Help. What are the biggest mistakes affiliates make?

How can I improve my merchandising and product placement?

[jessiej]

So, I have my products formatted and laid out like a "gift shop" so people can come to my site/blog and browse topical merchandise. Conversion is OK, but I'd like to improve it.

What are some rookie mistakes that I might be making? For instance, I could hide my big, beautiful gift shop behind a single link that nobody notices.

What else? Should all my products have prices? Should I try and add personality to the descriptions? Should I link to the product details or to a search page that contains the products?

[wrgvt]

Remember that as an affiliate, what you really are is an advertiser. Your job is to pre-sell your site visitors before they click that e-commerce link so they're ready to buy when they get there. If you just throw up a bunch of links that seem unrelated with no content, you'll have minimal success. Some suggestions:

1) Try to keep the items listed topical and related to some niche. If you have a mishmash of books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, software, automotive, kitchen items, etc. which are unrelated, your visitors' eyes will glaze over and they'll go somewhere else.

2) Add content to your link. Make the information succinct, but grabs their attention. That's the heart of advertising.

3) Make it personable. With a limited number of items you can add a personal touch to descriptions of the items. If you own one and recommend it, then say so. "I have one of these and I love it!" Do a little research about each one and add content. "This is constantly one of the bestselling items at this site." "One critic called this the one item you can't do without." "This should perfect for that empty corner in your dining room."

4) If you can extract the price from a datafeed, and it's a great or competitive price, then display it.

5) Link directly to the product page where the product description and add-to-cart button are located. Make it easier for your visitors to buy it. Going to a search page often requires an extra click to get to a page where they add-to-cart. Make it easier for them, not more difficult.

Think like an advertiser, not a web programmer.

[jessiej]

Thanks for the suggestions...really helpful. Another question for you. My site is a niche site with existing content. I added the affiliate products with the idea that they would support the niche cause, add interest to the site and, of course, create a revenue stream.

Any ideas on ways to position/message a "shop" page to users? I currently am calling it a "gift shop" but I don't know that that's a great way to put it. How do users see a page with products?

[wrgvt]

I haven't tried a gift shop. I have individual product pages for each item with the e-commerce link on that page.

[voices]

Why do people come to your site? What search terms are they using to get there? Sell what they search for. If they don't come looking for a product, chances are they are not going to buy anything.

If you have a good content site and also put up products the products themselves should eventually be listed in the search engines and bring in people who are searching to buy.

100 visitors searching for a product will make more sales than 1000 visitors searching for information.