Have you ever wished there was a quick and easy way to monetize the content on your blog? Well, we may have the perfect solution which allows you to earn money from your blog without compromising its quality or visual appearance. In this guide we'll be taking a look at Skimlinks, and how this can generate an income from your blog with only a few minutes work.

What is Skimlinks?

Skimlinks allows you to easily monetize online content by converting product/brand links into affiliate links. This means you can earn a commission every time a purchase is made, all without lifting a finger.

For example, if you create a blog post which includes links to various clothing brands, Skimlinks would automatically convert those links into affiliate links. This is a great way to monetize your content, since it does not impact the creative process when writing a post. In theory, you can keep writing posts as normal and it will have no impact on SEO or your audience.

Skimlinks includes over 24,000 merchants which you an earn a commission through. One major benefit of using Skimlinks is that they provide the top rate of commission, meaning you earn more per-click than using affiliate links directly. This is because most affiliate links gain higher rewards when you reach higher volumes of clicks/referrals. By pooling together everyone's clicks, Skimlinks is able to achieve the top rates of commissions for everyone on the network. Strength in numbers!

How to apply for a Skimlinks account

Applying for a Skimlinks account only takes a few minutes. Simply head over to this page, then click the "Signup" button at the top. You enter a few details about yourself and the site you will use Skimlinks on, then the Skimlinks team will review your application and contact you via email. The approval process normally takes around 1 or 2 days in most cases. We were able to open an account in 24 hours as a test and the support team at Skimlinks were very friendly and helpful.

After being approved for an account, you can install Skimlinks on your site and start earning almost immediately. We've included information about how to install Skimlinks on WordPress and Blogger/Blogspot below.

How to install Skimlinks on WordPress

Installing Skimlinks on WordPress is incredibly easy by using the Skimlinks plugin. Follow the steps below to install this on your site:

1. Go to the Plugins > Add New page in your dashboard:

2. Search for “skimlinks” using the box on the right side of the screen:

3. Click the “Install” button next to the Skimlinks plugin. Wait for it to install, then click “Activate”:

4. Go to Settings > Skimlinks and connect your account:

That's it! You're now ready to start earning and any compatible links within your post content can be tracked as affiliate links.

How to install on Skimlinks Blogger/Blogspot

Follow the steps below to install Skimlinks on your Blogger/Blogspot site:

1. Log in to your Skimlinks account.

2. Go to the "Settings" page, then click the "Install" tab on the left side of the screen. Now click the "Copy code" button:

3. Log in to your blog at blogger.com. Go to the "Layout" section of your blog's dashboard:

4. Click "Add a Gadget" button in the footer of the layout. This can be in any section of the footer, but should preferably be as low down the page as possible:

5. Select the "HTML/Javascript" gadget from the list:

6. Paste the code which you copied in step 4 into the content of the gadget. Click the "Save" button at the bottom:

That's it! Your links will now be converted to affiliate codes automatically. Happy blogging!

Keeping track of clicks and performance

After installing Skimlinks on your site, you will be able to track performance data in your Skimlinks account. This shows you things like which posts are most popular (in terms of clicks) and how much money you've earned from particular retailers and posts.

After a few days, you will be able to see what types of blog posts you make the most money from. This can help you to tailor your posts to your audience and to increase engagement. For example, you might find that a particular blog post about the "best festival wellies" performed very well before Glastonbury. So maybe it's worth creating a similar post next year with some new wellies and other festival tips for your readers.

Skimlinks Disclosure Badge

When using Skimlinks, it is important to disclose to your readers that your site may contain affiliate links. The easiest way to do this is to add the Skimlinks "Disclosure Badge" to a widget on your site. You can find the Disclosure Badge by going to the "Toolbox" section of your Skimlinks account.

Simply copy and paste the code into a HTML widget in your footer.

If you have created a privacy policy (e.g. for GDPR) don't forget to add Skimlinks to this.