Affiliates dominating search

[Gajandra D]

When advertisers allow affiliates to bid on keywords are they really relinquishing the reins to affiliates. when more and more of them start to do this will it leave the merchant in the dust so to speak. If the affiliates exhaust all the possible keyword combinations will it eventually push the merchant out of the search market. Should affiliates be allowed this kind of leverage although it brings in the sales. Shouldn't the merchants have keyword restrictions and conditions as to which keyword they cannot bid on?

[David Tan]

Well, it depends on how much the merchant will focus on getting search engine traffic. If they know how to rank better and want to drive lots of traffic from search engines, then obviously, they will do it themselves.

However, there are merchants who have no clue and would waste the opportunity if the keywords are restricted. So they leave it to affiliates to position themselves in search results and get traffic through these affiliates.

[Gajandra D]

So in other words when merchants are either too lazy or too busy to get search traffic or maybe clueless like you suggested then allowing affiliates to do it for them works well. So maybe now merchants can concentrate on providing better service and merchandise to customers and allow the affiliates some leeway as to how best to generate sales. Still works out to a win win solution for the merchant provided his profit margin does not shrink too much. Good customer service and timely order processing will ensure a happy customer and make them return to buy later. Perhaps it is best to use affiliates as a sales force in free lance mode.

[David Tan]

Yeah, sometimes you just gotta let others handle the internet aspect of your business, especially for business owners that are not really into it. Especially for those that are just starting, they won't know what's happening and it's better to outsource and let affiliates deal with generating online sales.

Can't be help sometimes. Late adopters in e-commerce or forced into adapting because of the competition edging your business using services provided through the internet and you just want start it but with no idea how.

[Tephus]

Well you get what you paid for. Outsourcing is great, but it'll cost you. And many merchants are not willing to do that, resulting in poor sales and a flopped marketing campaign.

[David Tan]

One of the problems with SEO is that it's a constant competition. It's not a one time thing where you make all the right configurations and have the right articles in place and be at the top of the list indefinitely.

When everyone wants to be noticed in search engines, you gotta continue the effort to fight your way to the top. It can be frustrating when you find that the keywords that you're aiming for keeps listing your site in subsequent pages of the search engine after months of work.

Ofcourse, there are other fast alternative methods such as online advertising, affiliate marketing, etc.

[David Tan]

So... would you say that affiliates are generally BETTER than merchants when it comes to SEO? I wonder if 10 affiliate sites in the search page justifies the merchant's site being at the bottom when searching with restricted keywords. Won't they get more sales that way through the search engines, rather than have more of the competition's sites crowding the first page.

[GreedIsGood]

I think it doesn't matter if the affiliates are better cause in the end, the sales will go back to the merchants. The merchants should focus on their product and let the affiliates spread the word. Of course, ample support like providing attractive offers and creatives would help a lot.