Comparison articles can be a powerful way to bring readers in a buying mood by presenting them with multiple product options. They often take the form of a top product list or head-to-head review and are incredibly useful for affiliates looking to build trust with their audience.
A brief review can quickly capture the attention of readers, while a comprehensive review covers all pros and cons in more detail. Both approaches are effective at driving clicks to your affiliate links.
1. Listicle style “best of” format
These types of articles are a common form of product review for affiliate sites. They feature brief reviews of a few different products that are listed together. Oftentimes, they also include a summary of each product and a rating to add substance to the review. They are great for grabbing attention and converting traffic because they are easy to read at a glance. You can also use them to promote your affiliate links by placing them in the middle of the review or at the end.
These type of reviews work well for a variety of products, especially less expensive ones. They can be a good choice for an affiliate who is trying to capture a large audience with limited time and resources.
While this format works for many products, it is important to keep in mind that not all products are suitable for everyone. This means that it’s necessary to be honest with your readers and provide them with a balanced view of the product. It’s also a good idea to highlight any negative aspects of the product, and to make sure you have an affiliate link for a similar alternative if necessary.
A comprehensive review is a more detailed type of product review that attempts to cover every aspect of the product in the most thorough way possible. It is more likely to convert traffic than a shorter product review, but only if the content can be of exceptional quality.
The best way to write a comprehensive review is to draw on personal experience and create a story that is relevant to your audience. Using real-world examples and success stories can help drive conversions by building trust and credibility with your audience. For example, a product review for a subscription box service could include a case study of how the service saved one user money by providing them with access to a more diverse range of high-quality beauty products. This would resonate with the audience, and could increase the likelihood of them clicking on your affiliate link. In addition, it is a good idea to include images or videos of the products where possible, as this can boost engagement and clickthrough rates.
2. In-depth reviews
A comparison article is a popular choice for smart affiliate content marketing because it helps consumers save time and money in the buying decision thought process. Usually, these kinds of articles feature a number of different product options and offer the pros and cons for each, including their prices. These types of comparisons are great for grabbing traffic from people searching for products with specific features, such as cloth masks for kids or a high-performance blender.
The more comprehensive the review, the better. However, it’s important to be able to present your research in a clear, concise manner so that readers can make sense of it all without being overwhelmed. If you’re unsure about how to do this, try looking at other comparison websites in your niche or search for relevant YouTube reviews of similar products. This will give you a good idea of how to write a thorough, yet reader-friendly product comparison post.
Another great way to get more traffic from your comparison posts is by combining them with “best of” lists and tutorials. As Semrush reports, listicles drive 80% more traffic than standard articles, so this is a great strategy to try out when you’re writing comparison content for your affiliate site.
This article format compares a few of the most popular products in one category together and then gives you a quick breakdown of the key features and benefits of each product, followed by a link to buy it on the merchant’s site through your affiliate link. These types of articles are great for catching traffic from people who are already researching products in that particular category and are likely to be ready to buy soon.
Another type of comparison article is a head-to-head review that puts two products side by side and shows you how they are similar and different. These types of reviews are best used when you have a very clear idea about what type of products or services your audience is most interested in and how they are most likely to buy them. This kind of review is also a good option for targeting a specific pain point that your audience has, such as finding the best hair dye or a portable tent.
3. Tutorials and how-to guides
Product comparison articles are often the most converting type of content affiliate marketers write, and they are perfect for SEO to target buyers at the bottom of the funnel. They are easy to rank for, much less competitive than single-product “review” keywords or buyer’s guide “best of” keywords, and they tend to convert a very high percentage of visitors into buyers.
The key to writing effective product comparison posts is to think about what the customer wants to know at this stage of the buying process. They are likely to be very close to making a purchase decision, and a comparison post will help them sift through the various options that are available to them. These articles will usually feature both pros and cons of each product, which can make a big difference for some customers who want to be aware of the drawbacks of one product over another.
In order to be helpful, product comparisons should be comprehensive and well-researched. This means that the list of features and specs that you include should be carefully chosen, focusing on those that are most important to your audience at this point in their buying journey. For example, if you’re writing a laptop comparison article, don’t include every extra feature that each device has – this will only confuse the reader. Focus on the key points (such as battery life, speed, weight and price) that will make a real difference to your audience.
If your product comparison article includes a lot of details, consider using a table format instead of text to keep the layout clean and tidy. This will appeal to skimmers and TL;DR readers, as it allows them to get the key information at a glance. It will also be easier for you to include your affiliate links because the table layout makes them more visible.
A how-to article is another great way to use your affiliate links while promoting products to a highly-converting audience. These can be written as either a written or video tutorial, and they are a good way to drive traffic from search engines to both your own site and the businesses that sell the products you’re recommending in your content.
4. Video reviews
Video reviews provide an excellent opportunity for affiliate marketers to demonstrate how a product can address a consumer need. By demonstrating the features and benefits of a product, affiliate marketers can establish themselves as experts and encourage audience engagement with their content.
The key to creating successful video reviews is ensuring that the content communicates clearly and provides value for audiences. This is especially important in a digital environment where audiences’ attention spans can be short, and videos can easily get lost in the clutter of online video content. To create compelling and effective video reviews, affiliate marketers should highlight the key features that are most relevant to their target audience. Additionally, they should focus on providing social proof and personal anecdotes to help audiences connect with and trust the content.
Another way to increase the reach and potential growth of video reviews is by embedding them into popular social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. This allows consumers to share the review with their friends and followers, generating additional exposure for the content and increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
Video reviews can also be incorporated into comparison articles, which are a great source of revenue for affiliates. These articles typically include a list of pros and cons for several different products that are competing for the audience’s attention. Comparison articles are a time saver for the consumer and can help them navigate the complex buying decision thought process. They are also a great opportunity for affiliates to incorporate their products into the discussion and earn commissions from product sales and click-throughs.
While a comparison article can be written in any format, the most successful ones are honest and provide both positive and negative aspects of each product. This helps readers make an informed purchasing decision and avoids appearing biased toward one product over the other. For example, if an affiliate site only promoted one email marketing platform (such as Aweber) over the other (such as GetResponse), readers would quickly dismiss the article as being biased and unhelpful.
