The Four Tech Investments Every Affiliate Blogger Needs to Make in 2017

As the old saying goes: if you build it, they will come.

Unfortunately, it takes a bit more than that in the modern digital age to get your affiliate blog off the ground.

While making money through blogging is very much possible, creating cash streams that actually pay your bills is easier said than done.

However, investing in the proper technology on-site can help ensure that you stand apart from the crowd, drive serious traffic and make real money in the process.

While the calls to create “great” and “unique” content as means of differing from the competition is sound advice, it’s what’s happening on your site’s backend that really makes a difference. After all, your site’s performance and ability to drive revenue should be rooted in data rather than a guessing game, right?

So, what exactly do you need to set up a sales funnel and create an affiliate blog that not only survives but actually thrives in 2017? Consider nailing down the following tech investments for starters.

Search Engine Optimization

The content you create for your affiliate blog is more or less worthless without properly acknowledging the importance of SEO. For example, do you understand your competition’s SEO performance versus your own site and what you need to do to ultimately rank above them?

Remember: your on-site content and keywords strategy aren’t competing in a vacuum. If you haven’t spent some serious time in Google’s keyword planner and understand what long-tail keywords you can realistically rank for, chances are you’re hurting your own efforts. Make sure you understand how to attract hyper-specific within your niche and make sure no stone is left unturned in terms of traffic.

After all, highly targeted niche traffic can convert much easier than those who stumble upon your site by accident. You need to understand your analytics and on-site performance inside and out if you want to build a site that lasts for the long-term.

Conversion Optimization

Speaking of conversions, you need to ensure that your site ticks the following boxes to make sure that you’re actually maximizing your site’s money-making potential:

• Link placement, ensuring that your visitors move through your sales funnel
• Calls-to-action, ensuring that your visitors click and take the actions that you want them to take
• Site architecture, ensuring that it’s easy for your visitors to get from Point A to Point B

Beyond split-testing your site copy and deals, you may want to also use heat-mapping software to understand where your visitors are spending a bulk of their time on-site. Whether you use a specialized solution or Google Analytics as a reference, small optimization tweaks can transform your site’s bottom line over time.

Responsive Design

Speaking of small tweaks, even the subtlest elements of design can have a huge impact on your affiliate site’s performance. For example, today’s users expect sites to load quickly and could potentially bounce if your site is too bulky or difficult to navigate. You should, therefore, consider the benefits of responsive design and perhaps even consider conducting a UX test to ensure that your site is easy to navigate.

Video Marketing

While video marketing may once have been an enigma, a video is absolutely crucial for modern affiliates.

Considering that video has one of the highest content ROIs and can be used to create educational content to seal the deal with your traffic, you can’t afford to not invest in a video in 2017. From VSLs to product tutorials, you need little more than a script and a smartphone to get started via video.

Money-making blogs are about much more than just content creation and finding a niche. Take your blog to the next level and unlock its money-making potential by investing your time and energy on the right tech to make it happen.