Affiliate marketing can be worthwhile if managed correctly. Looking past last click attribution, sales journeys are complex with affiliates contributing to incremental and intercepted sales. Not all affiliates or sales are the same - different affiliate types like content versus vouchers operate differently and influence basket size, new versus existing customers, and time to purchase. To maximize effectiveness, marketers should analyze affiliate contributions, consider true customer lifetime value, and tailor approaches, offers, and incentives for each affiliate type.

1. Is Affiliate Marketing Really Worthwhile?Matt BaileyHead of Affiliatei-level

2. YES...if it’s managed correctly

3. What are we going to talk about?Context – Why are we asking this question?Looking past the last clickMore than a single channelAre all sales the same?Maximising your campaign effectiveness

4. Who Am I?Head of Affiliate at i-levelChair of IAB’s Affiliate Marketing CouncilPassionate advocate of performance marketing

5. Uncertain ClimateUnprecedented Times

6. How online is doingEconomy shrank 2.9% in Q1 2009 Unemployment up by 29% in the last year17p in every £ spent online50% spent online by 2014Sources: ONS (April 09), National Staistics, IMRG CapGemini e-Retail Sales Index

7. Performance Marketing in a RecessionLow risk marketing channelPaying after the money is in the tillScaleableLET’S NOT WASTE A GOOD RECESSION

8. SCRUTINY

9. What clients want...Lower cost per saleMore salesIncremental salesBetter sales

10. Looking past the last click

12. SaleSaleThe last eventEvent typeDisplay ImpressionDisplay ClickPaid SearchNatural SearchAffiliatesLast Exposure

13. Sales journeys are complexEvent typeE5Display ImpressionDisplay ClickE4Paid SearchNatural SearchAffiliatesE3E2E1 Conversion EventSale

14. Evidence for both incremental sales and interception2. Other->AffiliateJourneys (-)1. Affiliate–onlyJourneys (+)3. Affiliate ->OtherJourneys (+)Sale

15. What you pay forAffiliate OnlyOther to affiliateLast click sales

16. True ValueAffiliate OnlyOther to affiliateTrue valueAffiliate to other

17. Determining the worth100 salesLast Click Sales80 salesAffiliate Only30Affiliate to other20Other to affiliate90 salesTrue Value

18. More than a single channel

19. PPC BrandPrice ComparisonVoucher CodeLoyalty/ CashbackNew Technologies High Traffic/ PortalTrue ContentEmail

20. Affiliate types interact in different waysEvent typePaid SearchContentPrice ComparisonIncentiveVoucherOtherShare of journey eventsTransaction01 Jan 09 – 04 Mar 09

21. Breaking out affiliates by categoryDisplay ClickPaid Search Natural Search Affiliate ContentAffiliate CashbackAffiliate VoucherSale

22. What types of activity feeds sales, by typeDisplay ClickPaid Search Natural Search Affiliate ContentAffiliate CashbackAffiliate Voucher

23. Clear difference in journey lengths% SalesNumber of exposures

24. What does this show?Different affiliates operate in different waysThey require specific:ApproachesMarketing collateralRemuneration models

25. Are all sales the same?

26. Can you use affiliates to:Make people spend more?Drive new customers?Stay with you longer?Buy sooner?

27. Average basket value

28. New vs Existing CustomersWhere is the brand loyalty, with you or the affiliate?Would the sale have come to you anyway?Reward affiliates for driving new customers?

29. Lifetime ValueSome affiliate models promote switchingDo you measure the lifetime value of sales through different channels?Should an affiliate be rewarded for driving better customers?

30. Affiliates convert sales quickerSale event typeDisplay ClickNaturalSearchPaid SearchAffiliates

31. Using this information to maximise your campaign effectiveness

32. Looking past the last clickAnalyse what you are paying affiliatesRemember last click isn’t everything

33. Determining the worth100 salesLast Click Sales80 salesAffiliate Only30Affiliate to other20Other to affiliate90 salesTrue Value

34. Determining the worth100 salesLast Click Sales80 salesAffiliate Only50 salesAffiliate to other20Other to affiliate50 salesTrue Value

35. More than a single channelUnderstand different affiliate typesHow do they interact with each other?Bespoke approach for each one

36. More than a single channelCan they be used to complement your existing search strategy?Incremental value or cannibalisation? How do we harness them and achieve our aims?PPC AffiliatesCashback and Incentive sitesDo they add incremental value or simply cannibalise other channels?What offers should we be pushing and how do we retain control?Voucher Code SitesEmail affiliatesAre you providing them with the right tools to promote you?How do we stay ahead of the curve whilst protecting ourselves at the same time?Emerging TechnologiesLong Tail Content

37. How can we use affiliates?

38. PullPushCapture all traffic looking for your products

39. Price Comparison

40. Product based content sites

41. Brand/Generic PPC

42. Get your brand on front of online shoppers

43. Voucher sites

44. Cashback

45. EmailEPC = CPA & CTR & OSCPay affiliates moreCompelling creative

46. Strong consumer offers/ voucher codes

47. Securing good placements on the affiliate site

48. Deeplinking to specific products

49. Reducing the customer journey

50. Easy site to useAre all sales the same?

51. Making people spend more

52. Driving new customers?Can affiliates be incentivised to drive new customers?Pay a bonus for new customersIs it something they can influence?Does it vary for different affiliate types?

53. Driving better customersDo certain affiliates/ affiliate types drive better customers already?Do merchants measure this?Would certain affiliates be better incentivised working on a lifetime rev share model?

54. Aiding conversionSome (content) affiliates are losing salesInstead of paying them more, how can we help them convert?SaleSale

55. Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?All marketers are under intense scrutinyIncredible opportunities for us all

56. What you need to demonstrateAffiliates is a key solus channelYou treat affiliate types differentlyYou understand what different affiliates are delivering for you.Always be in beta

57. matt.bailey@i-level.comtwitter.com/mattb811