I'm about to share some information that could very well cost me money if my competitors read it. 

That's ok though, I'll survive. 

If you're a content marketer this advice can help you grow your sales exponentially if you implement it. 

Keyword research is a huge sticking point for many new content marketers. 

It is hard to find keywords that..

  1. Are relevant to your niche
  2. Receive enough search volume to merit your time
  3. You can realistically rank for (at least in the next decade)

I struggled with this at first too.

I made a ton of mistakes when I started blogging and not performing proper keyword research was atop the list of fails. 

Ranking atop Google isn't easy so it's critical that we choose the right keywords to chase. All keywords are NOT created equal. 

The real value in ranking for a keyword isn't the traffic itself but the intent of the traffic

Understanding Traffic Intent

One of the common pitfalls I see content marketers make is that they don't create enough content that is targeted towards people who are close to actually buying something. 

It's important that you understand that each piece of content attracts a certain kind of reader. 

When choosing topics for our content, we need to gauge the intent of the visitors who would visit it before we write it. 

Every once in awhile we need to write content that really makes sales and when we do, it's important that you do it right. 

I'm not saying that you should ONLY write content that sells something. This article for example is a "good will" post. I'm writing this article to help you make money and in return, build our relationship. The better my relationship is with my audience and the more good will I create, the more money I make in the long run. Affiliate marketing really is a win-win business. 

When creating content for search engines, we need to make sure that we make a good amount of content that is targeted towards people who are "hot" traffic. People who are close to making buying decisions. 

Keyword intent

In the world of SEO, long tail keywords work to bring the hottest traffic out from all the noise. 

Here is what I mean. 

The word, "shoe" is not long tail. If someone types that into a search engine, it tells me almost nothing about the person.

They could be a 4th grader writing an essay on the history of shoe manufacturing for all I know. 

These sorts of keywords are also almost impossible to rank for and serve little purpose except that they can lead to tons of random traffic that won't be buying from you.

Long tail keywords can help us identify people who's closer to making a purchase.

Someone who searches, "size 9.5 Nike AirMax" is clearly interested in purchasing a pair of shoes.

This is the magic of long tail keywords.

If we can rank for them, we get the traffic which means we get the sales.

"At the Checkout" Keywords

These are four words that when paired with your affiliate product title, get traffic that is ready to buy. 

You should try to incorporate these into your content and consider running traffic to the long tail keywords you make with them. 

1. [Affiliate keyword] + "Offer"

2. [Affiliate keyword] + "Coupon"

3. [Affiliate keyword] + "Discount"

4. [Affiliate keyword] + "Promo"

These words are powerful because they target only buyers who are extremely close to buying.

So, take these words and pair them with your main affiliate keyword.

For example, if I'm selling Clickfunnels, I'd love to create a piece of content that ranks highly for any (or all) of the following.

  • "Clickfunnels Offer"
  • "Clickfunels Coupon"  
  • "Clickfunnels Discount"
  • "Clickfunnels Promo"

What if you don't have a coupon code?

If you don't have a discount offer, that's ok, you can still finesse these words into your content. 

Writing something like, "unfortunately, there is no current Clickfunnels discount available to the public."

This isn't ideal, but it is worth a quick addition. 

Hot Keywords

"Shopping Around" Keywords

Some keywords indicate that a buyer wants more information. With good persuasive sales copy, we can convert these easily into sales. 

1. [Affiliate keyword] + "Review"

2. [Affiliate keyword] + "Pricing" 

3. [Affiliate keyword] + "Features" 

4. [Competitor] + "Alternative"

Buyers who search for these keywords are looking for more information to make their buying decisions (or not). 

  • "Clickfunnels review"
  • "Clickfunnels pricing"
  • "Clickfunnels features"
  • "Leadpages alternative"

Do you know some SEO tricks to sell more affiliate products? Leave them in the comments!