Affiliate marketing is a popular way for publishers and bloggers to monetize their websites by earning commissions from sales they refer to a company. Many affiliates use paid ads to promote affiliate offers and drive traffic to their website. Running ads can be an effective strategy but there are some important factors to consider first.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is an arrangement where a publisher/blogger (the affiliate) promotes a company’s products or services on their website. When a sale is made or a lead is generated as a result of the affiliate’s marketing efforts, they receive a commission from the company.
Some key things about affiliate programs:
– Companies provide unique affiliate links and promo codes to track sales.
– Affiliates promote offers through content, emails, social media, ads etc.
– Commissions are a percentage of the sale price, often between 5-30%.
– Payments are usually made monthly for commissions earned.
– Popular affiliate networks include CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, Amazon Associates etc.
It’s free to join and easy to get started. You can partner with brands in almost any niche.
Can I run ads for my affiliate offers?
Yes, running paid ads is permitted by most affiliate programs. It can be an effective way to scale up promotional efforts.
There are no legal or regulatory issues with running ads as an affiliate. However, there are some best practices to follow when doing so:
– Check the affiliate program’s terms to ensure ads are allowed. Some have restrictions.
– Clearly disclose affiliate relationships if it isn’t already apparent.
– Ensure ad copy and landing pages don’t make questionable claims.
– Comply with advertising policies of any ad platform used.
Provided these guidelines are followed, running ads to promote affiliate products is perfectly acceptable.
Should I run ads for affiliate marketing?
Here are some pros and cons to consider when deciding if ads are right for your affiliate marketing efforts:
Pros:
– Increased reach and visibility for affiliate offers
– Can drive significant volumes of traffic quickly
– Ad targeting options allow you to get in front of potential customers
– Useful for boosting commissions and affiliate earnings
– Provides a way to scale campaigns beyond organic reach
Cons:
– Paid advertising costs can eat into affiliate profits
– Difficult to profit from low ticket affiliate items
– Risk of traffic quality being low if targeting isn’t right
– Maintaining and optimizing campaigns is time consuming
– Facebook/Google may reject affiliate-focused ads
Overall, ads can work very well for affiliate marketing when done correctly. They are most effective when promoting high ticket, high converting offers. Extensive testing is needed to achieve positive ROI.
What types of ads can I use?
There are several ad formats suitable for affiliate marketing, including:
Paid Search (PPC)
– Google Ads
– Bing Ads
– Paid search on other search engines
These allow you to target people searching for keywords related to your offers. Ideal for laser-targeted traffic.
Social Media Ads
– Facebook ads
– Instagram ads
– LinkedIn ads
– Twitter ads
– Pinterest ads
Great for laser-targeted exposure to relevant audiences in a more natural way.
Display Advertising
– Banner ads
– Native ads
– Pop-ups/unders
– Video ads
Display ads help reach users as they browse sites. Preferable over search ads when brand awareness is the goal.
Retargeting Ads
Ad platforms allow you to re-engage visitors who left your site without converting. This helps capture potential lost sales.
Email Marketing
While not technically ads, email provides a targeted way to promote to subscribers. Useful for driving re-visits.
Best practices for running affiliate ads
Here are some top tips for running effective ads as an affiliate marketer:
– Test extensively – try different creatives, offers, landing pages, placements. Evaluate data frequently and kill underperformers fast.
– Target very narrowly to get conversions. Use interests, behaviors, keywords and more for precision.
– Make ad messaging clear and direct response oriented. Include benefits, special offers, urgency signals.
– Send traffic to persuasive landing pages designed specifically for the offer, not just your homepage.
– Retarget engaged visitors who don’t initially convert to give them an extra nudge.
– Ensure high-quality scores for PPC ads. Optimize for relevance, landing page experience, etc.
– Monitor closely for changes in performance and continuously optimize campaigns.
– Leverage any promo tools or higher commission rates the advertiser provides.
– Be transparent with disclosures so users understand the commercial relationship.
Top affiliate products and verticals for paid advertising
Certain affiliate offers tend to work particularly well with paid advertising:
Software/SaaS: High ticket and monthly subscriptions. Can drive a lot of value from conversions.
Courses/Education: Promising vertical for ads. Passionate buyers with high customer lifetime value.
Finance/Insurance: Big money niche. Ad traffic converts to high commissions.
Travel: Qualified traffic converts well for hotels, flights, vacation packages.
Products: Ecommerce items over $100+ work best. Use retargeting.
Services: Home, health, and auto services convert due to intent-based nature.
The goal is to promote high-converting offers relevant to your audience. Test different verticals to see what performs best.
Can I run a profitable affiliate ad campaign?
It’s absolutely possible to run profitable ad campaigns for affiliate marketing. However, there are some key factors that determine success:
– Offer Earning Potential – How much commission is generated per conversion?
– Offer Conversion Rates – What % of visitors convert on the affiliate’s site?
– Traffic Quality – Are ad clicks genuinely interested or just loosely targeted?
– Cost Per Click – How much does each click cost? CPCs vary greatly.
– Landing Page Conversion Rate – Is your page optimized to convert traffic?
Analyze each part of this funnel to ensure profits. Choose offers with high commissions and conversion rates. Test landing pages extensively. Target ads very tightly and monitor costs closely.
With the right offer, optimization, tracking and bidding strategy, affiliate ads can become a key profit driver. But poor execution can lead to losses. Testing and staying agile is key.
Ad platform policies on affiliate marketing
When running ads for affiliate offers, it’s important to be aware of the platform policies around affiliate marketing:
Google Ads
– Allows affiliate marketing and lead gen, with disclosures
– Prohibits inappropriate claims of endorsement from brands
– Closely monitors gambling, prescription drugs and political ads
Facebook Ads
– Affiliate marketing allowed with clear disclosure
– Restricts promoting free trial offers that auto-bill
– Reviews “business models with inherently low quality”
Bing Ads
– Permits affiliate ads focusing on product features vs income claims
– Subject to reviewal to confirm ad relevance
– Closely monitors restricted categories like gambling
Others
– Amazon: Very restrictive, affiliate links only permitted on certain sites they approve.
– Taboola/Outbrain: Affiliate networks banned, but individual affiliate OK.
– Pinterest: Only permit adds driving value for users, restrictive on affiliate approach.
Overall the key is transparency, strong targeting, and avoidance of questionable claims or offers. Be sure to review and comply with all policies.
Should I work directly with advertisers vs networks?
There are pros and cons to working directly with advertisers vs relying only on affiliate networks:
Direct Advertisers
Pros:
– Access to exclusive offers and higher commissions
– Get promo codes and custom creatives
– Develop stronger relationship
Cons:
– Need to be approved and meet requirements
– More complex tracking and reporting
– Renegotiating terms can be difficult
Affiliate Networks
Pros:
– Easier access to a wide range of programs
– Network handles approvals and tracking
– Some networks optimize programs for higher conversions
Cons:
– Commissions may be lower
– Less control over relationship
– Potentially less promotional support
Ideally, a mix of both direct and network partnerships works well. Start with networks to test offers and get experience. Then reach out to select direct advertisers with higher value propositions.
Conclusion
Paid advertising can be highly effective for affiliate marketing. It allows you to scale campaigns beyond organic reach. With the right offer selection, optimization, targeting and landing pages, profits are achievable. However, affiliates need to be aware of platform policies, choose offers carefully, disclose properly and monitor performance to ensure positive ROI on ad spend. A blended approach using both affiliate networks and direct advertiser partnerships is recommended.
