The Truth Will Out: Disproving Common Misconceptions In Affiliate Marketing

The Truth Will Out: Disproving Common Misconceptions in Affiliate Marketing Kevin Edwards Strategy Director, Affiliate Window

Some Caveats & Explanations
Relies on correct affiliates categorising themselves accurately
Not all voucher code directory sales were the result of voucher codes being used
Two months of data used for all examples, May-June 2009
Only affiliate channel data has been used; we are unable to make conclusions about merchants’ additional online channels
All merchants used are exclusive to the network so we are comparing complete affiliate data
All merchants work with all affiliate types although some have varying commissions and T&Cs
Only merchants with meaningful data chosen
None allow brand bidding; all have relatively strict PPC T&Cs

Voucher Code sites are goal hangers who steal sales at the last minute

Number of Referrers – Gifts Single Referrer Two Referrers Other Referrers Total Merchant 1 87.1 10.1 2.7 100 Merchant 2 88.6 9.6 1.8 100 Merchant 3 86.8 10.5 2.7 100 TOTAL 87.8 10.0 2.3 100

Number of Referrers – Gifts

Number of Referrers – Mobiles Single Referrer Two Referrers Other Referrers Total Merchant 1 92.3 6.7 1.0 100 Merchant 2 91.2 7.6 1.3 100 Merchant 3 86.9 10.7 2.4 100 TOTAL 89.6 8.7 1.7 100

Number of Referrers - Mobiles

Number of Referrers – Electricals Single Referrer Two Referrers Other Referrers Total Merchant 1 82.3 14.2 3.6 100 Merchant 2 87.0 10.5 2.5 100 Merchant 3 87.0 10.5 2.5 100 TOTAL 85.0 12.1 2.9 100

Number of Referrers – Electricals

Winners & Losers - Electricals

Winners & Losers – Mobiles

Winners & Losers – Gifts

Latency – Click to sale speed Minutes Percentage of Sales

Latency – Gifts code (general) Minutes Percentage of Sales
19% of VC sales between 3-5 mins
12.5% of other affiliate sales
16% of ‘True Content’ sales

Latency – Click to sale, electricals Minutes Percentage of Sales
16% of VC sales in first 5 mins
19% of other affiliate sales in first 5 mins
19% of ‘True Content’ sales in first 5 mins

Latency – Electrical code (product) Minutes Percentage of Sales

Latency – Electrical code (general) Minutes Percentage of Sales
16% increase in sales during code period
2% increase in multiple referrer sales
Most first click VC sales lose out to VC sites

Conclusion
Small minority of sales are multi referrer
When there is a multiple referrer sales, loyalty/reward sites are much more likely to take sale
Using meaningful data, price comparison and PPC lose out on first click vs. last click;
Negligible difference in the percentage of multi-referrer sales during strong code period
Voucher code sites most overwritten by other voucher code sites

Last click wins is outmoded and doesn’t fairly reward affiliates...

Is last click wins unfair?
If so few sales are multiple referrer should we move to another system?
If we decide on a fairer system, what model could we use?
With fairness do we lose transparency?
How does it work on a practical level?
What values do you use to decide your multi-attribution model?

Attribution Choices First Click Acquisition Last Click Conversion Even Split Egalitarian Weighted Recency Budget Spend

Last Click Wins £6 £0 £0

First Click Wins £0 £6 £0

Every Click Wins £2 £2 £2

Every Click Wins - Weighted £3 £1 £2

Multi Attribution Models - Mobiles First Click Equal Click Weighted Last Weighted First

Multi Attribution Models - Electricals First Click Equal Click Weighted Last Weighted First

Multi Attribution Models - Gifts First Click Equal Click Weighted Last Weighted First

Average Order Values - Electricals Number of Referrers +7% +14% +25.1% +35%

Average Order Values - Gifts Number of Referrers +12.8% +31.8%

Where’s the value? Affiliate multi-attribution isn’t necessarily the answer but it could be a contributory element of a wider value system Value System Average Order Value New Customer Acquistion Contribution in the sales journey Sales Volume Conversion Rate ?

Kevin Edwards, Strategy Director 020 7553 0354 07974 810 547 [email_address]

The Truth Will Out: Disproving Common Misconceptions In Affiliate Marketing

by a4uexpo Conference on Oct 16, 2009

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