SEO, SEA, or Both?

I have seen too many affiliates who focus either on SEO (search engine optimization) or SEA (search engine advertising) to drive traffic to their affiliate sites. Many super-affiliates swear by Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search marketing services when it comes to generating leads. I don’t disagree with them, but if you treat affiliate marketing as a business, then you should always look for ways to achieve synergies across your marketing efforts. By focusing only on search engine advertising, you leave all your eggs in one basket. Besides, why would you leave SEO and free traffic out of your marketing plans when you can use it to help bring your overall CPA down.

But it’s not just about SEO or PPC. You should try other avenues such as display media and joint ventures to drive even more traffic to your site. If you have used any successful Clickbank products, you have probably seen how effective the concept of JV is. You sell a product and drive people to your partners site to make yet another sale. It could even be that you generate e-mail leads for them. Regardless, you both end up in a better place.

Affiliate marketing is about leaving no door unturned. So don’t worry too much about getting things wrong. Everybody does. The key is to learn from mistakes and get it right the next time!