Referral Links: Definition and Generation Tips
It’s helpful to know when someone we know or admire likes a brand and the products or services it sells. It makes us, as potential clients or consumers, feel inclined to learn more about it or even make a purchase. Recommendations have power, especially when coming from people or websites we trust. That’s why it’s helpful for businesses to use referral links. But what exactly are referral links and how do they work?
What Is a Referral Link?
Image via iStockPhoto by Chainarong Prasertthai
Referral links are ones you can give to customers and other web publishers that lead to your domain. They often include a piece of code that tracks when someone clicks the link and how that user navigates your site after they arrive. That code also tells businesses which link sent someone to their site. The business can then provide payment or compensation to the link’s owner for the referral.
For example, a company might hire an affiliate marketer and provide them with a referral link. Every time someone clicks on this link and makes a purchase on the company’s website, the affiliate marketer receives part of the sale. A business might also give a referral link to a customer. If this customer gives the link to a friend or family member who uses it, that customer might receive a discount or free product in return.
Why Are Referral Links Important?
Referral links provide several major benefits to businesses for both customer referral programs and affiliate marketers. According to Influitive, 78% of businesses said customer referrals are more valuable to them than leads from other marketing sources. And according to iab.uk, over 50% of businesses saw an increase in affiliate marketing spending in 2020. Some more general benefits that referral links give businesses include:
- Generates traffic: When you add backlinks to other websites, it can help you generate more traffic to your site. This can help increase your site’s search engine ranking and boost your brand awareness.
- Converts customers: Most often, referral links come from people or other organizations that talk highly of your business. This type of recommendation can increase your conversion rate and sales.
- Becomes cost-effective for businesses: You rarely pay for referral links unless they’re effective. And when they are effective, you’re generating sales or converting people into quality leads, making more money.
Tips for Generating Referral Links
Here are some tips to help you create effective referral links for your business:
Conduct Research
Conducting research before generating referral links helps you understand what your target audience wants to see. For instance, it’s helpful to understand the best websites or businesses to partner with that might attract a similar target audience. A great way to accomplish that is by looking at your potential syndication partners. Syndication partners are businesses or websites similar to yours that might help you promote your own website’s blogs, articles, and other content. Because they’re like your own business, without being a direct competitor, they’re also great for referral links.
Pair Referrals with Excellent Content
When giving referral links to other websites, it’s important that you’re pairing referrals and recommendations with excellent content. If low-quality websites and content promote your business, audiences might associate your brand with spammy websites or companies. But if you tie your referral links to high-quality, informative blogs and articles, readers will feel more inclined to click on the links and visit your company’s site. The same goes for the copy you write to encourage customers to share referral links with their friends and family. You want to entice them and convince them that your business has a lot to offer.
CopyPress currently offers a free content marketing analysis tool for you and your referral partners. It compares a website and its content with the brand’s top three competitors. The tool can help you better understand your target audience and find gaps in your content marketing strategy to create better, more valuable content for your referral links on any site. Request your analysis today, then contact us to see how we’re able to produce the content your website needs to remain competitive in your industry.
“CopyPress gives us the ability to work with more dealership groups. We are able to provide unique and fresh content for an ever growing customer base. We know that when we need an influx of content to keep our clients ahead of the game in the automotive landscape, CopyPress can handle these requests with ease.”
Kevin Doory
Director of SEO at Auto Revo
Develop Key Landing Pages
Just like it’s important for other websites to have excellent content, it’s important for your company to have it too. When you direct potential customers to your site, you want to attract them to your products and services, and show them that your company has a lot it can offer. That might come as attractive landing pages, where you can entice customers with effective calls-to-action and sales copy. But it can also come from other resources that you provide to your target audience, like informative and helpful content.
High-quality written content can help inform your audience about relevant industry topics while directing them to your products and services. It can also show them your expertise in the field and how your business can provide them with beneficial quality services. Looking to provide informative, well-written content to your audience? CopyPress has a team of expert writers, editors, and quality assurance specialists to help. Schedule a call with us today to learn how to attract new customers to your site with great content.
CopyPress writer
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