In the latest Search Central Office Hours Hangout, Google’s John Mueller discusses whether there is a perfect ratio of affiliate links for SEO. Here is the question raised during the hangout.
“How many affiliate-sponsored links are safe or good to have on a single page? Is there a perfect ratio of links to article length to maintain here?”
John Mueller’s response explains that Google doesn’t see affiliate links as bad or problematic, but what’s really the issue is whether you have useful content on your page.
“There is no limit… it’s not that we’re saying that affiliate links are bad or problematic. It’s more a matter of, well, you actually need to have some useful content on your page as well.”
He further clarified:
- The amount of affiliate links that you have on a site is totally irrelevant.
- The ratio of links to article length is also totally irrelevant.
In other words, there is no perfect ratio of affiliate links for Google Search Engine Optimization.
What’s More Important Than a Perfect Ratio of Affiliate Links?
Trying to optimize the affiliate links or trying to hide the affiliate links is wasted effort because that’s not what Google cares about.
“Essentially what we need to find is a reason to show your website in search to users who are looking for something. And that reason is usually not the affiliate link but the actual content that you provide on those pages.”
Also, he warns about copying content such as product descriptions:
“If the content of your page is essentially just a copy of a description from a bigger retail site, then there’s no reason for us to show your site, even if you had no affiliate links.”
So first and foremost, focus on having a reason to be visible in the search results, then how you monetize your site and what links you place there are not an issue.
You can check out the entire Google hangout here or watch it below. The relevant content discussed above starts at 38:20 min.
