You hear lots of stories these days from people who have struck it rich through affiliate programs.  Often times, an entrepreneur creates a unique affiliate site and markets it well, bringing in a huge audience and an even bigger income. 

While this happens all the time, usually a single affiliate site alone will not make you rich.  Most super affiliates subscribe to what I call the "Rinse And Repeat Process."  After they operate an affiliate site that is successful, they make another site on the exact same subject and do it again.  And again and again and... you get the idea.  It is not uncommon for an affiliate marketer to have dozens, even hundreds, of sites on the exact same subject. 

These super affiliates enjoy an increased market share compared to an affiliate with only one site.  A smart SEO marketer can often have several sites in the top 10 of the search results. 

I prefer making complimentary sites, rather than exact replicas.  This allows you to share traffic between your sites. For example, your affiliate site which promotes flowers could refer customers to your chocalote candies site. 

Don't put all your revenue eggs in one basket.

Multiple sites make up a diverse web portfolio.  If you have several sites promoting different subjects or merchants you are limiting the risk of losing significant revenue if the genre fades or the merchant goes out of business. 

Avoid These Pitfalls

Do not make a new site until your current site is fleshed out.  Is there sufficient content?  Have you filled your advertising space?  Are there any products or services you can offer your visitors, either yourself or through an affiliate program?

Avoid cookie-cutter sites.  Too many affiliates throw up a site instantly by throwing up one of their exisiting sites and changing a few words here and there to match the subject of their new site.   This is likely to get filtered by some search engines as being "duplicate content," leaving potential referral commissions hanging in the ether.

Make sure you do not use templates provided by the merchant or standard templates from a software program.   That's because you're competitors are using them too.  Depending on the industry and merchant, you could have hundreds of competitors all sharing the same template as you.  Remember the duplicate content filter?  Besides, you want to stand out from your competitors.  The last thing you want to happen is to lose a referral commission because your site reminded the consumer of another site which didn't have what they were looking for. 

Don't leave your sites behind.  Many affiliates do not maintain their websites, preferring to spend their time making new sites.  That may seem wise on the surface.  However, search engines are beginning to reward sites that are current and active.  They do this by measuring how often content is added or updated on your site.  Sites that are not maintained will fall in the search rankings and more active affiliate sites will position themselves at the top.  Besides, consumers want to know someone is home.  Encourage repeat visitors by maintaining your site.

How can you build new sites while continuing to maintain old ones?  If you don't have the necessary time, consider hiring some help through an online freelance site.  They are surprisingly inexpensive.   Or hire a local student to handle trivial tasks while you build your affiliate sites. 

Build multiple sites the right way and enjoy your multiple sources of income. 

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