Ever wonder how websites like Amazon.com and Expedia.com grew to be so large, that when you think about buying a book or travel online, you immediately think of them? Well, we can tell you that they did not grow to be two of the largest retailers on the internet without the help of millions of affiliates. In fact, just as many conversions are made on their affiliates websites, as are made on their own websites.
Affiliate marketing is the process by which merchants recruit other entities (affiliates) to sell their products/services or to refer customers back to the merchant. When the affiliate refers a visitor, or converts a sales, the affiliate is paid a commission. The merchant is happy to pay a commission to the affiliate, for it is a very cost-effective means of marketing their products. Amazon and Expedia have millions of affiliates that sell their books and their travel products every day. Without those affiliates, these orgainzations would have to rely on more traditional, and more expensive, means of advertising their websites.
Affiliates are generally paid for three types of referrals. The least risky to a merchant paying a commission is on a sale. The merchant only pays the affiliate when a transacton leading to the sale of goods or services is completed. No sale, no commission. At a slightly higher risk to the merchant, affiliates can be paid for an acquired lead. This means that the merchant pays an affiliate when they refer a new customer (lead) to the merchant. This is not a sale, but more of a potential sale in the future. The highest risk is paying per visitor. The merchant pays the affiliate every time a new visitor is referred to the merchant’s website, regardless of conversions on that website.
Now, you can imagine the management that must take place with an affiliate program. There is programming that must take place on involved websites, accounting for visitors, leads, and sales made by affiliates, not to mention the payment of commissions on all of the above. And, who does the recruiting? Getting affiliates to want to sell your products or refer new business prospects to you is a task in and of itself. Well, as with most online marketing today, there are tools to assist you in accomplishing your affiliate marketing goals. Partners such as Commission Junction and Share-a-sale assist you with software and networks of affiliates to recruit from. They also assist in the tracking and accounting functions of an affiliate marketing program.
Managing a strong affiliate marketing program can be a full time job, especially for someone new at it. TotalScope Marketing, LLC can implement and manage an affiliate marketing program for you, bringing years of experience and more success to the table. Almost all websites can benefit from a properly managed affiliate marketing program. To get a free consultation or to get your affiliate program under way, contact us today.
Get More Information About:
SEM
Affiliate Marketing
Email Marketing
Web Advertising
Web Design
