SEO companies using affiliate links

[rb77]

Not sure how I feel about SEO companies adding to their revenues with affiliate links. It’s not something I’ve come across until the last couple in the last months or so, and whilst their work ‘might’ be ok, it seems to be a little greedy and I’m a little surprised.

What do you think? Should reputable SEO’s use affiliate links?

[not2easy]

That depends on whether the products they're promoting are only promoted for the commissions or not. There should be a statement somewhere to state whether they have bought the products or only want you to buy it. Simple enough to visit the product site to see whether their buying advice came from the merchant's copy or is from their own experience.

[skaterpunk]

+1 on what not2easy said.

…it seems to be a little greedy and I’m a little surprised.

Unless we saw the personal financials; hard to say if greed or survival is the right term to use. The original services may not be making enough anymore, so an SEO may be trying to supplement their loss of income with affiliate links.

[Robert Charlton]

Should reputable SEO’s use affiliate links?

Sorry, but I'm not understanding the question. An SEO using affiliate links where? And what do you mean by "using"? Are you a merchant, or a publisher?

I'm having such a hard time imagining any situation where it might be appropriate for an SEO company to use affiliate links that I'm not getting what's going on.

a) Is the "SEO" setting up an affiliate program for you in which you're the merchant and you pay affiliates commissions to send you more traffic?

b) If you're a merchant, is the "SEO" putting affiliate links on your site because he/she feels you shouldn't waste the traffic that doesn't convert?

c) If you're a publisher, is the SEO "monetizing" your site for you?

d) Or, is the "SEO" company putting affiliate links to itself on your site, the way designers used to link back to themselves via footer links?

IMO, there's a conflict of interest in each of these cases, and, depending on the setup, the pros and cons vary widely. I'm assuming from the context of the question that the SEO would be taking either the commission or, in the case of situation (a), a fee to be your affiliate manager.

Or, am I completely off base about all of these options? I can't recommend any of them, though the reasons differ for each.

[brighteryeg]

As a potential client I think that might look a little odd - if not suspicious. I can't say I've ever seen it on an seo company website though.

[Robert Charlton]

I can't say I've ever seen it on an seo company website...

Yes, that's also a possibility, and in fact more likely than those I've mentioned; but I too have never seen it.

In general, I feel that ecommerce or professional service sites should avoid using affiliate links as a supplementary source of income. I think it generally looks shabby. Affiliate links do work well on product review sites, and in fact could be said to perform a service for the users of such sites.

My problem with the opening post, btw, isn't that it asks the question, but that the wording was ambiguous enough and the situation improbable enough that I truly didn't understand what the SEO was doing.

[rb77]

Apologies if I wasn’t clear. I’m talking about SEO service providers using affiliate links on their own Websites to bolster income.

Now I understand That times are tough out there but it smacks of wanting it all.

[Marty Rogers]

I personally don't see a problem with it, if it's from a great actionable post where they'd be linking to the product anyway. As long as the website isn't filled with them.