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Pay-per-click and the Affiliate Game: Advice for both sides

January 24th, 2008 Posted in Affiliate Marketing, PPC Programs

There can be a definite rift between corporate search marketers and affiliate marketers.  The animosity can sometimes elevate to a point where it’s almost laughable, with name calling (try searching for “affiliate cockroach”) and flame wars.  The problem is that both sides share common ad space, and compete with each other for clicks and conversion.  Sometimes what both sides fail to notice is that they really do need each other.

Perspective is required on both sides of the fence to settle many of the disputes, and often times the best advice goes unsaid because of mutual frustration.  So, here is a list of pointers for both corporate search marketers and affiliate marketers that will ease tensions considerably:

PPC Advice for Affiliate Marketers (the Publishers)

The job of the affiliate manager is to help and grow relationships that are mutually beneficial to both parties.  If you are a quality publisher, they’ll fight to get you top dollar commissions and maybe even put in a good word for you with their in-house search marketing team.  Here are some tips for getting on their good side:

  • Respect their trademarks and copyrights when advertising on Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing.  Don’t use their corporate name, product name, or URL anywhere in your display ads.
  • Unclear as to which keywords you may target, and which to avoid?  Send them an e-mail and ask.
  • Your chances of earning higher commissions depend on the quality of content leading up to your links.  If you link directly to your advertiser’s pages from PPC campaigns, you’ll violate nearly 95% of all program terms in Commission Junction.
  • This one should be obvious: Don’t buy traffic!  For PPC campaigns, buying traffic means your costs will go up.  Sure, you might get a few conversions, but your advertiser’s EPC will go way down.  You certainly will not be making any friends.
  • Don’t expect instant turnaround for approvals or inquiries.  Top advertisers can have in upwards of 500 approvals and inquiries per week.

Advice for Search Marketers

Search marketers aren’t innocent in this scenario either.  Keep in mind that affiliate marketing does have it’s place in your overall marketing strategy.  If anything, your affiliate program is a means to generating a potentially limitless amount of free clicks, and greater exposure.

  • Finding that it’s harder to win certain keywords because of competition from affiliates?  Maybe the strategy shouldn’t be to try and beat them, but try and join them.  Talk to your affiliate managers about recruiting PPC competitors into your own program and offer up some incentive to feature your banners or links.
  • Reach out to different sites that target specific locales and languages.  Coding your PPC ads and landing pages to speak to different cultures online can be challenging.  Leverage your affiliates to enter new markets and prospects.
  • Scrutinize landing pages and promotions from an affiliate standpoint.  Conversion from search traffic should compliment affiliate programs, not degrade them.
  • Protect your copyrights and trademarks by implicitly expressing acceptable use in your program terms.  Communicate these restrictions to search engines directly so that there is a course of action when terms are violated.
  • Negotiate exclusivity deals with top publishers that will allow you to expand your exposure.  If affiliates are dominating top positions in PPC programs and your ads do not convert well in those same positions, it might be worth your while.
  • Keep in mind that affiliates play by a different set of rules when dealing with PPC campaigns.  Google often adjusts positioning and quality score to appease corporate search marketers.  The affiliate life isn’t always easy.

By no means should this post spark anger or resentment amongst search marketers or affiliate marketers.  If anything, I hope to have opened the lines of communication between both parties by giving perspective to both sides.

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