Philippa L http://clicksurerefund.blogspot.co.uk 2m 534
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Affiliate marketing has been big business for more than 15 years. That might seem like a long time, but in comparison to other industries, affiliate marketing is still a relatively new and fresh way of doing business, and it is evolving and maturing every year. Let’s take a look at some of the newest and most interesting trends in the affiliate marketing world.
More Data for Affiliates
Merchants are learning the value of the affiliates that they work with. Instead of limiting the merchant-affiliate relationship to simply providing creatives and paying commissions, merchants are opening up their APIs and providing more and more information to affiliates about what visitors are buying, when their cookies are being set, and what it is they are interested in. This helps affiliates figure out what content is working best, and helps them to hone their pages to provide more value for visitors.
Better Tracking
Instead of Merchants paying commission to the affiliate who set the most recent cookie for the customer in question, or the “last point of contact”, some merchants are looking at fairer ways to track which affiliates did the most work with a particular customer. For example, if someone researches holidays on their tablet PC while they are at work, and then completes the transaction on their desktop once they get home, the merchant may consider awarding commission to the affiliate that persuaded the customer to start the booking process.
Location Based Marketing
Most people carry their smartphones around with them everywhere they go, and this has opened up a whole new range of affiliate marketing opportunities. Instead of simply selling virtual goods or mail order products, why not promote local restaurants and stores instead? Location based search and marketing are a relatively new thing, and only a handful of companies have figured out how to use the technology well. If you’re creative, you could get a head-start in a not-yet-saturated niche.
Global Expansion
While the USA and Western Europe are relatively saturated when it comes to affiliates in most niches, there are other parts of the world that do not have a lot of competition. Some parts of Australia are still developing their online infrastructure, and there are several emerging cities – such as Lima, Mexico City and Moscow, that could turn into exciting markets in the next couple of years.
If you are lucky enough to be bi-lingual, then targeting those emerging cities is a good way to increase your affiliate earnings. Those cities are low-risk areas with a huge potential for growth. Being first to market in a new area is always a big advantage.
Affiliate marketing is a highly competitive industry. The people who succeed in the next few years will be the ones who take advantage of social, mobile and traditional channels, and look for emerging new markets to spread their message to. You cannot afford to rely on old techniques and widely known marketing methods if you want to keep your business growing in the long term.
Philippa L is a keen affiliate marketer and loves everything affiliate marketing based. She has written this article on behalf of the specialists at ClickSure. Philippa is currently running the ClickSure refunds site.
(
