This article will self-destruct in ten seconds. Well, okay, a little longer than that. But it’s wise to remember that any “next big thing” is really only effective, if you can jump on the wave when there are only a few other surfers riding it with you. Once the wave is spotted, it will inevitably be overcrowded by all the other surfers – the amateurs who cannot spot good waves for themselves, and select, instead, on the basis of seeing what all the pro-surfers are doing. Ever tried to ride an overcrowded wave to shore? Me, neither. But I’ve been told it feels a little like jumping on an overcrowded marketing trend.

The humble website has undergone a variety of collective movements – through the initial race of design (as technology enabled increasingly cutting-edge graphics capabilities), to the more recent return of copywriting (as websites strived to humanise their brands). But there’s a new wave forming in the sea of online marketing, and it’s particularly powerful for SME businesses that can now enjoy a medium that, until recently, has been out of reach (above that line). Grab your surfboards! Let’s jump on video…. before everyone else does.

Affiliate marketing is just that. By placing advertisements on your websites for ‘affiliate’ companies, you earn a commission fee when a visitor to your site clicks on the ad and/or makes a purchase.

A common mistake is to get as many links as possible. Hundreds of links might seem like you’re on to a good thing, but unless they lead to relevant websites they’re about as useful as a scooter is to a goose. Implement the following rules of link building to build the visibility of your website in the world of the web.