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 Performance Marketing or Affiliate Marketing
- What Is It?
Performance marketing on the internet provides a way for advertisers (those
trying to sell goods or services) to form commercial relationships with
publishers (those who have the audience who are likely to buy those good or
services). The payment is usually on a % of sale, a set amount per lead or a per
click basis. Affiliate marketing is the same model except affiliates' methods are more varied.
For advertisers, affiliates are a bit like commission-only salespeople. Using tracking software, the advertisers can pay publishers and other affiliates
on results - usually a percentage of sale or a set fee per action.
Just imagine if you only had to pay for your newspaper or television
advertising if it produced results.
Affiliate Marketing Terms
This is a basic list of terms that you'll come across in discussions about affiliate
marketing. Some are fairly obvious, but others will be explored in greater
depth on individual entries.
Who's who?
There are three main players in affiliate marketing
- The Affiliate: Affiliates bring internet readers to the website of
merchants. Some, like BCL, are online publishers with established websites and audiences. Other affiliates use PPC and email.
- The Merchant: Merchants sell products and services online. They use
the affiliates to bring them more potential customers or clients. In publishing
terms, they are advertisers.
- The Affiliate Network: Although some merchants have the resources
to run their own affiliate programs, most use affiliate networks. The
networks provide the tracking software and statistics for both the Merchant
and Affiliate and a varying range of other services. We have our own private performance network where the only "affiliates" are websites we control, thereby providing all the benefits of an affiliate network without many of the risks.
How you work out what to pay
- per sale - normally % of sale, but occasionally a fixed amount
per sale. This is the most common model, but obviously requires an online
ordering process like a shopping cart.
- per lead - mainly used by service industries where the
successful submission of an online form is tracked and paid at an agreed
rate. A lead is a lead regardless of whether you turn it into a sale.
- per click - often used when neither of the above forms are
appropriate or to promote and information website. Unlike ppc on search
engines, the price of the click using affiliate software is usually fixed.
- per 1000 Impressions - less common and used for brand building.
Other terms
- cookie duration - this determines the number of days that the sale
or lead will be tracked after the customer followed the affiliate link. This
allows for customers who don't make up their mind immediately.
- repeat sales or sub-sales - this allows for multiple transactions
from the same customer within the cookie duration period.
September 5, 2008
Can you believe everything you hear about affiliate marketing? Here are 5 common myths that we hear about affiliate or performance marketing from a merchant or retailer viewpoint.
Continue reading "5 Myths of Affiliate Marketing - for Merchants"
June 27, 2008
If you run an affiliate program, especially if you use open affiliate marketing networks, you need to monitor what your affiliates do in their quest to get commissions. Some affiliates will promote you on their websites, some will use ppc on the search engines. Some will do it in a positive way, providing you with extra sales and customers. Some will not.
Continue reading "Regular Checks on the Search Engine Results"
Part of the process of deciding whether to promote a retailer on our sites is to approach the website as a potential customer and test out the conversion process. One thing I often notice is the box asking the customer to enter their coupon or voucher number for a discount. Does your site do that, and what effect does it have on your customer?
Continue reading "Could asking for discount codes on your website be losing you sales?"
June 22, 2008
The new OEPL performance marketing network, owned and operated by Online Encounters Pty Ltd, has gone live this week. I see this as a natural progression in a rapidly evolving industry.
Continue reading "New Alternative to Affiliate Networks"
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