5 Common Mistakes Affiliates Make


Find out which common mistakes you might be making on your affiliate marketing platform.

Affiliate marketing is a challenging activity whether you’re a green thumb or even a seasoned expert, and the mistakes affiliates might make are abundant. More so, they could be detrimental to their reputation and their performance. Affiliate marketing is a delicate art that consists of balancing the increases of traffic and conversion rates and not getting blindsided by them.

Success isn’t something that happens by falling into your lap. It requires careful planning and dedication on your part. Something that may seem irrelevant or like a small blunder to you can create a snowball effect that you might not be able to fix later on.

Discover the top 5 common mistakes affiliates make below!

  • Gushing over products or services
  • Not using SEO properly... Or not at all
  • Missing the mark with your target audience
  • Not optimizing your campaigns
  • Being stuck behind

1.Gushing over Products or Services

Stellar reviews are honest reviews. That means you need to be upfront about the product or service you’re promoting and openly discuss its advantages or disadvantages. If your reviews only focus on the good sides of said product, it may seem like you’re biased or not genuine with your audience.

This can lead to you losing your credibility, which could then turn into a significant drop in the amount of traffic you attract and the sales you’ll make.

Respect your followers and deliver honest reviews that give them the full picture. Rose color glasses are the first thing to fall once someone catches on to dishonesty, and your reputation may not recover.

2. Not using SEO Properly... Or At All

Search engine optimization, more commonly known as SEO, is yet another aspect of a platform that tends to get neglected. That often translates into search engines like Google and Bing to place such video channels or websites to the back pages.

Why is that?

Well, these engines run on algorithms that scan your pages for keywords. If you choose to write a YouTube video description, a blog post, or a review without using keywords and hyperlinks, you can blame them for not giving you the time of day.

If you want to make it to Google’s top search results, you’re going to have to do better than that. Research your niche’s most used keywords and start incorporating them into the written segments on your platform.

3. Missing the Mark with Your Target Audience

This issue is twofold. First, you might be targeting a group that is too diverse to pinpoint the average Joe of the audience you’d like to approach. This could mean you’re trying to promote the same service to the elderly and young adults with the same campaign.

Each group has its own wants and needs. This applies also applies to the language and visuals you’ll use on your campaigns. Choose your group wisely and adjust your content to attract your audience.

The second part is whether your content is strong enough. If your conversion rates are weak despite being on point with your selected target group, your content might not be cutting it.

4. Not optimizing Your Campaigns

Once a campaign is running, it’s vital to check its progress and make changes, if necessary. After a few days, you should get an idea of whether your campaign is cutting it or not. 

While it’s fine to be patient, you don’t want to completely ignore your campaign’s performance. Not making any adjustments despite a lackluster performance.

There is also a related common mistake where you don’t A/B test your campaigns before you go online with them. If you’re unsure of how your target audience may respond to a certain ad or offer, you should do a sample test for two versions of the same campaign before choosing the final version.

5. Being stuck Behind on Trends

Trends differ from one another when it comes to their shelf lives. While some trends might only last a few weeks, others could stand strong for years. When addressing a trend, you’ll need to determine how long you think it will stick around and whether your target audience will be affected by it.

However, don’t let yourself be the last one to jump on board. Waiting too long could have your audience wondering whether you’re out of touch.

A good example of a longstanding trend in cryptocurrencies. Even though many were quick to warn of the Bitcoin bubble and its inevitable doom, this altcoin recently crossed the $35,000 threshold. Given the power dynamic between Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market, other digital currencies had also enjoyed a serious upswing, including Ethereum and Litecoin.

We’ll release the second part of this article soon. In the meantime, feel free to read more of our tips to improve your performance here!