{Case Study} Boost Customer Acquisition + SEO with Affiliate Marketing

When I launched an affiliate program for The Dapper Dog Box in 2017, my goals were to get as many backlinks as possible from bloggers and media websites but my bigger goals were to get features on websites like Buzzfeed. Being featured on trendy websites that millions of people visit each day is gold for a business. For SEO purposes, gaining backlinks from valuable websites can drastically help improve your SEO. Over the 2.5 years I owned and ran The Dapper Dog Box, I had more than 8 features in Buzzfeed. The Dapper Dog Box was also featured in The Dodo, Business Insider, Forbes and many other sites.

Affiliate marketing accounted for more than 20% of our business and allowed the company to get hundreds and hundreds of backlinks from bloggers, therefore helping our SEO and making our website stronger in the eyes of a consumer. Below are a few of my favorite features via affiliates.

  1. Buzzfeed: We Tested Dog Subscription Boxes So You Don't Have To

         

2. Bustle: Most Wanted Holiday For Pet Parents

   

 3. Forbes: The Best Delivery Subscription Boxes for Pets

   

   

4.  Business Insider: 18 Of the Best Subscription Boxes You Can Gift From Amazon This Holiday Season

   

5.  The Dodo: Dogs Rescued By Same Firemen Are Reunited For Photo Shoot

This was by far one of the biggest highlights of the entire 2.5 years in The Dapper Dog Box business!

After a tremendous amount of persistence, an amazing photoshoot in LA and me stalking every freelance writer from notable websites like Buzzfeed, Brit + Co, we got a feature in the Dodo. This isn't a typical affiliate feature but given that we have a photo and a backlink on a HUGE website, it was epic for the business. This backlink is The Dapper Dog Box's most valuable backlink (for SEO purposes).   

This started as a photo shoot that Chews Life Rescue and The Dapper Dog Box created in 2017 as a way to showcase 10 shelter dogs that were looking for their forever homes. I arranged to bring dapper dog boxes, toys, accessories for all the dogs and a photographer took images of them against fun colorful art walls in Los Angeles. Dogs wearing beautiful accessories look more friendly to a potential adopter therefore making them easier to get adopted out.

After the photoshoot I created a press release and sent it to probably 50 people from big websites and an amazing writer named Kellie Stevens was interested in the story. She did indicate that the dodo does NOT promote businesses but they would include a link back to the dapper dog box rescue page for me. For me, Yes I wanted a backlink from the dodo which I knew would do wonders for my SEO, but more importantly I wanted this wonderful rescue to get the exposure they needed to adopt out these gorgeous dogs who had been at the rescue for a long time. Win Win for everyone.

Affiliate marketing has made businesses millions and ordinary people millionaires. -Bo Bennet