How to create a website for affiliate marketing – Forbes Advisor India

If you want to get into affiliate marketing, creating a website can streamline the process. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or not, our advanced website builder and free hosting plans make it easier than ever to create an affiliate marketing website.

However, just like any other business or job, creating and running an affiliate marketing website requires planning and consistency. Before we get into the steps of building a website, let's explain some basic concepts for those just starting out.

What is affiliate marketing?

In our daily lives, we often recommend products and services to our friends and family. It could be the restaurant you visited last week, or a new e-commerce platform that sells oversized t-shirts with funky designs.

In a way, you're helping the company acquire another customer. This is exactly what affiliate marketing is all about. The difference, however, is that the recommendations are made online, through videos, social media posts, and websites, and you are compensated for the recommendations.

Creative analogies aside, here’s what the affiliate marketing process actually entails. First, choose a specific product from a brand and promote it online by joining an affiliate program. When someone purchases a product through your affiliate link, you receive a small commission. That's all.

Why do I need a website for affiliate marketing?

Starting an affiliate marketing business is easy. However, as you collaborate with more brands and add products to your portfolio, it becomes difficult to manage all the different links if you primarily use social media accounts or video sharing platforms.

Setting up a website allows you to streamline your affiliate portfolio. Save time by having all your products and purchase links in one place. Additionally, creating a well-maintained website with thorough product descriptions and ratings can increase credibility, drive traffic, and diversify without much effort.

Now that you have fixed these concepts, let's start taking the necessary steps to create a website that will help you generate a source of income in 2024.

Steps to create a website for affiliate marketing

Please select a genre

The first thing you need to do is find your genre or niche. This will help you promote your favorite products. Try to come up with something that really interests you. By doing so, you will be able to continue your business over the long term without feeling burdened. This also helps you connect and sell to specific users who are looking for similar products.

For example, if you love to travel, you can create a great affiliate website centered around related products such as flights, accommodations, rental cars, extreme weather gear, and other readily available accessories. Similarly, if you love smartphones, you can affiliate with over a dozen products, including screen guards, phone covers, headphones, power banks, chargers, cables, and more.

In addition to finding a niche that interests you, you should also spend time determining profitability and market trends. Once you understand the genre, start looking for platforms to work with affiliate marketers. Considering the examples above, Booking.com, Skyscanner, and Amazon could be great affiliate partners.

• Find a niche that interests you.
• Conduct online research to find relevant products and services.
• Find the right affiliate partner.
• Sign up for our affiliate marketing program.

Decide what type of website to build

Once you've decided on your genre, the next step is to decide on the type of website you want to run. The easiest way is to start a blogging website around that topic and find a meaningful anchor to place your affiliate links. However, if you don't want to write a detailed blog, you can create a simple retail listing website. Both of these methods are beginner-friendly and require little investment.

However, if you are confident in your skills and already have a good reputation among brands, you can create a review website where you can post detailed reviews. On the other hand, if you are interested in website design and have the necessary knowledge to handle a slightly more complex backend, you can also make use of product/price comparison websites.

• Blogs and retail sites are easier to maintain and update than comparison websites with large databases.

Purchase relevant domain and hosting services

Once you know the type of product you want to sell, creating a domain name becomes easy. Brainstorm some ideas and check if they are available at domain name aggregators. Your domain name should include keywords related to your field of expertise.

For example, if you want to start a blog about traveling to India, “theindiantraveller” might be a good domain name because it includes all the keywords. I checked on GoDaddy and found that a domain with '.in' extension is available for INR 699 per year. Similarly, you can use the domain aggregator of your choice to get the domain name you want.

The next thing you need to do is choose a hosting service. Most affiliate websites have access to affordable and effective shared hosting plans. There are several hosting providers to choose from, including Shopify, Squarespace, and WordPress. Some hosting providers have dedicated online sales plans and website builders.

For example, Bluehost Plus WordPress hosting plan costs INR 279 per month for a period of 36 months. We offer unlimited website hosting, unmetered SSD storage and bandwidth, and a free domain name for 1 year. However, this is just an example and you can purchase any hosting service that you think fits your affiliate marketing vision.

• Get the domain name you need from a trusted aggregator.
• Decide which hosting service you need based on additional services and features.
• When getting a hosting plan, look out for beneficial AI website builders.

Create a crisp and attractive website

Given that the main purpose of the website is to encourage users to purchase recommended items, the overall theme, such as background color, font style/size, placement of purchase links, and overall website appearance is appropriate. Please make sure it is. each other.

Setting up a website from scratch has never been easier, as most hosting service providers now offer AI-based website design tools and customizable templates. One of his pro tips is to look at some of her websites in your field of expertise to get an idea of ​​their design language. You can always try new themes, but they should be easy to follow.

Start planning your content

Once you've set up your domain name and hosting service, you'll need to repeat the publishing process, so get familiar with it. Most content management systems (CMS) are beginner-friendly.

However, if you're having trouble understanding it, consider taking an in-depth YouTube crash course. These videos often include all the necessary details, from how to publish content to managing his CMS, scheduling posts, uploading images and videos, and more.

The type of content you publish is also important, as it attracts your audience and helps establish your credibility. For example, you can curate several travel blogs around topics like “Things to keep in mind,” “5 essentials you need,” and “best waterproof trekking shoes.”

Creating an editorial calendar will help you keep track of the blogs and retail listings you want to create, as well as your ongoing progress. As mentioned above, try to match your blog and retail store listings.

• Familiarize yourself with your CMS.
• Create your own content calendar.
• Please try to match the posting or retail listing.

Add affiliate links to your website

Once you have some posts ready, place the affiliate links you got from your affiliate partners. Most modern programs offer a catalog of products that you can promote through your website. Typically, you'll need to copy the affiliate link with your credentials and embed it in a blog post or create a retail listing.

Different affiliate programs work differently and therefore have different purposes for placing links. For example, if you just want to redirect potential customers from your blog to your aggregator website, text embeds will work in most cases. However, if the purpose of your link is to sell, you may want to create a product listing with an attractive “buy now” button or high-quality images.

Drive traffic to your site through SEO

There are several ways to drive traffic to your website. The most common method is search engine optimization (SEO). This will not only help you optimize the blog you are creating, but also help you develop trending and relevant ideas, which will help you gather a larger audience.

For basic keyword research, you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator, and Moz Keyword Explorer. Use these platforms to see current search trends and trending/related keywords. Then put these keywords into your blog's description, subheadings, and body text.

For example, when you enter the keyword “travel” in Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator, it suggests a large number of searches for related keywords such as “travel bag.” You can now create a blog post listing 5 travel bags from your affiliate portfolio based on keywords.

• Performing keyword research can help you find relevant topics and products to build an audience for your affiliate website.

Use social media to grow traffic and sales

You can also use other tools like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels to redirect traffic to your affiliate website and increase sales. For example, if you find a great travel bag and want to promote it on social platforms, you can get it, create a short, engaging video, and upload it to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other social platforms. Masu. is active and has actionable links where interested customers can purchase the product.

Finally, this article outlines the general steps for setting up an affiliate marketing website. However, the exact steps may vary depending on the choices you make along the way.