The internet and marketing go hand in hand. It is easier than ever to find and attract your ideal market. As your market become fans, your business can really take off.
One problem, however, is how quickly things change.
If you are starting affiliate marketing, for example, then what you are doing now may be irrelevant in five years. Maybe even less.
Not that we have a crystal ball and can see into the future, but based on some current signs, it looks like affiliate marketing will look a lot different.
Let’s take a closer look at some trends that signal how affiliate marketing will change as the future draws near.
Voice search becomes important
As more and more people use Siri or Alexa to help them find what they are looking for, marketers need to change how they research. Right now, marketers need to find out what their target market use for search language so they know what keywords they need to use.
With voice search, there is no way to figure out what terms people are using for their search. At least with a traditional search engine, these terms are there for everybody to see with the right software.
Researching will have to be less about keywords and more about topics. It will be necessary to use agencies like Inbounda to keep abreast of all the new practices to stay on top of these things.
AI will be creating affiliate sites faster than people
I think there will always be room for a human to make an affiliate site, but the competition is going to move very quickly.
Brands can make their own sites now with artificial intelligence very quickly. The research and content will be done in minutes as opposed to days or longer when a human does it.
Somebody reading these sites won’t even know the difference as the AI becomes more refined and actually intelligent.
It will be hard to break into a niche when that niche can be flooded cheaply and quickly by bots.
Influencers will have more influence
People trust people that are like them. That’s why influencer marketing is so effective. A person on social media is more like them than somebody they see on TV.
To really compete in the future, a person making a site will have to connect with influencers even more than they do now. Relying strictly on SEO may become more difficult given the competition with so many new sites cropping up quickly. If you can connect with an influencer in your niche then you can stand out more.
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing is not going away. I don’t think we will see a day when there are no affiliate sites. The competition and advances in technology will certainly change the way it looks, however.
If you are thinking of starting an affiliate site, then don’t wait. As things change, the players who know what they are doing are the ones who will survives.
