Google recently destroyed thousands of people’s earnings by making changes to Google Search.

Now, they’ve turned their attention to YouTube.

The shareholders at Google want more money so the plan is to keep you on Google products, like YouTube and Search for as long as possible.

Some of the things that can and might change are:

• Descriptions being hidden or removed completely (no more links)
• Cards are being changed so you can’t add links
• New jump-forward features makes it easy not to watch sponsored parts of videos

I share more details in the video.

Let me know what you think about this in the comments..

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Why you shouldn’t use raw affiliate links

There are several reasons why copying and pasting affiliate links into your content isn’t great.

Reasons like:

• They look messy
• They’re hard to remember
• You can’t track the clicks in your website
• You can’t update them easily

That’s where a link management plugin comes in as it provides a solution to all these problems.

I’ve used plugins like PrettyLinks and Lasso before and they are both really good, however they are quite expensive.

Introducing ClickWhale

I was recently introduced to ClickWhale, and I’ve been really impressed with it as it’s far cheaper than those two while still providing excellent functionality.

ClickWhale

Super good value link management plugin

• Easy affiliate link management
• Link Pages
• Affiliate link statistics
• Tracking code functionality

Get ClickWhale

Here’s what you get with ClickWhale

Link Management

This is the main feature of the plugin.

Easily manage all your affiliate links in one place.

They’re super easy to add and edit and you get:

• Nice easy to remember URLs that you can set yourself
• An easy way to update your links if you need to
• You can organize them in categories
• You can set if they are no-follow and/or sponsored

Link Pages

A link page is a sweet-looking page that contains affiliate links.

You can choose which links go on here.

Maybe you’ll use it for your most popular or useful ones. It’s a bit like my essentials page.

They are really easy to set up and share. They also look great on mobile!

Statistics

ClickWhale tracks the clicks on your affiliate links and presents them to you in a really nice, visual way.

This is perfect for seeing which links are performing well or for double-checking that your affiliate links are tracking correctly.

Other Features

Clickwhale also has a number of other cool features:

• Tracking codes (easily embed code into your site)
• Import and Export functionality
• Migration from other plugins like PrettyLinks

You should check it out! I think you’ll really like it

Everyone is moving away from SEO.

Even SEO legends like Matt Digitty…

SEO should now be IGNORED as a traffic channel.

Google’s algorithm says if you’re not:

1⃣ A mega-authoritative website (DR90+)
2⃣ Reddit or other partner with a back office deal
3⃣ A paid advertiser

… you’re not allowed in the search results.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve…

— Matt Diggity (@mattdiggityseo) June 3, 2024

Social media is a good option.

However social media has a dark side to it that you need to be aware of.

And once you’re aware of it you need to be able to overcome it and not let it stop you from succeeding on YouTube, Facebook, X and the rest of them.

Basically, some people are gonna be mean. Really mean.

In this Vlog I share my experiences of the trolls and a recent experience I had with them in my new Facebook Group.

Short form videos are a great way to increase your reach. With platforms like Tiktok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and Pinterest all supporting them you’re seriously missing out if you’re not creating them.

For my new project, Estepona.Life I’ve gone in hard with social media.

I’ve been publishing daily on all the social networks and most days I’ll post a short video.

And I’ve found that it’s working really well, especially on Instagram.

I do create a lot of the videos from scratch as native short videos but I also create long-form videos and turn them into short videos.

To help me do this, I’ve been using Vizard.ai.

I find it very helpful as it makes editing the short, creating captions and inserting cool emojis really easy.

It can also automatically chop your long videos into short clips using its AI (however, I don’t often use this feature).

Watch the video above for my full process of how I use this tool in the video, but he’s an overview if you’re in a hurry:

My Long to Short Video Process using Vizard

You’ll need to sign up for Vizard.ai first, of course.

Why not try the free plan to get you started?

Step 1: Copy and paste the video link into Vizard

Grab your link from YouTube and paste it into the tool. If you’re not on YouTube for whatever reason, you can just upload the file from your computer.

Step 2: Generate some clips using AI

Click the button, and it will generate some edited clips for you. You can skip this step if you want to edit manually (like I do), but I often run this process anyway because I’m always curious to see what it comes back with.

If you like the clips you can jump into the editor and make your final changes.

Step 3: Decide what you want in your short

I prefer to choose what’s going in my short video. I find the AI often just chooses one section at a time to create the clips whereas I like to use multiple parts of the longer video to create the short.

To do this, click on the edit original video button.

You’ll want to unhighlight the bits that AI has chosen (probably).

You can then go through the transcript and highlight the bits that you want.

You can also correct any errors in the transcript at this point.

Once you’ve highlighted what you want click on the highlights buttons and tick all of the ones you want (all of them probably).

Then click Create Clip, and it’ll do some magic for you.

You can get the tool to auto-reframe, but again I like to do this myself.

It usually only takes a few seconds to create the clip.

Step 4: Make edits to the clip

The editor is pretty easy to use if you’ve ever edited videos before.

Which I’m guessing you have as you’ve got long-form content.

The main thing you’ll need to do is the reframing. Click on the video and adjust the crop and position to do this.

You’ll probably also need to adjust if it’s in 9:16 format or 16:9 format. In the example in the video there is a section where I walk into the pub and it doesn’t look good in vertical format so I adjust it to be widescreen.

You’ll find loads of cool layouts to do this by clicking on the layouts button.

You can also add a background. I always go for the blurry option.

If you need to split sections of the clip, switch to audio view (the toggle is just above the timeline), select where you need to split with the scrubber, and click on the scissor icon.

You’ll want to ensure the video is less than 60s as platforms like YouTube shorts only like videos of that length.

You can reduce the length by dragging the ends of the sections in the video when in audio view.

Step 5: Sort out the captions

Vizard will of already created and added the captions for you.

But you’ll want to position them, style them and probably add some emojis.

Click on subtitles on the left side.

To add Emojis automatically click on the AI button and you’ll find the option.

To style the captions click on style. There are loads of templates included and you can also create your own look.

You can position the captions by dragging them.

You’ll want to position the captions towards the bottom but don’t put them too low or they will be obscured by the text and stuff the social platforms display over your video.

To make further corrections, click on the words in the left-hand panel.

You can also manually add colors and emojis.

Step 6: Export and upload to your social accounts

You’re about done!

Click on export in the top right corner, and your video will be made. You can then download it as an MP4, ready to upload.

To speed up my upload process I use Buffer so I can post to all the networks in one place.

Remember, you can post short videos to YouTube, Facebook Reels, Instagram Reels, X, and Pinterest!

I had a great time at Affiliate Gathering this year.

If you’ve not been and you run an online business, you really need to attend the next one. You won’t regret it.

Book a ticket now while the early bird discount is available.

At the event, I tried to grab as many people as possible and extract some priceless wisdom from them.

You’ll find it all in the video above, but of you prefer to read, here’s the distilled version…

Golden Nuggets from Affiliate Gathering 2024

• YouTube is the next big parasite
• Post videos, send some engagement and they will rank
• Get ranked on both YouTube and Google

• Get to events. Build a network. Ask questions
• Get feedback on everything you’re doing and improve
• Diversify

• Get other traffic sources: Use paid ads, Reddit and YouTube
• E-Commerce is working well
• Don’t boast about your sites on YouTube

• Sell physical products through your websites
• Build email lists
• Use funnels to maximize revenue from your lists

• Treat YouTube like a business – Have a plan!
• Build a monetization strategy
• YouTube is not as volatile when it comes to algo updates.

• Build a brand through authority and expertise
• Keep building links
• Links are still one of the most important reputation signals

• Think as a CEO not as an SEO
• How can you make money as a business, not just a website
• Google is discouraging people at the moment = Opportunity!

• Old sites have been hit but a fresh new site is doing well
• Facebook traffic can encourage Google to take notices
• Real content is way more enjoyable

Make sure you follow all of the above for more valuable tips and ideas.

I’m sure we can all find success in 2024.

It’s just going to require a different approach.

I hope to see you at Affiliate Gathering 2025!

I had a really good chat with Ricky off the back of the recent drama.

See here, here and here if you need to catchup.

We talked about

• The state of Google
• Project24 and income school
• The future of making money online
• and lots more.

Here’s how to add a Google Map to any where you like on your WordPress website..

How to Embed a Google Map to WordPress

Step 1: Go to the map you want on Google Maps

Once you’re there click on the point of interest your want or drop yourself a pin.

Step 2: Get the embed code

Click on the share button, then click embed. Here you can adjust the size of the map. Once you’re happy click copy HTML.

Step 3: Paste it into your WordPress website

You can paste this code anywhere you want your map to show. Just use the HTML block.

You’re done!

You’re map should no be showing on your website…

Adding a site icon is quick and easy.

But first you’ll need a in image.

Head over to Canva or you’re favourite graphics software and create a square image of 512px 512px.

I wouldn’t use text or anything that’s going to be hard to see when it’s tiny.

You’ll probably also want to save it as a .PNG with a transparent background.

Then follow these steps.

How to add your Site Icon to WordPress

Step 1: Login, and then go into the Site Editor

Login to your WordPress website in the usual way and go into the site editor. You can do that by clicking Edit Site whilst viewing your website or from the dashboard it’s in Appearance -> Editor.

Step 2: Select your logo

Click on your logo a couple of times to select it. You can make sure you have it selected by bringing up the list view on the left hand side.

Step 3: Go in to the Site Icon Settings

On the right-hand side, you’ll find a link for the Site Icon Settings. Give it a click!

Step 4: Select your site icon

Click the select site icon and upload the image from our computer. Click select and then publish at the top of the screen.

You’re all done! Your site icon should be showing in the browser tab.

When choosing a theme you’ve got two options;

You can go for a general-purpose theme that has some starter sites that will work well for an affiliate site. Hopefully, they’ll also have some patterns and blocks that can be used to complement your affiliate content.

or

You go for a theme that’s been specifically designed for affiliate marketing sites with features and layouts built-in to help you make more commissions.

I’ve got some themes from both options in this article. Let’s start with affiliate marketing focussed themes.

Best WordPress Themes Designed for Affiliates

There isn’t a huge choice when it comes to specific affiliate themes. Here’s three of the best that I’ve found. If you know of others, please let me know in the comments!

• Popcorn Theme
• Re:Hub
• ClipMyDeals

Popcorn Theme

Popcorn theme is a project that I’m involved with, and it is the theme powering this very website (which you might have noticed has the odd affiliate link ).

We made Popcorn for Affiliates. It’s been designed from the ground up to give you everything you need to publish affiliate content in an attractive, engaging way that drives engagement and conversion.

It comes with a template and layout that you can use straight away.

Why Popcorn Theme is Great for Affiliate Websites:

• Designed for Affiliate and Niche Websites
• Loaded with Patterns and blocks to show off products and offers
• Content focussed
• Fully customizable using the WordPress block editor
• Super-fast performance (passes web core vitals)

Download Popcorn

use code ‘popcornisthebest’ for a discount

Re:Hub

This theme is purely for making money. It does so much affiliate stuff it’s quite overwhelming. It’s packed full of features for reviews, comparisons, round-ups and coupon offers.

It’s not a theme for the faint-hearted. You need to have a bit of technical ability to get the most of this theme.

If you use this theme with Content Egg you can pull in real-time prices and create a really cool price comparison website.

Why Re:Hub is Great for Affiliate Websites:

• Perfect for sites with lots of products
• Easily create comparison content
• Update prices in real-time with Content Egg
• Over 30 product layout post templates

ClipMyDeals

This ones for deal sites. The clue is in the name.

if you’re doing cashback, deals, coupons on daily offers this is a great theme for it.

This theme is fully loaded with some incredible features, including the ability to create an iPhone or Android app from your site!

Why is ClipMyDeals Great for Affiliate Websites Deal, Coupon and Cashback Websites:

• Everything you need to create a deal website
• Loaded with templates and blocks specifically for deal type websites
• Includes a cashback plugin
• You can make a mobile app from your website

Best General Themes Suitable for Affiliates

These themes can be used for any type of site. However i’ve picked out some of the best themes with features and starter templates that can be used to make a great affiliate site.

• GeneratePress
• Astra
• Divi
• Genesis Pro
• Avada
• OceanWP

GeneratePress

Generate Press is a super-fast theme. It’s also very flexible.

It’s got’s got quite a few content-focussed starter templates that would make good Affiliate Websites.

One of them is desgned specficially for you affiliate sites.

Why GeneratePress is Good for an Affiliate Website:

• It’s super-fast
• A good selection of starter-sites that would work well for an affliate website
• Good value for money

GeneratePress starter sites suitable for Affiliates:

Astra

Astra is a very popular general purpose WordPress theme. It’s flexibility means you can craft a good-looking, content centric affiliate websites without too much stress.

Why Astra is Good for an Affiliate Website:

• Very flexible
• Range of starter-sites that would work well as an affiliate website
• Built-in related posts feature

Astra starter sites suitable for Affiliates:

Divi

Divi is packed full of stuff. It might be too much for some affiliates. If you’re looking for a light-weight theme for you affiliate website, Divi might not be for you.

However if you want tons of customization options and a good page builder Divi’s got you covered.

It includes a number of starter-sites and templates that can be used to create an affiliate website.

Why Divi is Good for an Affiliate Website:

• Very customisable
• Some good starter-layouts that would be good for an affiliate site
• Works with major plugins
• Built in tables, opt-ins and calls-to-action

Divi starter sites suitable for Affiliates:

Genesis Pro

Genesis Pro comes with child themes rather than templates. And amongst it’s huge collection of child themes it’s got some really nice, chrisp and clear, content-focussed ones that are perfect for affiliate content.

It’s also got a ton of beautiful blocks so you can layout and publish content that turns heads.

The main problem with Genesis Pro is it’s price tag…

Why Genesis Pro is Good for an Affiliate Website:

• 4-5 Child Themes that would make good affiliate website templates
• Easy to use and create stuff quickly
• Loads of beautiful blocks!

Genesis Pro starter sites suitable for Affiliates:

Avada

Avada is another theme that has some great content-focussed blog style layouts which is why it makes the list. It’s got everything else you’d expect to which is one of the reasons it’s the most popular theme on Themeforest.

Why Avada is Good for an Affiliate Website:

• Some great looking affiliate suitable starter-sites
• Packed full of features
• Great value for money

Avada starter sites suitable for Affiliates:

OceanWP

I love the ‘simple blog’ template that comes with OceanWP which I think would be perfect for affiliate site in most niches.

However, you don’t have to just choose that one. OceanWP has a healthy selection of ‘blog style’ templates that would all make a solid foundation for an affiliate marketing website.

OceanWP is a solid theme with lots of options, features and blocks.

Why OceanWP is Good for an Affiliate Website:

• Good selection of well-designed starter sites
• Includes stock images and icons that you can use in your content
• Lots of typography options

OceanWP starter sites suitable for Affiliates:

Thrive

I’ve used Thrive to make an affiliate site in the past. It turned out really well and I did manage to make some money with it.

Thrive as a number of blocks, like pros and cons and call-outs that make it a solid choice for affiliate marketers.

If you go for the full suite you can use Thrive Leads to build up your email list.

Why Thrive is Good fo an Affiliate Website:

• Easy to use page-builder
• Built in blocks that work with affiliate sites
• Integrates well with plugins like AAWP
• Proven (by me) to make a good site that gets traffic and makes money

And that’s it.

You can use any theme you like for an affiliate website especially if you combine it with a plugin like Lasso, Affilitable or AAWP.

However, some themes have everything you need right out of the box which can make it a lot quicker and easier to get your affiliate content online.