Affiliate Links, Affiliate Marketing, and SEO Let's Go!
Ok, so you probably have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about from the title of this post. Don’t worry; after reading the rest of this, you’ll gain a better understanding of the development within affiliate marketing that’s changing the dynamics of search engine optimization.
A Little Background on Affiliate Links
First, let’s take a look back. Affiliate links – links from other sites to yours within an advertising network – did not typically help natural search rankings.
Typical affiliate links would go straight to a link network (example: http://cj.com/t_a.php?id=00292282) and get redirected to your site. Because of the tracking parameters within the URL string, as well as the fact that the incoming visit was based from a redirect, affiliate programs did nada in helping out merchants in organic search efforts.
A Better Way to Link
One business has changed that, however. Link Connector has created a technology that allows affiliate programs to be executed by code that’s installed on a merchant’s server. No longer does the redirect need to take place from the affiliate network.
This technology is called “naked link technology” and essentially allows a web publisher to use a query-free outbound link. When the page loads, code on the merchant side communicates affiliate details with Link Connector and drops the cookie on the user.
What Does This Have to Do With SEO?
Well, for starters, your affiliate campaign is going to assist in link building. A website can dramatically improve the speed at which a link campaign is being conducted by using Link Connector. Link Connector has signed some high-profile companies such as American Greetings, Gunther and Wordtracker. Their publisher network is likely far behind CJ and LinkShare, but their technology makes it worthwhile to engage.
