are passionate about to stay motivated.
Unfortunately, you will not always find it fun to build your affiliate marketing business. Even in the worst of circumstances, you will find it difficult to give up if you truly love the whole thing and are passionate about your work.
3. You Already Have An Engaged Audience
The basis of a profitable affiliate marketing company will be your existing, well-established audience.
This is a big plus since it makes it much simpler to encourage them to click on your affiliate link when there is already a relationship.
4. Are an “expert” in your chosen niche
Expertise is a wide word that encompasses more than just your qualifications and field of work. To make affiliate marketing successful, you must educate and lead individuals through their purchasing decisions. You are in business as long as you know more about your product than the average reader.
It is not required that you hold a PhD. But to grow an audience, you should have some kind of distinctive understanding of your niche.
Perhaps you have read a lot about it. Perhaps it is been a hobby in your life. Perhaps you made a life off of it. You should never talk about a product with insufficient expertise or experience since your audience will trust you when you suggest it can help them with the issue at hand.
5. Offered High Commissions
Your products and the affiliate network you join need to provide high Earnings Per Click (EPC) and commissions for affiliate marketing to be worthwhile. In general, you can afford to spend more money on product promotion if the amount is larger.
You must first choose a viable niche, so research what sells before making any commitments.
6. Adding Value To Your Customers
Providing value to your clients should be your top concern, regardless of whether you are working for a client base or a specific audience. Adding value shows your sincere concern for your clients and your commitment to giving them the finest.
While concentrating on your traffic and ranking has its benefits, it is always preferable to be a partner that adds value for your clients.
7. You Have a Long-Term Perspective
Affiliate marketing can provide rapid effects for some firms. However, most require time to build momentum. Affiliate marketing may not be the greatest option if you are looking for a quick-fix marketing channel.
However, it may be extremely rewarding if you are patient and committed to long-term, continuous sales and revenue growth.
When Affiliate Marketing is Not Worth It
Even though affiliate marketing can be a profitable business model and monetization approach, it may not be suitable for everyone or a wise investment for you. The following are reasons why affiliate marketing may not be a good idea:
1. You’re Looking For Instant Results
It is possible to get results on the first day of affiliate marketing. However, the majority of businesses won’t notice significant improvements immediately. You’ll probably be disappointed if your goal is to cash out quickly.
If you lack the necessary enthusiasm and patience, you should avoid doing affiliate marketing. It’s critical to approach it with reasonable expectations and a long-term outlook.
2. Your Business, or Products and Services promoted have A Negative Reputation
Before you start promoting a product or service, make sure to research whether it’s on the good side of the law. Affiliates may be hesitant to connect themselves with your brand if your company has a terrible reputation or your products fall short of expectations. Before starting an affiliate program, make sure you solve serious product or service concerns, handle the main issues raised by customers, and start building a positive brand image. Concentrate your efforts on a reputable, beneficial affiliate product that will not jeopardize your business.
3. Are In a Low-Paying Niche
If you don’t choose a profitable product, most of your effort will be wasted, and you will not be able to generate a consistent affiliate income.
Even if you are passionate about a particular niche, you should not commit to it if they pay pennies merely because you like the product.
Doing so would almost certainly result in exhaustion and deciding to leave affiliate marketing.
4. You’Re Not Using The Right Affiliate Marketing Tool
Your affiliate marketing program may suffer if you choose the wrong affiliate program software.
For example, if your chosen tool is not user-friendly, affiliates may struggle to access and use the platform. They can be discouraged from promoting your offers.
5. Your Chosen Vendor Doesn’t Follow FTC Guidelines
Since 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made it mandatory for all affiliate partners to use particular affiliate marketing disclosures and disclaimers.
Essentially, you must indicate you will make money when customers purchase the things you promote. The same principle applies to vendors.
It is a major concern if they do not display the required information. If you do not take this seriously, you risk losing your commission.
This means that the affiliate platforms, or the FTC itself, may shut them down.
Can You Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing needs expertise, experience, and hard effort. Although it is not a simple or quick path to success, done right, it may yield impressive revenue.
The Key to Making Affiliate Marketing Worth It
Creating an affiliate network from scratch might be difficult, especially if you’re just getting started. Investing in an affiliate marketing tool will help you move more quickly. The tools below will make your work easier;
1. Semrush
SEMRush helps with keyword research, solving SEO mistakes, and competitor analysis. It helps to monitor your keyword rankings every week, Running SEO audits to monitor for website mistakes that could damage your search rankings.
2. Ahrefs
Ahrefs provides nearly the same functions as SEMRush. However, Ahrefs places a far bigger priority on backlinks than on-page SEO.
3. Grammarly
If you regularly publish content on your affiliate site, Grammarly is a must-have. In short, Grammarly is an enhanced spell-checker. They offer this tool in a free version but the options for content reviews are even more detailed in the premium version.
4. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that enhances a website’s content and keyword rankings. This tool is available for free. However, the premium version comes with an advanced redirect manager and round-the-clock assistance.
5. ShareASale
ShareASale connects publishers with advertisers who want to boost sales. Publishers get compensated for each phone call, lead, or website visitor that they generate for the advertiser. Even though the affiliate can get more money by linking with the brand directly, ShareAsale offers a better starting point for beginners.
Conclusion
While there are numerous factors to consider before entering the industry, do not rely on your opinion on biased or deceptive posts on the internet.
Affiliate marketing is worthwhile. If you have premium products and services, the right tools, a smart strategy, and a long-term mindset, affiliate marketing might be incredibly profitable.
Affiliate marketing courses have become increasingly popular as digital marketing has grown. These courses give learners the basic understanding and skills they need to succeed in the affiliate marketing sector. The biggest challenge is that there are dozens of resources and courses on the market. Some offer free memberships and some require a monthly or annual fee. We have compiled a list of the best paid and free affiliate marketing courses to help you grow your own affiliate business that is well-suited for long-term, sustainable success.
The video is well-edited and produced. It lasts 1 hour 48 minutes. It has over 10k likes on YouTube. Ahrefs is one of the most popular search engine optimization (SEO) platforms. It is well-made and provides straightforward explanations, often with examples from real life. You will discover more about website promotion than just WordPress website setup. You will learn the basics of affiliate marketing, identifying a niche for affiliate marketing, choosing an affiliate program, planning and building affiliate websites researching keywords, creating content for affiliate websites, and building links. According to reviews, this course is useful, educational, and best for beginners.
This video lasts 1 hour 30 minutes (video) plus one quiz and has a rating of 4.44/5. Over 90,000 people have enrolled in this course. It is helpful even for absolute beginners, as seen by the thousands of positive reviews. Its primary emphasis is on basics. Also rather than providing a step-by-step manual, it gives an overview of the principles. This course covers affiliate marketing basics, the benefits of entering the industry, and information on affiliate marketing networks. You will also learn a breakdown of the affiliate marketing program, strategies, and techniques for affiliate marketing, how to create an affiliate website, and common mistakes beginners make.
This video lasts for 1 hour 13 minutes and has a rating of 19k likes on YouTube.
Miles Beckler, a well-known online entrepreneur, shares his experience-based thoughts. This free affiliate course explains how to choose the best affiliate marketing network and plan, what to look out for as a beginner, and how to succeed at making affiliate money.
Miles also provides a free supplementary course called WordPress 101, which teaches the technical fundamentals of using the WordPress platform.
This video lasts 27 minutes and has a rating of 1.9k likes on YouTube. This video is a great way for beginner and experienced affiliate marketers to learn online. It provides numerous insights into the profitable affiliate sites run by Income School. Aimed at individuals who want to break free from the 9–5 grind, the focus is on doable SEO, creation of content, and revenue tactics monetization. Along with helping you stay competitive in the content marketing sector, they also teach you how to manage profitable websites and blogs for your affiliate marketing campaigns.
The duration of this course varies depending on the course and your studying pace. They offer three free courses available on affiliate marketing that include reading materials, videos, and knowledge tests. Users can learn the fundamentals of affiliate marketing, how to create an affiliate marketing strategy, and how to maximize an affiliate campaign by enrolling in Voluum’s affiliate courses. Once you complete the course and pass the exam, you will receive a certification for these courses.
This course takes 1.5-3 hours. This free affiliate course, offered by Alison and taught by Juan Galavan, is a great way for any affiliate marketer to launch their business and has been trusted by over 35,000 students worldwide. Alison covers a variety of topics including
lead generation, Facebook ads, pre-selling, clickfunnels, CPA marketing, etc.
Upon successful completion of the final exam, students will get a CPD accreditation at the end of the course.
Entrepreneurs can learn how to establish and expand their online presence by visiting Authority Hacker, a resource center for online marketing and business. In this free webinar from Authority Hacker, you will learn 7 insider tips that have increased the success of over 83% of affiliate marketing websites.
Additionally, Authority Hacker offers The Authority Site System, a premium affiliate marketing course.
Price: 6 monthly payments of $330 to gain lifetime access
The Authority Site System affiliate marketing course includes interactive courses and a step-by-step guide to building a profitable affiliate site. It has 194 video courses that cover tech setup, design, creating content, link building, monetization, market research, and keyword research. After enrolling, participants can communicate with peers and the course creators directly in a private Facebook community. Unfortunately, the course only offers enrollment once or twice a year, so if you would like to enroll in it, you will need to keep an eye on the website.
The Affiliate Lab is a popular affiliate marketing course that was developed by well-known SEO expert Matt Diggity to assist beginners as well as professionals who wish to generate passive income online. Matt Diggity teaches building websites with WordPress in this course as opposed to alternative hosting servers. It features more than 210 videos that span over 45 hours of training and include topics like keyword research, niche selection, and useful SEO strategies.
It is built on thousands of tests across different websites, ensuring tactics are proven and effective, and it provides lifetime upgrades to stay current with SEO improvements.
Price: $499 for the first year with a yearly renewal of $299
Project 24 is an incredible course for anyone looking to launch a successful blog or YouTube channel. Project 24 presents a more easy strategy for building successful affiliate sites that do not rely on pricey keyword tools or active link building.
It provides straightforward, systematic directions that are simple to follow. It also provides multiple courses in one, covering a wide variety of topics.
Like other online courses, it offers a community, a members-only podcast, and a live support center. Unfortunately, there are no refunds. Learners also complained about the lack of a search function, which made it difficult to find specific lessons.
The course consists of three hours of video on demand, 23 articles, and 22 downloaded materials.
You will learn how to run a profitable ad campaign and generate money with ClickBank without having to build your website. This course also teaches you new marketing concepts and tactics for affiliate programs other than ClickBank. Unlike other courses, you will learn how to design a squeeze page (without a domain) and attract subscribers to sign up for your email list. You will need to invest $1-$5 every day for “online marketing purposes”.
Price: $187 per month for the premium package or $49 for standard
This course features 12 video lessons.
This affiliate marketing course teaches you how to create a website for a specific niche and monetize its content through display ads and affiliate marketing.
You will learn how to analyze the competition, Research keywords, Outsource, build links, and much more. Although the course is mostly focused on Amazon affiliate marketing, it also teaches how to select a niche and construct an affiliate site around it.
6. Blog Growth Engine
Price: $3297
Blog Growth Engine is an online training course created by well-known blogger Adam Enfroy. Adam began blogging in 2019, and within a year, he was earning more than $150,000 per month. Adam incorporated all of the perfected tactics in this training session so you can quickly begin making money with your blog. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced expert, the training has something for you. This course is extremely informative and offers excellent bonuses, competent training, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. However, it is pricey, and only a few reviews are available.
If you want a broad introduction to digital marketing, this is the place to start. The training materials include videos, documents, and complementary resources.
Overall AMM training is broad rather than deep. As a student, you may expect to learn the fundamentals of a variety of digital marketing topics. Affiliate Marketing Mastery offers a 30-day refund policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Earn Money Immediately After Completing These Courses?
Although these courses offer useful information and tactics, perseverance, experimentation, and persistent effort are necessary for success in affiliate marketing.
The outcomes could differ, thus it is critical to put what you learn into practice and modify it for your target market and niche.
Do I Need a Course To Learn Affiliate Marketing?
Even though it isn’t mandatory, receiving affiliate marketing training may speed up the learning process and offer practical guidance from experienced marketers and structural knowledge.
How Do I Teach Myself Affiliate Marketing?
You can learn about affiliate marketing in a variety of methods, such as by enrolling in one of the numerous available online training programs. You may learn about affiliate marketing by doing it yourself, and experience can be the best teacher.
How Much Time Do I Need To Complete These Courses?
Although the length of each course may differ, most are meant to be completed at your own pace. You can finish them whenever it is most convenient for you, depending on your availability and learning pace.
Conclusion
Understanding affiliate marketing basics is essential, and with the correct affiliate marketing materials, you can successfully begin affiliate marketing programs. The ideal affiliate marketing course for you is entirely determined by your level of experience, comfort with the procedure, and accessibility to resources. Take the time to review the list above and select the best affiliate marketing courses that meet your needs and budget.
The global industry for affiliate marketing is estimated to be over $12 billion and is still rising rapidly. Consequently, affiliate marketing programs are seeing an increase in investment from brands and merchants, offering a great way to generate passive revenue. With the expansion of the affiliate marketing sector comes the potential for dishonest affiliates and risky digital marketing frauds that can destroy your company.
The amount of fraudulent affiliate advertising exceeded $65 billion in 2020, and by 2023, it may surpass $100 billion!
That is why, before you get involved in affiliate marketing, you should be aware of common scams. This article aims to inform affiliate marketers and business owners alike about the most common types of affiliate marketing scams, how they operate, and tips to avoid them.
Is Affiliate Marketing Legit
Affiliate marketing is legit, as long as you follow your country’s laws and regulations. But keep in mind that this isn’t a quick way to get rich. Gaining a lot of money overnight won’t happen on its own. However, you have to approach affiliate marketing with a realistic perspective.
To succeed in affiliate marketing, you need to be prepared to put in a lot of effort and draw in a sizable audience. That’s when your promotions will start to pay off significantly. Nevertheless, all affiliate program is made equally.
Some programs either don’t compensate their affiliates properly, impose unjust regulations, or are outright frauds. It’s crucial to investigate any program in-depth before enrolling.
Common Affiliate Marketing Scams Aimed At Affiliate Marketers
1. Get-Rich-Quick Schemes
In this fraud plan, scammers utilize overpromising advertisements to persuade individuals that it is possible to make a lot of money quickly and with little work. New affiliate marketers are typically drawn to this clickbait scam, which also has the potential to result in fraudulent affiliate clicks or private data breaches that enrich criminals.
These scams are distinct because they frequently offer questionable goods that are worthless or very cheap. These programs’ terms and conditions are designed to make affiliate marketers pay nothing.
Often, terms and conditions are ambiguous or contain hidden clauses designed to avoid payment.
2. Fake Products
Fake products are another common scam that targets affiliate marketers. These scammers would offer to sell a cheap (and often stolen) replica of an authentic product manufactured by a reputable company. Customers are deceived by an inferior counterfeit. In the second, they make a payment for a product they never get. In either case, you receive no compensation.
Their pricing often shows lower prices than the actual products to give an illusion that buyers are receiving a better deal. Always, look for real customer reviews and ratings along with the contact details of customer support representatives.
3. Pyramid Schemes and Multi-level Marketing Programs
Even though these pyramid scheme strategies have been utilized by scammers for a long time, they are still in use and effective today. It is now referred to as multi-level marketing (MLM).
Instead of selling products, they concentrate on recruiting new members to invest in the “opportunity.”
Since the products tend to be of poor quality or unreasonable price, real sales are hard. Marketers are promised more rewards if the people they bring in attract more people.
The plan eventually fails because it gets harder and harder to locate new members. These scammers then launch the scheme under new names. Also, they might ask you to pay a joining fee that they refer to as an investment.
4. Pay-to-Join Affiliate Programs
A pay-to-join affiliate marketing scheme requires you to make purchases or pay fees to become a member. That is a major warning sign. It should be free to sign up for any affiliate marketing program.
Usually, scammers claim that they have an exclusive affiliate partnership program and that you must pay a small fee to participate. They claim it to make sure that only legitimate marketers join their program. To ensure that the transaction cannot be undone or tracked back, some may even ask that you pay with Bitcoin. Joining any legit affiliate program is free of charge. In the long run, they have no risk if you fail to generate sales. Nevertheless, before you promote a product, a lot of respectable companies want you to be familiar with everything there is to know about it.
5. Fake Gurus and Influencers
Another common scam is when you are urged to endorse a fake guru or social media celebrity. Occasionally, self-proclaimed gurus may provide coaching programs or courses that guarantee extraordinary outcomes. However, they may be coaching in outdated or unethical techniques.
Perhaps they stopped doing it a long time ago, or they don’t genuinely practice what they teach. Their source of income is not affiliate marketing but rather the sales of their courses. In addition, refund requests are typically not honored. Most of the time, these fraudsters have no prior experience in their purported field. Their testimonies would come across as fake and unconvincing.
They try to convince you to promote them by using pushy sales techniques. They may use bot accounts to boost their social media following.
6. Bait-and-switch commissions
A bait-and-switch commission is when an affiliate is promised a particular commission rate, but then abruptly changes after a few sales. They can start by making small adjustments like a decrease by 1% and then reducing to a higher rate later. It could further involve charging “hidden fees,” which lower their profit margin on each transaction. Make sure you read the contract thoroughly and get a copy. Next, print it out so you have a hard copy in the unfortunate circumstance that they alter the terms of the agreement. Furthermore, maintain your private record and compare rather than depending on affiliate managers to track your sales.
7. Phishing Scams
Phishing schemes are another method scammers use to prey on affiliate marketers to obtain private information.
They fake emails or websites that look authentic to fool affiliates into sending their login credentials or personal data.
Scammers may target affiliate marketers on social media platforms and messaging applications in addition to fake websites and emails. They might trick victims into thinking they are speaking with an official account by using the branding of well-known affiliate networks. Verify website addresses one more time before logging in. If in doubt, close the window and go straight to the official website. Never respond to shady communications by clicking links or entering personal information.
Common Affiliate Marketing Scams Aimed At Businesses
1. Cookie Stuffing
Cookie stuffing, also known as cookie dropping, is a type of affiliate fraud in which scammers install tracking codes on a visitor’s computer from different affiliate networks. The fraudsters will get paid when a visitor clicks on the link and makes a purchase on the advertiser’s website.
Unless the user clears all cookies from their browser, these cookies are often set to never expire. The user would never have interacted with the affiliates’ content or been directed to them via their URL.
2. Fake Leads
For companies who pay affiliate marketers to generate leads, fake leads can be a serious affiliate scam.
Fake lead generation through the use of bots to fill out forms with fictitious contact details is known as affiliate fraud.
They can even create fake leads by using stolen contact information.
In any case, even though the lead is not a real person interested in the product or service, the affiliate marketer will still be compensated for creating it.
A notable decline in conversions may indicate that the leads you are receiving are fake or of poor quality. Reaching out to customers is another method used to identify quality leads.
3. Click Spam
Click spam is when scammers use malware to make it appear as though someone has clicked on a PPC advertisement when, in fact, no real click has taken place. This can lead to great losses for Businesses running pay-per-click affiliate programs.
Keep track of IP addresses to detect click fraud. Tools for identifying and preventing click fraud might also be included in your affiliate management software. Furthermore, Analyze major differences between your conversion rates and industry averages.
4. URL Hijacking (Typosquatting)
When an affiliate partner creates a domain name that is identical to or incorrectly spells a URL, that is another popular scam that targets businesses.
For example, if a company has an Amazon.com website, scammers might register Amozon.com or other related names.
It is simple to monitor by looking at Google Analytics’ referral domains. However, some of these affiliates may use dubious redirects to ensure that the squatting domain does not appear as a referral domain.
To identify odd trends examine the websites and other sources that drive traffic to your affiliates.
Also, you can secure any potential misspellings of your domain and route them to your primary website.
5. Fraudulent Transactions
Scammer affiliates’ sales and transaction frauds rank among the most frequent scams in affiliate marketing that affiliate managers encounter. They might make transactions using their affiliate links or codes through strategies such as using stolen or fake credit They will receive commissions for such fake sales. After you pay them a commission, you are left to handle chargebacks and refunds from angry and probably nonexistent customers.
Examine the return rates of suspected affiliates in comparison to other affiliates to spot any unusual activities. An abrupt increase could indicate problems.
6. Google Ad Keyword Hijacking
Ad hijacking is a type of ad fraud that involves purchasing ad space for a branded term on search engines and then redirecting visitors to a false website that appears to be the original website.
Scammers purchase advertisements using your brand’s keywords, increasing the difficulty and cost of reaching potential clients.
Furthermore, the fraudster will receive the affiliate commission if they buy anything on the fake site.
Make it clear that affiliates are not permitted to bid on your branded keywords or imitate your brand in any manner.
How To Avoid Affiliate Marketing Scams
1. Partner with Reputable Platforms: Pick a reputable affiliate network with a solid history. Look for customer complaints, internet reviews, and any news stories that discuss the affiliate program. A history of bad customer service or problems with product quality are examples of early warning signs.
2. Understand Affiliate Program’s Terms & Conditions: Before signing up for an affiliate marketing program, review the terms and conditions offered by the company. Verify that you are aware of the commission timetable, any extra fees or requirements, and the payment procedures.
3. Monitor Your Traffic: You can identify and stop fraud and scams by routinely tracking the traffic to your website. Unusual spikes in clicks or referrals can be detected with tools like Google Analytics paired with a WordPress plugin like MonsterInsights.
4. Avoid Programs That Make Unrealistic Promises: Avoid programs that offer unrealistic rewards, such as “get rich quick” schemes. Legitimate affiliate programs will be honest about the time and effort needed to earn a profit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Affiliate Marketing Scams
Is affiliate marketing risky?
Making money online with affiliate marketing is a brilliant idea. But there are a lot of frauds out there that pose as affiliate marketing plans when they are just money-laundering schemes that give the idea of being risky.
How can I identify a legitimate affiliate program?
Legitimate programs are open about how they operate, how they handle payments, and what products they offer. Analyze reviews, make sure communications are clear, and select programs with a track record of reliability.
What steps should I take if I suspect affiliate fraud or scams?
Any suspect activity should be reported to the affiliate program and appropriate authorities, such as the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), Better Business Bureau (BBB), or Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Stay up to date on frequent affiliate marketing scams to protect yourself and others in the affiliate marketing industry.
Conclusion
To protect your business, arm yourself with information on these affiliate marketing frauds and take note of real-world examples. Remember that if anything seems too good to be true, it usually is. Be sure to thoroughly examine the affiliate program terms and conditions before joining.
Hopefully, the information provided here will alert you to some of the most common affiliate marketing frauds, so keep an eye out and be cautious.
In the fast-paced digital landscape, it is crucial to remove outdated content from your website regularly. Outdated content can mislead readers, harm your website’s credibility, hinder search engine optimization efforts, and sometimes create compliance risks.
Proactively identifying and eliminating outdated content can ensure accuracy, enhance the reader’s experience, improve search rankings, maintain industry compliance, and present a positive brand image.
In this post, we will explore the importance of removing outdated content and provide insights on how to do it effectively if you want your website to stay fresh and updated.
What Is Outdated Content?
Outdated content refers to any information, media, or resources that have become obsolete, inaccurate, or irrelevant to the current context or audience. It can include various forms of content, including articles, blog posts, images, videos, product descriptions, and more.
Outdated content on most websites may arise due to changes in industry practices, technological advancements, legislation updates, consumer preference shifts, product/service offerings, products out of stock or no longer available, and more.
It can confuse readers, damage a website’s reputation, and hinder improved search engine rankings. Google has favored websites that continuously update their content and keep it fresh for readers by rewarding them with better search engine rankings.
Identifying and removing outdated content is crucial to maintaining credibility, providing accurate information, and enhancing user experience. We are in the age of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), where content relevance at any particular time is a ranking signal. When your content is irrelevant to the current times, your rankings drop; when it is relevant, your rankings improve.
Why You Need to Remove Outdated Content
1. Accuracy and Credibility
Outdated content can provide incorrect or misleading information to your audience. Keeping your content up to date ensures that you provide accurate and reliable information, enhancing your credibility and reputation.
With more accurate and credible content, you can also command more clicks to your offers because of the improved trust with your audience.
2. User Experience
Users rely on your content for relevant and valuable information. Outdated content can frustrate and confuse them, leading to a poor user experience. A lousy reader experience makes them leave your website without spending much time on it, increasing your bounce rate. A high bounce rate is recorded by Google: “Even though we send readers to this website, people leave the website very fast, which means they don’t like the website. So we will stop sending people to this website.”
It’s not exactly what Google says, but this is what it will think, and then boom! Your rankings drop.
Removing outdated content improves user satisfaction and engagement, positively impacting your website’s performance, keeping readers on your website longer (hence a lower bounce rate), and a positive signal to Google that the readers it’s sending to your website love it.
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engines prioritize fresh and relevant content. Outdated content can negatively impact your search engine rankings, reducing your visibility and organic traffic. Regularly removing and updating obsolete content with current and optimized content can help improve your SEO efforts.
When people search for things on Google, now Google shows them how long ago the content they’re finding was published or last updated. See this screenshot below:
Don’t miss out on the clicks or higher SEO rankings because of outdated content. Keep your content updated whenever you can.
4. Industry Compliance
Industries undergo changes in regulations, best practices, and standards over time. Outdated content may no longer align with the latest compliance requirements for your niche, potentially leading to legal or regulatory issues.
By removing outdated content, you ensure that your platform remains compliant and avoids any potential liabilities. If you were promoting a program that became fraudulent, you need to update your content as soon as possible to stay compliant.
5. Resource Optimization
Outdated content takes up storage space, server resources, crawling budget, and maintenance efforts. By removing outdated content, you free up valuable resources that can be allocated to more relevant and helpful content, improving overall website performance and efficiency.
6. Brand Perception
Outdated content reflects poorly on your website.
It may give the impression that you are not actively maintaining and updating your site, potentially diminishing trust with potential visitors.
Removing outdated content demonstrates your commitment to providing current and valuable information, enhancing your website’s perception.
Removing outdated content safely is necessary to ensure your website’s integrity and user experience and avoid the loss of good content that could still serve your readers.
Here are detailed steps on how to remove outdated content safely:
1. Conduct a Comprehensive Content Audit
Before removing any content, perform a thorough content audit to identify outdated pages, articles, or resources.
This audit should include checking website analytics, feedback or comments from your readers, engagement metrics, and SEO KPIs.
Look for content with outdated information, low user engagement, high bounce rates, or declining traffic.
In some cases, even pages with consistent traffic (not falling or rising) might get better performance after an content update.
2. Establish Clear Criteria for Outdated Content
Define specific criteria for determining whether the content is obsolete.
This could include outdated facts, statistics, references, technologies, or practices. Also, check for links to any broken or 404 pages.
Consider consulting subject matter experts or doing more research to ensure the content’s accuracy and relevance.
3. Prioritize Content for Removal
Once you have identified outdated content, prioritize the removal process.
Focus on pages with the highest negative impact on user experience, search engine rankings, or compliance issues.
Consider the potential consequences of removing content, such as broken internal links or adverse user reactions, and plan accordingly.
4. Archive or Update Relevant Information
For content that still contains valuable information but needs updates, consider archiving or updating it.
Archiving involves moving content to a separate section of your website and preserving it for reference. Updated content can be edited to reflect current information.
5. Implement Proper Redirects
When removing outdated content, implement proper redirects to guide users and search engines to the new addresses where they can find the most relevant and up-to-date version of the content.
To redirect visitors and search engines from old URLs to the new equivalent URLs, utilize 301 redirects.
This prevents users from encountering 404 errors and helps preserve your website’s search engine rankings because Google will direct users to the new page and keep your rankings intact.
6. Update Internal Links and References
After removing or updating content, review and update any internal links or references pointing to the outdated content.
This includes updating links within your website’s content, navigation menus, sidebar widgets, or related post sections.
Broken or incorrect internal links can negatively impact your user experience, which has a ripple effect on your website’s rankings.
7. Communicate Changes to Users and Stakeholders
Inform your readers about the removal or updating of outdated content.
Consider adding a notification on the affected pages that shows the content has been updated or removed. You can also publish a blog post explaining the reasons behind the changes.
This helps manage user expectations, reduces confusion, and demonstrates transparency with your audience.
8. Maintain a Backup of the Removed Content
Before removing any content, create a backup to preserve a copy of the original content.
This ensures that you have a record of the removed content for future reference or in case you need to restore it.
9. Handle 404 Errors Properly
Despite implementing redirects, some users may still encounter 404 errors due to outdated links or cached pages. Customize your 404 error page to provide a helpful message and suggest alternative resources or navigation options. Monitor your website for 404 errors and fix them promptly to enhance the user experience.
10. Update Xml Sitemaps and robots.txt Files
After removing or updating content, update your XML sitemap to reflect the changes.
This allows search engines to locate and index your updated information quickly.
Review your robots.txt file to ensure it doesn’t block search engine crawlers from accessing your updated pages.
11. Conduct Thorough Testing and Quality Assurance (QA)
Before and after removing outdated content, conduct thorough testing and QA checks.
Test your website’s navigation, internal links, redirects, and search functionality to ensure everything functions correctly.
Also, check for any unintended consequences of the removal, such as broken design elements or functionality.
12. Monitor Search Engine Indexation and Traffic
Keep a close eye on search engine indexation to ensure your updated content is properly crawled and indexed.
Monitor your website’s traffic, user behavior, and engagement metrics after removal to gauge the impact and identify any necessary adjustments.
SEO Factors to Remember Before Removing Your Outdated Content
When removing outdated information from your website, it’s critical to consider the possible influence on your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Here are the key SEO factors to keep in mind before removing outdated content:
1. Traffic and Rankings
Review the organic traffic and search engine rankings of the content you plan to remove.
If the content drives significant traffic or ranks well for relevant keywords, consider the potential impact on your website traffic and visibility.
Look for opportunities to update or repurpose the content instead of removing it to maintain the traffic and rankings.
Backlinks are crucial for SEO as they contribute to your website’s authority and search engine rankings.
If the writing has important backlinks, redirect the URLs to relevant pages on your site to maintain link equity and keep the SEO juice.
3. Internal Link Structure
Evaluate the internal links pointing to outdated content.
Internal linking plays a significant role in distributing link equity across your website and helping search engines understand the hierarchy and relevance of your content.
If you remove internally linked content, ensure that you update or remove those internal links to maintain a logical and organized internal link structure.
4. User Experience
Consider the impact on user experience when removing content.
If the outdated content provides valuable information or serves as a reference for users, removing it abruptly can disrupt their experience.
In such cases, it’s better to update the content with current information or redirect users to a relevant alternative rather than remove it entirely.
5. Redirect Strategy
Implement proper redirect strategies when removing content. If the outdated content has valuable traffic or backlinks, use 301 redirects to redirect users and search engines to relevant and updated pages.
This helps preserve link equity, maintain user experience, and prevent organic traffic loss.
6. XML Sitemap and Robots.txt
Update your XML sitemap and robots.txt file after removing the content. Remove the URLs of the outdated content from your XML sitemap to ensure search engines don’t crawl and index them.
Review your robots.txt file to ensure it doesn’t block search engine crawlers from accessing your updated pages.
7. Keyword Considerations
Evaluate the keywords targeted by outdated content. If the content ranks for valuable keywords or contributes to your keyword strategy, consider updating it with fresh information rather than obliterating it.
Ensure the updated content aligns with your keyword strategy and provides relevant and optimized content for target keywords.
Analyze the user intent and search queries behind outdated content. If the content no longer aligns with user intent or fails to address users’ queries effectively, it may be appropriate to remove it.
However, consider creating new content or optimizing existing pages to meet user intent and address those search queries, ensuring you don’t leave gaps in your content coverage.
9. Monitor and Adapt
After removing outdated content, monitor your website’s performance, organic traffic, and search engine rankings.
Analyze the impact of the removal and make necessary adjustments based on the data. If you notice significant drops in traffic or rankings, consider revisiting your content strategy and finding alternative ways to address user needs and search engine requirements.
Tools You Can Use to Remove Outdated Content
1. Content Management System (CMS) Tools
If your website is built on a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, you can leverage the built-in tools and plugins to manage and remove outdated content.
These CMS platforms often offer features to delete or update content in bulk, schedule content removal, and manage redirects.
2. Google Analytics
Google Analytics provides valuable insights into the performance of your website’s content.
Utilize the “Behavior” section to analyze engagement metrics, such as bounce rates, time on page, and exit rates.
Identify pages with low engagement that may be candidates for removal or updating.
3. Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a powerful website crawler that can help you identify outdated content and broken links.
It scans your website and provides detailed reports on URL status codes, metadata, and other SEO-related information.
Use it to find pages with outdated timestamps, low word counts, or other indicators of obsolete content.
4. SEMrush
SEMrush is an all-in-one SEO tool that offers various features to assist with content management.
Use the Site Audit feature to identify outdated pages, broken links, or issues affecting SEO performance.
The Content Analyzer tool helps you analyze content quality, relevance, and engagement metrics.
Use the “Coverage” report to identify any errors or issues with your pages, including outdated content.
The “URL Inspection” tool allows you to check individual URLs and request removal from Google’s index if necessary.
6. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO toolset that offers features to analyze and manage your website’s content.
Searching for specific keywords or subjects may uncover old information with the content explorer tool.
You can also utilize the Site Audit feature to identify pages with low traffic, low backlinks, or other indicators of outdated content.
Final Take
Removing outdated content from your website is crucial for maintaining relevance, user experience, and SEO performance.
You can safely identify and remove outdated content by following a systematic approach, utilizing tools, and considering SEO factors.
This process helps ensure that your website provides accurate and valuable information to your audience while maintaining its visibility and authority on search engine pages.
Keep your content fresh, up-to-date, and aligned with user needs to impact your website’s performance positively.
With backlinks being one of the leading Google ranking factors, link building has become very popular with every industry. Most marketers are desperate to grow their brand’s backlink profile and will do anything to gain authoritative links. However, there is a fine line between how you should and shouldn’t build your links, and it can drastically impact your Google rankings. That’s where white-hat link building comes in.
What Is White Hat Link Building?
White hat link building is an SEO approach that uses search engine optimization techniques to drive traffic to a site. Unlike the other link-building strategies, white hat aligns with Google’s webmaster guidelines and is least likely to generate a Google penalty that affects a site’s search engine rankings.
White hat strategies can be slower than other link-building forms, but they focus on long-term search engine optimization results.
White Hat vs. Black Hat vs. Grey Hat Link Building
Image Source: tycoonstory.com
White, gray, and black hat link-building strategies aim to help a site rank.
White hat link building is an ethical and honest way to optimize your site. It follows Google’s guidelines, but it might take longer to work. It involves developing original, high-quality content, legitimate link-building through relationships or guest blogging and creating a valuable user experience on your website. This approach will help Google find, index, and rank your site.
Black hat link building: This strategy works faster than the white hat form but goes against Google guidelines and is more of a short-term plan. With this strategy, you use tactics that can work until they don’t.
The tactics employed here may bring some wins, but they also come with high risks, as Google can penalize you for using them. Therefore, if you plan to achieve long-term goals for your business, it’s best to avoid these strategies altogether.
Some Black hat backlink techniques include spamming blog comments with links to your website, purchasing low-quality backlinks, and writing low-quality guest posts.
Gray hat link building uses techniques that are not strictly against Google’s guidelines but are outside what would be considered best practices.
For instance, if you contact an authoritative site and request them to link your site and ask for a fee, that is considered gray hat link building. Requesting a site to link to your site is a white-hat outreach strategy, but it’s against Google’s guidelines to pay for it.
5 Benefits of White Hat Link Building
1. For better website ranking
Besides following search engine rules and policies, white hat linking guarantees safer and solid ranking results. Although the results are slower and may take longer on the surface, they will become steady over time.
The best way to get a better ranking is to create insightful content. You can invite guest bloggers to create content for your site to attract traffic and build relationships with people in the industry.
2. Build Brand and Site Authority
White hat link building will also help you build your brand and site authority. Since Google uses backlinks to signal that your site publishes high-quality content and is relevant, the links tell Google that you are the authority in the space.
Additionally, a white hat helps you build trust with Google, which then helps build trust with your audiences or potential clients. These links can also help provide third-party credibility.
3. Drive More Traffic to Your Website
Despite helping you rank higher in SERPs, the White hat will also help you increase traffic to your website. You select a network of sites that direct audiences to your website when you build high-quality links.
When recognized as reliable sources, these sites transfer their authority and audiences to you. Google notices this, and the SERPs reflect that. Having a higher spot on SERPs means better site exposure, which could boost traffic and expand your customer reach.
4. Save Money
Seeing results with black hat SEO takes a short time, but it uses much more resources than the white hat method. With the White hat method, you will require less Money and more time because search engines do not need to update security parameters regularly. Think of this strategy as a long-term investment.
5. Improve Your Relationships With Other Websites
In most cases, you are required to reach out to other website owners and content managers to request for ask for links. Outreach is an opportunity to network and contribute to other people’s sites through guest blogs. You can continue to build upon all white-hat linking strategies with your new relationships.
For instance, if you have a great relationship with the manager or owner of a popular website, they will be willing to feature your site on their website or link to your content. This will help increase your website’s reputation, and you will likely rank on SERPs.
10 Techniques for White Hat Link Building In 2024
1. HARO Links
Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a free online service for journalists and bloggers to receive feedback from the public. It enables them to connect with experts on issues relevant to their reporting. With the proper techniques, HARO can help you obtain high-quality backlinks and build brand awareness for your PR efforts, regardless of your niche.
As the source, you must only sign up for daily queries from other bloggers or journalists looking for experts in different fields. Then, you will have the chance to respond to any queries that interest you. This will likely result in high-quality backlinks from seriously high-authority websites.
Acquiring backlinks via HARO is considered a white hat technique since it’s an honest way to get relevant links from high-quality sources.
How to Use HARO for White-Hat Link Building
The first step is to go to www.helpareporter.com and sign up for an account as a source.
Look for queries that match your expertise or niche.
Reply to queries that are relevant to your niche.
Create replies that are original, informative, and on-topic.
Have a link to your website in your signature.
Observe the responses you submit and respond to any questions from journalists.
2. Niche Edits
Niche edits or curated links are links from other websites in your area of expertise that mention or link to your site. These links point back to your site, improving your overall link-building strategy. Niche editing involves obtaining permission from other site owners and authors to link your site’s content to theirs, achieved via a contextual backlink.
There are usually three types of niche edits. The most organic type is the white hat approach. In simpler terms, this means manually reaching out to other site owners to exchange content value for a free link.
Even though this process is time-consuming, there is a high chance of building lasting relationships with fellow bloggers, enabling you to approach them again in the future with much ease.
How to Use Niche Edits for white hat Link Building
The first step involves finding websites or articles relevant to your niche. You can use SEO tools such as Ahrefs to see what sites link to your competitors.
Then, analyze and evaluate the relevance, authority, and traffic of the site you have picked. This will help you determine which sites or owners fit your link well.
Reach out to the webmasters for your link placement. It is advisable to send them a personal email pitching your link.
3. Guest Post-White-Hat link building
Guest posting or blogging is another white hat SEO strategy that will help improve its SEO ranking score and visibility in the SERPs and drive targeted traffic to your website.
A guest post is a piece of content you create for a site with a similar niche to yours to be featured there and get your word out. Your post will contain a section about the author, where you can link to your sites.
However, it would be best to link with credible websites with high domain authority. You can use free link-building tools to find the best sites or contact respected publications.
How to Use Guest Posts for White Hat Link Building
Find good link-building opportunities from sites in your niche
Contact the webmasters and craft a pitch that’s impossible to ignore
Write a high-quality guest post
Add contextual links to the post and homepage link in your author bio
Reply to comments on your post
4. Broken White-Hat link building
Broken link-building is another effective and impactful white hat link-building technique that can help you earn high-quality and relevant backlinks from other sites. It involves finding a dead page and requesting linkers to switch the links to a working page on your site. The idea is that they will do this because they don’t want to send audiences to a dead resource.
How to Use Broken Link Building
Find broken pages with backlinks. You can use Ahrefs’ free backlink checker for this.
Identifying or creating high-quality content that is worth linking to
Conduct outreach to persuade a site owner to replace the dead link on their page with your page link
5. Press Releases
Press Releases or PR Link Building uses public relations approaches such as press releases and media pitching to get valuable editorial links that direct back to your site. This white hat SEO backlink-building approach is a critical component of a Digital PR strategy that will result in measurable and consistent high-quality traffic coming to your site from relevant links.
The goal is to present your site as a thought leader and pitch to influential online publications. This strategy can be used to extend your content marketing strategy, aiming to generate publicity.
How To Get Started with PR Link Building
Identifying the target audience for your digital PR strategy
Research the content you will create to leave a mark on the audiences
Create relevant and high-quality content
Outreach and promote your content. Here, you can reach out to website owners, publishers, bloggers, influencers, and journalists to help generate enough buzz around your content.
6. Link Magnets
Link magnets are content assets created to acquire links. Instead of producing high-quality content and waiting for someone to link to you, link magnets incentivize other sites to link to you. This is an excellent strategy for attracting quality links, driving traffic to your site, and ranking higher on the search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Unlike the spam-oriented black hat link-building tactic, this white hat approach helps you acquire more links organically with minimal outreach. This saves time and helps get links from web pages that typically wouldn’t link to you.
Tips for making your site a Link Magnet
Write outstanding blog posts and place valuable resources on your webpage.
Create a section for news, trends, and tips on your page
Run an affiliate program for people in complementary businesses
Blog about issues that are controversial and people are passionate about
Create a forum on your website for your visitors to exchange ideas.
7. Content Promotion
Most of the white hat link-building strategies we have mentioned are low-volume approaches, but content promotion is quite the opposite. If you follow off-page SEO practices, you can quickly place many links on your site, resulting in a high volume of referral traffic and quick brand growth.
With this approach, you will create and publish unique content on your website. Then, reach out to several online media outlets, such as news stations or magazines. Then, request that they cover your content on their website. This strategy will showcase your brand’s expertise and help to build its authority in your niche.
Content Promotion Tactics and Tips
Know who you’re creating content for
Research and create content that is relevant to your audiences
Research Your Competitors and tackle their best-performing topics
Promote your content
8. Commenting on Authority Blogs
Blog commenting is a simple yet effective strategy that lets others know about your site. It involves publishing blog comments that link to a site or post. You can include the links in the comment or as a link behind your name.
When you leave a relevant and insightful comment on a blog post, you create a noteworthy connection with the site’s owner and the audience. Blog commenting helps you build online relationships with webmasters with authority sites, who then share backlinks to your site.
Tips on How to Write Comments for Your White-Hat link building Strategy
Add valuable stuff to the conversation.
Comment early
Don’t over-promote yourself.
Do you disagreeable or agree with the comments
Please include links to external references where they will be most helpful.
9. Reciprocal White-Hat link building
Reciprocal linking is another simple white-hat link-building tactic. It occurs when two or more site owners agree to link to each other on their sites. This kind of linking makes up a large portion of earned backlinks because you are trading outbound links for inbound links to your website.
However, you must know that not all sites are willing to engage in this kind of linking, especially if your site lacks authority.
How to Use Reciprocal Linking for White-Hat Link-Building
Make sure the link is to relevant content
Ensure the linking content adds value
Check SEO metrics of the linking site
Build authentic relationships
10. Podcasts Features
Lastly, Guest podcast features are a perfect way to get more white-hat links for your website. Since most brands and companies use podcasts, it shouldn’t be hard to find one you can feature.
The good thing is that you don’t need to feature in podcasts only within your niche. You could also feature in podcasts that concentrate on your job role, demographics, life events, etc.
When asked to feature in a podcast, request a free backlink in the podcast notes in exchange for your time. You could also use this and mention your brand as you speak.
Ways to Find a Podcast for Your White-Hat Link Building
Use Google to search for the “best of” lists.
Use a podcast newsletter.
Use social media platforms like Twitter to search for a specific topic.
Using niche podcast discovery apps
Final Take: White Hat link building Strategy
Gray and black hat link-building strategies are tempting since they are speedier and require less work. However, white hat strategies are the best ethical option for a long-term strategy with no risk.
Hopefully, this guide has given you a better understanding of white hat SEO and provided insight into some link-building techniques you can use.
