Does Your Affiliate Site Beg for Money?

Most people don’t intentionally create websites to beg, unfortunately many of them do.

Unless you have a shopping site, most visitors come to your site because they are looking for information. (Especially if they found you through a search engine.)

Of course there are exceptions to this, but for the majority of the time this is true. (Searching for information is still one of the most common tasks performed online.)

Pretend You are a First-Timer Visitor

Take a look at your homepage from the perspective of someone who just found it through Google.

What is the first thing they see?

Are they blasted with Google ads?

Do they have to scroll down half a page before they get to your content because you have advertisements yelling at them to click or buy something?

Does the first paragraph of your site have a benefit-rich statement that will quickly tell people how your site will help them, or are you promoting a product?

Instead of asking for money, how about giving away something valuable like a free report, e-book, or good old fashioned help.

It’s little things like this that make all the difference. As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This holds true online too.

On all of my sites, I try to make the first few paragraphs rich with audience benefits and/or give something away. I want people to realize that they will experience something different than my competition.

I realize I only have a few seconds to grab their attention so, I’m OK with forging an AdSense click or two in exchange for a lifetime visitor.

I am looking at the net effect.

It’s easy to believe that it’s best to get the ad click before a person leaves your site, but what if they never come back? Why would they? You haven’t given them anything to chew on except ads or a sales pitch.

Wouldn’t you rather sell them on your brand and information, hoping this will encourage them to come back again and again? This could ultimately result in multiple AdSense clicks down the road and even more earnings from products you might sell or from affiliate commissions.

Trust and credibility are two factors you must have if you want long-term success online. And you can’t gain either through an AdSense ad or a flashing banner. But you can gain them by helping or giving away something of value.

I have nothing against ads, of course. But I do have something against sites where ads seem to overshadow the content.

Remember, some of the highest earning affiliate sites, initially appear as if they don’t have much to sell at all.

Ponder that one for a minute.