Guest Blog: Optimizing for Affiliates Even When Traffic is Down

Guest blog by Allison Green of EternalArrival.com

In the ever-changing landscape of SEO and unforgiving Google algorithms, ensuring that every reader who lands on your site has a high potential to convert is more important than ever.

Like many bloggers—particularly those of us in the travel space—I haven’t been immune to the carnage brought on by Google’s algorithm updates… not at all.  

While I haven’t suffered as severe a loss as some of my peers, my traffic is well below half of my previous peaks. However, the overall impact on my income has been less severe than it could have been because I’ve focused on making every single pageview count.

A key part of this strategy has been partnering with Stay22. Their smart affiliate technology—particularly the NOVA Booking Engine integration—has played a significant role in boosting my affiliate income.

During the first month of fully integrating Stay22 into my affiliate strategy (August 2024), I earned roughly the same amount in hotel affiliate income as I had in August 2023 with my previous direct hotel affiliate partner—despite having only 40% of my prior year traffic levels.

Although my advertising income has dropped significantly compared to previous years, affiliate marketing has been more stable, and it’s become a much-needed lifeline—making it a key focus of my blogging strategy for 2025.

As we head into another year without a clear roadmap for what future algorithm changes may bring, here’s my strategy going forward with my travel blog:

The Focus on What You Can Control

Right now, it’s anyone’s guess what the search algorithms want; that’s fully out of our control. But what is within our control as bloggers is this: We can consistently produce high-quality content that impresses the readers who do land on our pages… even if they land on our blogs in smaller quantities than they did before.

The relative consistency of my affiliate income, even amidst traffic fluctuations, reassures me that I’m still reaching high-quality, ready-to-convert readers. By providing these visitors with valuable information and integrating smart tools like Stay22’s offerings, I’ve built enough trust to encourage bookings through my affiliate links.

To create high-quality content, I focus on these key principles:

• Maintaining a Human Voice: I can’t stand reading content that is clearly AI-written—it uses a lot of words while somehow saying nothing at all. While AI can be useful in some cases (like converting tables of weather or schedule data into text form), over-relying on it at the expense of your real writerly voice is a surefire way to alienate readers. Your readers may not consciously recognize it, but they’ll sense that “uncanny valley” feeling.
  
  
• Expressing Myself Honestly: Readers are tired of generic travel advice. If someone lands on a blog despite all odds, they’re probably looking for a real person’s point of view. I’ve leaned into sharing my quirks, preferences, and sense of humor instead of trying to sound like an impartial guidebook.
  
  
• Showing I’ve “Been There, Done That”: Whenever possible, I’m using my own photos — even of simple things like admission tickets — to demonstrate that I have firsthand knowledge of the content of the post. I use stock photography as little as possible. 

Focus on User Intent

With fewer people landing on my blog, it’s more important than ever to understand why they’re there. In other words, I’ve shifted my focus to satisfying high-intent readers rather than chasing sheer traffic volume.

This means getting specific. For example, instead of a generic section like “Best Hotels in Prague” on a post about the Prague Christmas markets, I’d tailor it to “Hotels Near Prague’s Top Christmas Markets.” I’d highlight hotels’ proximity to specific markets, rather than just listing general hotel features.

Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Ask yourself, “would I be looking to make a booking if I was on this post?” The honest answer may sometimes be no, if you’re writing strictly informational content. But if the answer is “yes” or “maybe” — think about what specific purchases you might be considering and how you can offer those solutions to your reader.

Less is more. Don’t drown them in too many options — focus on their specific needs for better results.

Prioritize the Right Content at the Right Time

As bloggers, it always feels like everything needs to be written or updated. Here’s how I decide what to prioritize and, crucially, when. Note that this is based on the fact that my audience is primarily American, Canadian, and UK —obviously, this may be different if you have, say, an Australia/New Zealand audience.

1. Focus on upcoming booking seasons. For example, as I write this post in January, people are planning late winter or early spring trips, like ski vacations or tropical getaways. But once March rolls around, I would strictly focus on working on my summer content. 
   
   
2. Look for gaps or updates needed in your content. Do you have previous trips that aren’t fully covered, or existing posts that could use a refresh? If there’s a destination whose travel season is coming up (and also has high conversion possibilities), that’s what you should focus on.
   
   
3. Balance pageviews with performance. When it comes to updating posts, even a post with only 100 monthly pageviews can be worth prioritizing if it’s driving bookings. Posts with high conversion rates should receive the highest priority.

Scoop Up Low-Hanging Fruit

When updating posts, focus on optimizing for affiliates. Here are a few things I do:

• Include links early and often. I add quick recommendations for hotels or tours near the top of the post for readers who prefer bullet-point suggestions over in-depth content. The important thing is to make it seem like you’re offering readers a favor rather than just cramming links in for the sake of there being affiliate links. I often will say something like, “if you’re in a hurry, here are the hotels I recommend” and then give a few different options.
  
  
• Optimize CTAs (calls-to-action). Make sure your calls-to-action are clear and visible, using buttons, colored boxes, or bold text to stand out. However, use them sparingly and during natural pauses in the blog text, such as when you’re switching from one topic to another. I also mix some deep links in the text as well as having CTAs as I find this looks more natural and less sales-y while also giving me more opportunities to convert my readers.
  
  
• Experiment with CTAs. Test different formats—like text links versus buttons—to see what resonates with your audience. Stay22’s Allez Generator makes tracking campaigns easy. For example, on a Prague Christmas Market post, I might label campaigns like: praguexmas_textbox, praguexmas_button, or praguexmas_hoteldeeplink1. This will give me actionable data to refine my strategy and double down on what works, and get rid of anything that’s just taking up space for no purpose.

By focusing on high-quality, user-centric content and smart affiliate integration, you can weather traffic fluctuations while maintaining strong affiliate earnings. The key is to make every pageview count!