Most affiliates now understand that Google’s Penguin updates have fundamentally changed the way link-based marketing and SEO plans are formulated.
While Penguin recovery is possible, creating a more organic link network through guest blogging doesn’t exactly pay the bills right away. That’s why more and more affiliates are doing an end run around Penguin by creating alternatives like Tumblr sites and Facebook pages.
Online communities like these are fairly insulated from Google’s SEO whims and can provide a great source of alternative income for hard hit affiliate partners. After all, social media relies more on social shares than search engines.
These sites won’t necessarily make up for all the lost revenue after a major page rank drop, but they can sure help. Not only that, creating an additional revenue stream helps build a firewall against future Google updates. Here are some tips for getting started.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a microblogging service that’s widely misunderstood, but widely used, too. There are as many as 120 million regular Tumblr users and that number is growing all the time. Despite its wide use, many experienced Web marketers still have no idea what it is, or how to monetize it.
For starters, Tumblr is an easy-to-use blogging service that share a lot of traits with other social networks like Facebook. Bloggers can easily post up videos, pictures and links from almost any device and quickly share them with their followers. Reblogging is encouraged sites can be easily searched.
Tumblr blogs range from humorous sites like textsfromdog.tumblr.com to fan sites for products and entertainers.
Microblogs can be monetized with affiliate links, in-text advertising or video shares. In fact, squeezing revenue from a Tumblr blog is not so different from what you’re doing right now.
Since you’re probably going to need a business-facing Facebook page at some point, now’s as good a time as any to get started. Facebook is so widely used that most of your current players are probably already using it on a daily basis.
You can post content from your other sites on a Facebook page or go for something entirely different like ScienceisAwesome. There’s almost no limit to the subjects you can cover on Facebook that will be followed by large groups of people. The key is keeping your content current and relevant. Sound familiar?
Monetizing a Facebook page isn’t quite as simple as monetizing other mediums, but it’s definitely possible. A Facebook page is also a good means of promoting other blog content to a new audience.
The more you can integrate online communities and social media into your general marketing strategies, the better off you’ll be, and the less you’ll have to rely on Google.
Are you utilizing communities and social networks as a web alternative? Share your experiences on our Affiliate Programs in Other High Paying Industries Forum.