WordPress is a popular program because it is easy to use and very search-engine friendly. Image: adactio/Flickr/CC-BY

Using WordPress to maximize your affiliate commissions

When you are getting started with affiliate marketing, there are a lot of things to think about. Page titles and content, URL structure, link development, social networking profiles, traffic types, content management, search engine crawlers, keywords — the list goes on and on. If you want to get serious about search engine optimization and maximizing your affiliate commissions (making as much money as possible), you will need some help. A good content management system will help you take care of all of these things simply.

Why WordPress is good for affiliate marketing

WordPress was originally developed as a blogging platform. Over the years, though, it has developed into a powerful, user-friendly content management system. WordPress is especially useful if you are getting started in affiliate marketing because it automatically programs in most of the important features of a well-optimized website. It also helps that WordPress builds a blog right into your website, helping you keep your content fresh and updated.

WordPress is also a free, open-source project. There are thousands of themes, which means you have a lot of choices for how your website will look. There are also hundreds of plugins and widgets, which means that just about any function you want your site to perform, you can probably make it happen with WordPress. It’s free, it’s extendable, it’s customizable, and it’s search engine optimized. In other words, WordPress is the ultimate affiliate marketer’s web tool.

Setting up your affiliate marketing website

Setting up WordPress on your own domain can be done quickly — in less than an hour or two, even if you’ve never set up a website before. Owning your own domain does involve some cost, but at less than $5 a month, it’s a small investment that can pay for itself with improved affiliate commissions.

Step 1 – find hosting

Finding a good, reasonably priced web host is one of the most important parts of setting up your own website. Usually, shared hosting is the best solution. This is where you pay a host for some space on its web servers. Host sites www.hostgator.com and www.afmu.com are a couple of popular ones, but there are many others to choose from. You want to look for a host that offers:

• Good “uptime” – this is the amount of time that your website will be available online. Look for a host that advertises at least 95 percent uptime.
• PHP support – WordPress uses PHP to run your website, so your host needs to be able to run it.
• MySQL Databases – WordPress makes use of SQL databases to store your website information, so your host needs to support databases.
• FTP or SFTP access – FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is a way of accessing the space that you purchase to host your website. SFTP is simply “Secure File Transfer Protocol.” It is not required, but it makes installing your website much quicker.
• Not all good hosts provide this, but if you are aiming for simplicity, some hosts will also purchase and manage your domain for you. Some will even provide a free year of hosting if you buy your domain through from them.
• Some hosts will also provide automatic WordPress installation, usually through CGI Scripts. You don’t have to have this, but it can make installation easier.

Step 2 – Purchase your domain

A domain name is the web address where your website will live. Only domain names that are available can be purchased, and you can search for available domain names on GoDaddy or Domain.com. Once you have decided on a domain name, you’ll want to register (purchase) it. If your host offers domain name purchasing, you can do it through your host’s service. If you want to purchase it separately, there are many “registrars” you could use. Most offer one-year, three-year or five-year registration. You can choose how long you register your name for.

Step 3 – Point your domain to your website

If you purchased your domain through your host, skip this step. If you purchased your domain separately, you will need to tell the Domain Name Servers that direct traffic on the Internet how to find your website. Find the “nameservers” for your host. Log into your domain management and enter that nameserver information. It will take a few hours — sometimes as many as 24 — for all of the DNS services to redirect.

Step 4 – Download and install WordPress

If your host offers automatic installation of WordPress, follow your host’s instructions for installing WordPress. If you are going to be doing it by yourself, go to WordPress.org and download the latest version of WordPress. Follow the detailed instructions in the WordPress Codex for installing WordPress on your servers.

Step 5 – Find and install a theme

This is where WordPress starts to go to work for you. There are thousands of themes available, each one with its own features. In general, you want to find a theme that is:

• Widget-ready
• Compatible with the current version of WordPress
• Search engine friendly

Use a theme search engine, the WordPress theme directory, or even consult your affiliate offers to find a theme you like. Use the “upload” or “install theme” dialogue to install your choice of theme.

Step 6 – Set up your theme for SEO

The basic search engine optimization settings in WordPress are relatively easy to change. First, click “Settings” on your WordPress dashboard, then click “permalinks.” Select a format that includes page name or post name. Permalinks are the permanent urls your pages will have after they’re published. If you want your page to look more like a website, while still in Settings, select “reading,” and change the “Your latest posts” option to “A static page.” Finally, enter your blog name and tagline; include your keywords if they sound natural.

Step 7 – Get going!

Now that your WordPress blog is installed and running, you can get going. Create pages, write posts, and install affiliate offers as you wish. Your sidebars and footers are great places for affiliate advertisements. Under “Appearance” on your WordPress sidebar, if you select “widgets,” you can drag and drop the “text” widget into the body or footer of your website. Fill those widgets with HTML code provided by the affiliate to create clickable ads that will earn you commissions.  When it comes to creating content, write posts that are topical and relevant. By creating content and keeping your website optimized for search engines, you can help drive traffic to your website. More traffic means more clicks and more affiliate commissions.