David Fiske Affiliate Marketing & Web Development

2008 seems to be the year that merchants chop and change networks. My affiliate HQ inbox (2000 unread affiliate messages as of this morning) is chock-a-block with messages about programs closing down on network A in favour of network B and so forth.

Whilst this is often a pain, if you run through these in a block, you can also factor in spring cleaning your portfolio. Here's how.
 
I've got a wide portfolio that covers several market sectors. Some sites like Put It On The Card require at least weekly updates to keep merchants happy. But I have other financial product sites that require irregular updates. So much so, I can't remember the last time I updated them.

On top of that, I've been toying with the idea of adding some other niche sites that compliment the original sites.

So, I can change all the links over where necessary, I can give the sites a lick of new paint and I can introduce new sites into the family.

Where changing links over can get messy is when you've got hundreds of deeplinked articles. There's usually little choice here apart from spending hours and even days just updating the links.

The biggest change for me has to be eBay which is leaving CJ to set it's own independent program up. Long term that's good news for both eBay and affiliates but in the short immediate term, it's going to be a pain swapping all the links across.

What this does demonstrate, however, is the need for a standardised approach to running an affiliate site. Something that is capable of acting like a blog or a catalogue, has the functionality of a price comparison site, handles discount codes, handles deeplinks efficiently all whilst maintaining flexibility.

Nevertheless, it's a task that has to be done to continue earning credit where it is due. The whole point of this ramble is simply that you should use it as an excuse to freshen up your portfolio.