What Google _hates_ are sites that offer no added value, and with good reason. Think about it from their perspective for a minute (advertiser seller). Take a shoe affiliate for example:

Let’s say someone searches for “New Balance 991″. If the #1 result is Zappos, and the remaining results are Zappos affiliates with prodct feeds, is that a good user experience? I mean, would you rather have a choice between Zappos, Finish Line, Foot Locker, New Balance, etc. etc., or Zappos, Zappos, Zappos,…? This is why Google “hates” affiliates (on the product sales side). Most add ZERO value and cause people to get frustrated. Why would I want to buy from a Zappos affiliate if I can get the same shoes directly from the merchant?

Now, if I had a Zappos affiliate site, I’d add value by posting articles about shoe fitment, fashion tips, etc. and offering more VALUE than just another product feed. These types of value-added sites NEVER get hit by updates. Unfortunately (or fortunately ), this isn’t often the case with most affiliates, who basically just have a product feed (eg. no different than Zappos) or worse yet, a redirect straight to the merchant’s site.

Bottom Line: If your site actually adds VALUE to the user experience, you won’t have to worry about getting “slapped” by Google.

None of my sites (~12) have been affected by any of Google’s updates. Actually, my average CPC across two accounts has DECREASED! So please, let’s not perpetuate the misguided notion that “Google hates affiliates”. It’s simply not true, and there is no real evidence to support it.