Matthew Widdop
Matty is a Junior SEO Executive at Intelligency, helping our clients to improve their digital performance. Matty is currently studying for his Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer apprenticeship and has completed a Sport Journalism Degree at the University of Huddersfield.
Google’s latest core update, March 2024, has seen affiliate websites being negatively impacted and losing large portions of their rankings and traffic. In this article, we’ll be looking at the reasons why affiliate marketing has taken a hit and what users can do to keep their sites on top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
What are affiliate websites?
Affiliate websites promote third-party products through links and earn commissions. For example, if a user creates a blog post around the top ten best aftershaves, he may drive traffic to the website and general sales for the aftershave companies. It’s, therefore in their interest to pay him a commission, so they appear on his blog post.
Why are affiliate sites being negatively affected?
Google released their latest core update in March 2024. The update was aimed at unhelpful, low quality and spammy content, to improve the user experience.
However, since the updates release many affiliate sites have been reporting loss of ranking and traffic, despite creating relevant content.
Sites that are using affiliate marketing and providing links without adding any real valuable content to the platform have been negatively impacted.
Also, Google has placed an emphasis on branded search terms in rankings with customers targeting specific products. Therefore, affiliate sites that are not using branded search terms in the SERP are also having their rankings negatively impacted.
How to improve an Affiliate site
There are a number of ways to improve an affiliate site and make sure it appears higher in the search rankings. These are the most important rules a site should follow:
Create high-quality content
Creating high-quality content will always be the most important way to rank on Google search. Content should be in-depth and give readers new information that can’t be found anywhere else on Google, not simply splicing other pieces of content together.
Avoid spammy content
Google regularly releases spam updates and keeps its spam policy visible to the public, so it is free for users to see. By complying with Google’s spam policy and making sure your website is up to date you will drastically improve your search rankings.
Regular site audits
A site audit is the process of analysing a website to see how well all its different components function. Regular audits are essential to maintain a healthy site that appears high up in the SERP.
Affiliate marketing still has its place on Google SERP, but sites will have to continue to adjust to the ever-changing landscape if they are to survive.
