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Got my first affiliate sale... then my traffic disappeared

by The Click Swap
11 replies
Hey y'all,

Just thinking out loud a bit here -- sometimes talking it through helps me figure stuff out.

So last month I made my first ever affiliate sale, brought in about $85 in one day, and I was super hyped. Felt like I was finally on the right track.

I've been promoting offers from an adult affiliate network (keeping the site private for now), and I was writing blog posts around a specific offer. One of those posts must've hit the sweet spot -- someone found it on Google, clicked through, and made a purchase. Success.

But... since then? Nothing.
Traffic tanked. No more sales. No leads.

I think two things happened around the same time:

I started focusing more on an X (Twitter) account instead of continuing the blog content

Google rolled out a core update (timing lines up almost exactly)

So now I'm wondering:

Was it the algorithm that crushed my rankings?

Or did I just shift focus too early and kill my own momentum?

Also, I set up a lead magnet related to, let's say, "enhancing experiences," but I haven't gotten a single opt-in yet.
#affiliate #disappeared #sale #traffic
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  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    Originally Posted by The Click Swap View Post

    Hey y'all,

    Just thinking out loud a bit here -- sometimes talking it through helps me figure stuff out.

    So last month I made my first ever affiliate sale, brought in about $85 in one day, and I was super hyped. Felt like I was finally on the right track.

    I've been promoting offers from an adult affiliate network (keeping the site private for now), and I was writing blog posts around a specific offer. One of those posts must've hit the sweet spot -- someone found it on Google, clicked through, and made a purchase. Success.

    But... since then? Nothing.
    Traffic tanked. No more sales. No leads.

    I think two things happened around the same time:

    I started focusing more on an X (Twitter) account instead of continuing the blog content

    Google rolled out a core update (timing lines up almost exactly)

    So now I'm wondering:

    Was it the algorithm that crushed my rankings?

    Or did I just shift focus too early and kill my own momentum?

    Also, I set up a lead magnet related to, let's say, "enhancing experiences," but I haven't gotten a single opt-in yet.

    I started affiliate marketing CB products around 2004 and
    did really well for a few years. That particular CB category
    died down, I moved on to other networks, because there
    are so many options - thousands of products.

    The sales can be fleeting, IDK what happened, but that
    sale may have been a fluke. Adult offers are iffy because
    there's so much free stuff available, it has always been
    that way, which is why it's not a stable category.

    I'm not saying you cannot make money with it, it's just
    not ideal if you want sustainable income.

    I recommend that you continue with the business model
    you developed and use it for legit products and services.

    Go to the major affiliate networks and find a sustainable
    category and promote that. It could be home furnishings,
    travel and a gazillion other things. The more items you
    promote, the more you'll get paid.

    Keep at it because it's one of the easiest passive income
    methods in the world. You just have to find the right thing.
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    Monetization Skool
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  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    Well you dont know how many times ive been hit by these situation my man
    These its the game and you must get used to it
    You must start again no matter what ,sometimes its hits you the altgoritm ,the vendor close the offer ,bad luck etc etc
    To succed in this game you must not let any failure stop you and continue going
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    Find out my best method to make $200-$300 daily with affiliate marketing
    Atention : Not a quick rich scheme ,takes patience, consistency and some work also
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  • Profile picture of the author AlexMFH
    Hi! Congrats on that $85 sale! It might be a mix of the algorithm shift and pausing blog content. Both can affect momentum. For the lead magnet, maybe refine the offer or boost promotion.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Click Swap
    so im just following up with this,

    ive done a bit of research but im still not certain whats happening, this is more of a debugging issue than anything,

    The links are getting clicks,

    which is good,

    but im not seeing any traffic in my GA4 dashboard

    its getting traffic from google because i can see it in GSC, (my ranking is actually slowling improving since this post)

    and the clicks are coming in from all over the world in my affiliate dashboard, i can set it by country and see the different countries clicking, although their source is N/A for all of them, even the one sale,

    but nothing in GA4 as of last month,

    the only thing i can narrow it down to is everyone that clicks on my site is in incognito mode due to the nature of the content

    ChatGPT did suggest it could be bot clicks,

    Thoughts?

    i have new content going out next month, wish me luck
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  • Profile picture of the author OnlineProxy
    The drop in traffic could be for a few reasons,the recent Google update might have hurt your rankings,specially if your content didn't match their focus on things like trust and expertise,switching from blogging to social media might have slowed your SEO efforts too,since blogs bring in traffic over time,your lead magnet might not be hitting the mark with your audience,or it could just need clearer calls to action and a better match to their needs,try going back to creating great blog content that's optimized for SEO and tweaking your lead magnet to better connect with your audience
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  • Profile picture of the author GAT Bookings
    Congrats on getting that first affiliate sale -- that's a big milestone!
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  • Profile picture of the author SuperAcc
    A sharp drop in traffic is actually quite normal. You can optimize the content of your traffic-generating products and increase your promotional efforts to see if traffic increases.
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  • Profile picture of the author alwalaa oman
    Congrats on your first sale that is the proof your niche works,
    Your traffic drop is likely a mix of the Google update + pausing content.
    Go back to posting similar articles that ranked before and move your lead magnet inside the content for better option keep consistent momentum matters.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hayordeyji
    What platform do you use?
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    I think this sale was somehow a FLUKE.

    Maybe your page was ranked high for like a few minutes and then dropped.

    Try posting new content EVERYDAY and after a few weeks, see if this helps you or not.
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    And Earn A Weekly Residual Income! (WATCH ME).
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  • Profile picture of the author davidmartinez
    What happened was likely a mix of both issues. The Google update probably affected your rankings, but shifting away from the blog right when started working also killed your momentum. Your lead magnet not converting suggests your traffic isn't targeted enough or the offer isn't clearly valuable yet. The best move is to refocus on your blog, improve the post that made the sale, and create more content around that topic. One sale shows it works, now you just need consistent effort, not a new strategy.
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