This is mostly for new AdSense publishers. But all affiliates should think seriously about the role content plays on their sites — and the type of visitors that their content attracts.

First, let’s look at the traditional view of content in affiliate marketing — the view many gurus still promote. In their world, content should be free. By offering free content on your site, you’ll get targeted traffic. The basic logic is, if you provide good free content, people will find it, read it, and buy the products you’re “preselling.”

But contextual advertising has turned this traditional model upside down. Today, thousands of visitors who are looking for free content can be a LIABILITY.

Think about it. If people come to your site, read your articles, and get all their questions answered, they don’t have a reason to stay and click ads. Instead, they’ll happily leave your site with the free information you just handed them on a platter.

The result is, your AdSense impressions will rise, but your CTR (click-through rate) will sink. The result? Not only will your AdSense revenues drop, but advertisers will have NO incentive to run ads on the “content network.”

Why should they complicate their PPC management? Instead they’ll just block your URL from showing their ads.

Welcome to the brave new world of content development. These days, if you want high-paying ads to show on your site, you can’t just think about your visitors. You must build your site, and write your content, so it meets the needs of people who are actively seeking EXACTLY what your advertisers offer.

It’s not enough to provide content and hope that visitors click. You must showcase your advertisers’ offers in the best possible way. You must target your content so it pre-screens for people who are serious prospects for your advertisers. You must watch your on-page optimization so the ads are relevant. And you can’t just scrape content for untargeted keywords.

In the end, it’s not about attracting visitors who might click. You want to envision sites that attract people who will want to take action once they get to the advertiser’s site. And if that isn’t enough, you have to do all that without violating the AdSense TOS.

But what if you’re one of the few marketers who doesn’t bother with AdSense? What if all you want to do is create sites that effectively presell products, and generate tons of sales? Does the new wave of content development have anything to do with you?

It sure does. Because simply giving away free content — articles, reports, ebooks, autoresponder courses, and all the other forms of written content — may be killing your chances of making sales. Giving away too much information might be undercutting your prospect’s need for your products.

If you’re getting plenty of traffic but no buyers, it’s time to reconsider what you give away for free. If information is your “loss leader,” think about alternatives. If your competitors are giving away the store, YOU give away something else.

Here’s where bundling in unique bonuses with enormous perceived value is not just smart, it’s critical. Promise something extra, something different, and something crammed with gold.

Today’s web searchers are looking for something to click. And they’re happy to get in and out of a website as fast as possible. If you give them all the answers, they may leave without making a purchase, let alone visiting an advertiser. But if you make them PAY for the answers — and make them feel only YOU have the RIGHT answers — you’ll be leveraging your content more effectively.