“Sticky” is a popular expression used to describe a website with content or functionality that ensures that visitors want to keep reading and to keep returning to the site because they find it to be of value. We are focusing here on the content element of the site rather than specific functionality. To achieve stickiness, content must be more relevant and more appropriate to the particular needs of the visitor than that found on other competing websites. There are many factors at play, not least of which is that any effective site must provide information that can ultimately generate a desired action. In the affiliate world, the translation of knowledge and credibility into action will generally take the form of a click-through via a highly relevant affiliate link with subsequent sale and commission.

Types of information
In the case of “public” information, whereas it was once necessary to use reference sources such as the local library, government documents or archives, today, such information is often freely available from multiple sources via a search engine query. Any website that provides information perceived to be at this level of quality can be regarded as sticky, encouraging visitors to use the site as a source of reference for the subject matter at hand.

Privileged information is also a powerful tool. This can easily be leveraged by creating login-protected areas that only authorised visitors may access. Doing this enhances a perception of the value of the website and can be a significant factor in building a customer database and creating traffic through return visits. We all value something more highly if we feel we are being given special privileges to use it. That said, hiding “meaty” content behind a login is of course an SEO no-no. The search engines cannot index it and thus rank you for it. The trick here is balance. If you can provide sufficiently rich “public” information to drive rankings and add to it with “privileged” information by which you create consumer loyalty, registrations and return visits, you should be onto a winner.

Providing a “reason why”
An Internet user searching a keyword or phrase has some reason for doing so, whether this is for an immediate need or a future plan. Of course, there are likely to be thousands of results listed from this search. We all know that on-page content is one of the most significant elements in generating high rankings. Let’s assume for a moment that your site has reached one of the top spots as a result. Whether it strikes the potential visitor as interesting and relevant will in no small part be determined by the wording of the title and “snippet” appearing with that listing. It is therefore vital that your on-page optimisation, use of tags and so forth, together with your page URLs clearly reinforce the focus of the content and send the right message to the user that your’s is the most relevant of the sites they are considering viewing.

The same principle applies to the on-site content. It should be immediately obvious to the visitor that it will provide the desired information in an accessible way and in terms the user can understand. One of the most effective structures promoted in most major sales and marketing training offerings is “say what you’re going to say, say it, say what you’ve said”. The visitor must be convinced as to the real value and the reasons why the goods or services offered are relevant to them. The better the content on the website, the more likely it will be to turn interest into action. There are many sites on the Internet where the content is so “thin” or the navigation so difficult that visitors are all but encouraged to leave as soon as possible!

Content creation
Regardless of how well you may know the products or services on offer, it can be difficult to communicate their real benefits effectively. It requires far more than basic writing skills. You may even need to consider outsourcing some or all content creation to professionals. The structure of information must be aided by intuitive navigation and the site must be kept “fresh” with new information that will in all likelihood include a blog, articles and perhaps a user forum. There is a fine balance between accessibility and the dumbing down of content. The deeper your knowledge of the consumer, the more appropriately the content can be structured. Don’t be afraid to ask the user for feedback: forums and social media such as Twitter provide excellent opportunities for direct interaction with your target audience. Feedback forms and similar customer research techniques may help, although judgement will be needed to differentiate between facile (11PM after the pub on Friday night!) and useful input. Feedback can be used to adjust, refine and add to the content as needed — a process of continuous improvement.

The term “positioning” doesn’t simply refer to placement of the information within the site’s pages, but also the style, the tone and the structure of the information you are providing. This is almost impossible to achieve without a deep understanding of the characteristics and needs of the visitors within your target market, the types of questions and the concerns that potential buyers may have and how best to express the benefits in terms to which they will relate. Industry forums and even established competitor websites are further useful ways in which to determine what is really important.

In the largely offline world of the 1990s, an entire Customer Relationship Management industry emerged as a result of growing recognition that firms needed to “get closer to the customer” in an integrated fashion across all functions of the business. A multi-million dollar software industry grew around these principles and many firms managed to successfully implement both process and technology, achieving greater customer retention and ultimately market share. Some have managed to translate and evolve this into their ever more online processes. Others have not. The opportunity in today’s online world is, if anything, still greater and the fairly limited interaction possible with current web technology means that those affiliates willing to go the extra mile in getting closer to their market and refining their approach and content as a result will be those that flourish as competition heats up in all sectors. Some may argue that this is the next great battleground.

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