Optimization is a common gripe not only in affiliate marketing but in any kind of business venture. It is a dreaded daily grind for some and an exciting puzzle for others, however the process universally remains essential for success. But why is it so?

To answer that, let’s figure out, what is optimization anyways? Mediaocean has a simple and accurate explanation:

“Optimization is the process of increasing the impact of an ad. Simply put, it’s using past performance and future forecasting to determine how much to spend for future goals, and to amend campaigns in-flight.”

This means that in order to master the art of campaign optimization we’ve got to learn how to maximize the total effect of an ad campaign, and scale it.

When every part of your funnel is fine-tuned – performance reflects that, you build momentum and cash keeps pouring in! Otherwise, you are most likely idling and in an urgent need for optimization.

So, what are the things an average “stuck” affiliate is capable of tweaking and how to do it right? Let’s find out!

Direct Traffic

Traffic is your tool, currency and deity. To reach the desired results it ought to be from a reliable source, properly targeted and distributed.

In essence it boils down to launching a test batch of traffic, then digging into your stats to see where the majority of conversions are coming from. Leverage placements, exchanges, OSs and browsers, IP ranges and connection types, gender of your traffic etc. Any metric you can get your hands on will help out finding the right mix.

Once you crunch the numbers – cut the ballast and focus on the profitable segments. Eliminate outliers step by step , avoid the mistake of going too granular, and watch your ROI skyrocket!  

Source

The same types of traffic supplied by different ad networks may vary in quality and price, therefore affecting your ad campaign’s performance.

Precise targeting can pinpoint the discrepancies in traffic sources’ inventories and highlight the winner for your specific purposes through A/B testing.. Moreso, filtering options and bidding conditions may vary from source to source, so it definitely won’t hurt to go and try out a few.

The best way to go about it is to get one of your tried and tested funnels,  launch some traffic from a new source (RoN or not is up to you), keep an eye on the referral chains, and watch how they perform. You will notice that some of your funnels do better with particular traffic sources, while underperforming on others, with equal parameters applied. Stick to the better ones.  

Network

An affiliate network is another key figure in your campaign strategy, and in a dynamic and unpredictable industry like ours, it is good practice to collect as much as possible intel on each of your allies before hitting the battlefield.

Some of the agencies will have tighter support, while others may be the lead in the vertical you focus on. Pay rates are comprise set of criteria for your choice of network and it won’t hurt to seek out the same offer on multiple networks to see where the greater profit is.

Luckily, there are countless forums and threads on affiliate portals discussing these topics, so do the homework or pray for luck.  

Funnel

Each stage of the funnel impacts user’s perception of the service or product, and his actions on the offer page will be defined by the total sum of these influences. That’s why it makes a lot of sense to test them individually and find the most efficient combination.

A banner is the equivalent of a storefront, and its task is to grab the attention with the most impactful selling point imposed over a flashy design. A prelander is the consultant who does the convincing and leads the user to the store clerk – the offer page, which most important qualities are simplicity and efficiency to finish the conversion.

Various combinations of banners, pre-land and landing pages invoke different impressions in various people. Look for the flow that will resonate with the majority of your audience, and stick to it.

Time

“Time = money” is a universally accepted formula, few would argue. However, it turns out that in affiliate marketing, time gaps equal in length may not be that similarly profitable after all.

In other words, check the clock and the calendar. Some offers are doing better (or worse) during a set period of the month, or depend on the time of the day.

Collecting enough data on this metric allows you to see and predict those trends, maximizing the output of your campaign in the long run.

Angle

An angle is the way you approach the subject matter of your ad campaign. Optimizing the angle means switching up the approach to appeal to the largest segment of your target audience.

Picking up a few segments with different angles is also an option, depending on the feasibility of such a strategy..

The most important part is obviously the content. Depending on the type of campaign you’re running and it’s goals, you may switch between different tones – capitalize on fears, appeal to curiosity or simply lay out the cards on the table if the product allows it.

The visual part also plays an important role in pulling a user in, as it creates the setting and the atmosphere needed. It affects the user’s subconscious while the conscious mind is focused on reading the text, and backs up your idea with appropriate presentation.  

To figure out a good angle, you have to look at the issue from your target customer’s point of view, reassure him where he feels doubt, come up with a direct solution to their problem and draw attention towards the aspects of the product that serve this purpose.

While coming up with the right angle would be more of a creative part to your optimisation process, in the end it still comes down to testing that determines what sort of content does your audience mostly buy into.     

Tools

There are quite a few applications made to simplify the daily grind and delegate some of the number crunching to algorithms. While they do come at a cost, there are a lot of cases when the price is completely justified by the amount of time spent handling the processes manually.

Weigh your options and make a decision, it could save you a lot of trouble.

A few of the most prominent options to consider: optifyme, TheOptimizer.io., LPOptimizer.

Make sure to mind the integration issues, as any third-party software may clash with your setup, causing unnecessary downtime.

Offer

Sometimes you will set up a campaign, equip it with a proven funnel, pick out a tested source with the right targeting, and still struggle to get it into the green.

In this case, the offer itself is the most likely culprit, and there is not so much to do but to try and negotiate better conditions or look for a better option altogether. A different domain may sometimes improve the situation due to better loading times, but if that last resort doesn’t change the situation – time to find an alternative..

Sum up

Optimization is a complex task with a lot of variables, some of which we have laid out here, but it is not so daunting with the right approach. Do the research upfront, allocate the budget for testing and you will definitely find something that sticks.

Cut, check, improve, scale, repeat and you will see green in no time!

• ad campaign
• affiliate marketing
• digital advertising
• optimization
• paid traffic
• tips