The natural evolution of advertising on the Internet has progressively empowered merchants with the opportunity to improve their return on investment (ROI). Traditional banner ads with flat monthly rates gave way to ads that were based on traffic (CPM) and ads that were based on clicks (CPC). The struggle with both of these models is that there is no guarantee that the advertiser is actually getting a visitor who completes the desired action, whether that is signing up for a newsletter, registering for a service or completing a sale. Affiliate marketing has changed all of that.
The question then arises for how to find the best affiliate network for advertisers. While there is much discussion for how publishers can maximize their earnings by working with affiliate networks, not as much is said about how merchants can maximize their return when investing in online advertising. And that’s why it’s important to consider several factors when choosing the best affiliate network for merchants.
To arrive at the most important factors, we must then go back to the purpose of affiliate marketing from the perspective of the advertiser in the first place. It’s to get real people to complete real actions. Acquiring customers is the target objective.
So first and foremost, the ideal affiliate network for advertisers must have a robust fraud detection system in place. You don’t want to pay for traffic and conversions that are not legitimate. Both automatic and manual checks need to be in place to protect merchants against fraud.
Second, the affiliate network should provide a robust reporting model with all the statistics and metrics that you desire. By having the right set of numbers, you are better equipped to tweak and adjust your advertising campaign to maximize conversions and ROI. This data is ideally provided in real-time, rather than on a lag, so you can take immediate action based on the reports you receive.
Third, having a strong and reliable relationship with your account manager is paramount. It doesn’t matter how great an affiliate network sounds if you can’t ensure that your specific needs are not being met. That personal touch from dedicated support can make a world of difference.
And fourth, the framework on which payments are based must align with your goals and objectives. Some networks charge setup fees and monthly maintenance fees for their advertisers and this can ultimately be a waste of money. The best affiliate network for merchants will have no hidden costs, allowing advertisers only to pay on performance.
Want to see what it is like to work with a real top notch affiliate network? We encourage you to register with WOW Trk today and give us a try. We know how to improve the return on your marketing spend and increase the leads and sales you desire.
