Quick Answer: As a rule, it’s best to set affiliate links to open in a new tab or window so site visitors can continue consuming content without having to go back and reload the page. The result is a longer average session duration, higher conversion rates and a better user experience.
It’s a controversial topic though and, trust me, there is an awful lot of debate over whether affiliate links should open in a new tab or window or not.
Some people feel that it’s best to have them open in a new tab so the user doesn’t lose their place on the page, while others believe that it’s better to have them open in the same tab so the user doesn’t have to click on another link.
So, which is the right way to do things?
Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument.
5 Reasons To Set Affiliate Links To Open In New Tab
1. If You Have Multiple Offers On The Same Page
A big reason you might want to have affiliate links open in a new tab is if you have, say, a top 10 list of best headphones where you have multiple affiliate offers on the same page.
While you never want to promote too many products, there will be times when you have multiple affiliate links and you want to give users the opportunity to explore multiple affiliate links on your post or page.
If they’re interested in one offer, they might be interested in others as well. By opening links in a new tab, you’re making it easy for users to learn more about the products and services you’re promoting.
2. Visitors Stay On Your Website For Longer
One of the main goals of any website is to keep visitors engaged for as long as possible. By setting any external links in your site (including affiliate links) to open in a new tab, you ensure visitors remain on your site for longer periods of time.
This sends a strong signal to Google that your website is high-quality and engaging and your organic search engine traffic will likely increase as a result.
3. Avoid Back Button Fatigue for Users
Have you ever been browsing a website and clicked on a link that took you to another site?
Chances are you quickly realized that you were no longer on the original website and hit the back button so you could continue where you left off. Sometimes, however, clicking the back button doesn’t take you back to where you were originally and instead loads another page entirely.
This is annoying and frustrating for visitors who might just end up hitting the close tab button altogether.
By opening affiliate links in new tabs, your readers can skip the whole “back button fatigue” issue and have a better experience overall.
4. Improve Site Speed & Performance
If your website has a lot of advertisements that take a long time to load, it is best to open external links in new tabs. This way, visitors won’t have to wait for all of the ads to load before they can access the content they’re interested in.
Additionally, if your website is loading slowly due to too many plugins, heavy content or large images, opening affiliate links in a new tab can help improve performance since it won’t have to load as much content all at once.
As a result, visitors will be able to access your site faster and are less likely to get frustrated and leave before they’ve had a chance to explore everything it has to offer.
5. Get Accurate Analytics Data
It’s important to track how users interact with your website so you can make changes as needed and improve the user experience.
However, if affiliate links are opened in the same tab as your website, it can throw off your analytics data since the user’s time on your site will end as soon as they leave.
When Should Affiliate Links Open In The Same Tab?
There are some scenarios when it’s best to have affiliate links open in the same tab.
For example, when you give a final call to action at the bottom of a sales page and you want to remove any distractions.
Or if you’re sending out a sales email promoting a special offer Essentially, your web page will be a distraction unless the affiliate link opens in the same tab. If the goal of my 3000-word article is to get people to visit an affiliate site, then I’ll open it in the same browser tab and hope they have a good time shopping.
At the end of the day, you always follow your common sense and do what’s best for you and your readers.
How To Add An Affiliate Link To A Blog Post
1. Give A Strong Call To Action
You always want to tell people what to do directly.
Verbs work best for this, for example:
- Tap now to…
- Click here to discover…
- Check out…
- Get the free training
- See full pricing options
- Register here
If you have a post about different types of sheds and you want to link to a garden shed affiliate program then make it clear where the link is going to take them and tell them exactly what to do.
2. Grab Your Affiliate Link
Once you’ve decided which words you want to link, it’s time to find your affiliate link.
Wherever possible (it depends on the affiliate program), try to use deep links i.e. a link to a specific product or sales page as that will boost your conversion rates.
3. Insert The Link Into Your Blog Post
Now you have your link, highlight the call-to-action text you want to link and paste your URL.
Hit the “Open in new tab” toggle and hit enter.
4. Test Your Affiliate Links Always!
Once you’ve added all your links and published your post, you’re going to want to test your links!
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve inserted a link wrong and only realised months later and lost out on a ton of money!
So yeah, check, double and triple-check your links to make sure they’re working correctly.
If Unsure, Set Affiliate Links To Open In A New Tab
As a default rule, have your affiliate links in a new window, but there may be times when you want to have links open in the same tab and that’s probably fine too.
Ultimately, it’s up to you as the affiliate to decide what works best for you and your audience.
