How to create the best affiliate marketing landing pages

So you have your affiliate network setup, or you've joined an affiliate marketing program, your content is locked and loaded, and you're ready to make some money.

Except, all your hard work in building your affiliate marketing strategy is not seeing the returns you would like.

A well-structured and effectively optimized landing page may be the solution to your problem.

Read on as we guide you through creating the best landing page for affiliate marketing so that you can start reaping the rewards.

What makes an effective and high-converting affiliate landing page?

An affiliate landing page promotes a third-party product or service with the ultimate aim of turning visitors into paying customers.

However, while this type of page doesn't require a visitor to buy anything, it does allow the reader to learn more about a product or a service before they purchase.

The conversion occurs when the reader clicks through the affiliate's webpage to buy the item or service.

There are a few things that an effective affiliate landing page does that the typical landing page does not. Let's take a look at some of the defining features of a good landing page so that you can increase your affiliate income.

Know the target audience very well

It goes without saying that the more information you have about your reader's wants and needs, the better you can tailor the content and visuals you provide.

Understanding your intended market is an aspect of online marketing that is often neglected, despite being one of the most important elements to success.

But how do you really understand your audience? How do you ensure that you reach each one of them?

Extensive and targeted data collection is the answer, along with the detailed interpretation of the collected information.

Here are three ways you can find out more about your target customers and how to reach them better.

1) Google Analytics

Google Analytics is free and allows you to track every single visitor to your site. You'll see where they came from, how long they've stayed, and what they did while there.

Through this data, you will notice patterns that will inform your content production. For example, if you see that most of your readers come from a certain area, you can approach affiliates in that region as partners.

2) Ask your customers directly

There are many ways to approach your target market with questions to inform your research.

The use of surveys is one such tool and can be placed on your website or in bulk emails.

According to PeoplePulse, market research surveys yield a 10-30% response rate. To boost this rate, you can add incentives or issue follow-up emails to responders.

To maximize the benefits of a survey tool, such as the templates provided by Survey Monkey, structure your questions with a specific goal in mind.

For example, use detailed questions instead of open-ended ones that could be misinterpreted.

3) Listen to what they say and collate the data

Now that you have your responses from your target audience, the tricky part is putting together all of the information and making sense of it.

It may take some work, but the payoff is that you will better understand your target audience.

Create content and visuals that lead to conversions

The goal of an affiliate landing page is not only to entice readers to find out more about the product but also to drive them into buying the product or service.

First, you need to tap into the reader's emotions with your words and images.

Research suggests that 95% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously. This means that instead of buying something using logic and reason, they do so with their emotions.

You can also make use of social proof, a powerful tool that can influence consumers' decisions.

Social proof can take the shape of testimonials and reviews from satisfied customers, all of which will create a more trustworthy, reliable perception of your brand.

The bottom line is that good-quality content designed to speak directly to each reader, making them feel like they're the most important person in the room, will yield better purchasing results than generic content.

Here's how to achieve content that will arouse your reader's emotions and lead to higher click-through rates.

1) Write a compelling headline and hook

The headline and first few sentences of your copy will determine whether a reader continues reading or leaves the webpage, which means it needs to grab attention immediately and retain it.

At the same time, you need to consider the process that brings the reader to the webpage. By paying careful attention to SEO keywords in your headline and other titles, you will rank higher in search engine searches, resulting in more traffic to your site.

Returning to the target audience, try using action words to coax your reader toward the end goal. Words such as "buy," "sell," "purchase," and "sale" are good starting points.

2) Keep it brief

You'll want to keep your content to the point and make it easy for people to understand what you offer without reading too much text.

Again, use your keywords effectively to boost your SEO rank and keep your content short, simple, and to the point.

3) Make it visually appealing

Don't overload your page with too much information or images. This will only confuse users and make your landing page look rather unappealing.

Stick to a simple layout and keep it neat and concise.

However, if you do have a lot of relevant information to put out there, consider breaking up your copy into multiple sections and making each section take up half a single screen.

At the same time, if you have a lot of images, consider a photo reel instead of placing them all on the page.

Place CTAs strategically

Your call-to-action (CTA) buttons are key components on your landing page. They tell your visitors exactly what they're signing up for and whether it's worth clicking through to the affiliate site.

Place your CTA near the center of your page, where it is in full view of your visitors.

And be direct in your CTA by using action vocabulary that is to the point, such as "buy now," "download now," or "sign up."

At the same time, avoid using too many affiliate links in your CTA. It will only confuse readers.

Optimize your landing page

To increase traffic to your landing page and potential sales for your affiliate, optimize your landing page for mobile.

This year, there are currently around 302 million smartphone users in the United States. So consider that if your landing page is unsuitable for mobile use, you lose out on millions of potential customers.

In order to optimize your landing page, use a responsive design that will look great and work well on any device, whether PC, tablet, or mobile.

In addition, test your landing page to ensure it loads quickly and is free of any glitches that will cause the reader to wait too long.

Finally, you can consider adding a video to your landing page, which helps drive conversions, especially when paired with a strong CTA.

Summing it up

An affiliate landing page is an effective digital marketing tool to increase commission rates.

However, you want to ensure you design an effective affiliate landing page that shows results in conversions and revenue. You can do so by following the recommendations detailed above.

From ensuring your page is visually appealing and your content is relevant and value-driven, to understanding your target market needs, your chances of success will increase.

For more on affiliate marketing and e-commerce products to help you and your business grow, check our our use cases page.