Depending on who you listen to, the affiliate marketing market is booming or tanking. A few days in Barcelona at the Affiliate World Europe (AWE19) event leaves a confusing taste in the mouth.
Recent research, in the UK, suggests that affiliate marketing is having a moment, but some of the delegates at the show were much more circumspect.
CHECK OUT OUR AWE19 HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO AT TELEMEDIA VIEWPOINT – AND STAY TUNED FOR FULL INTERVIEWS WITH WILLIAM HILL, DIMOCO, PRELINKER and many more
The biggest problems are, as ever, regulation – of sorts. Increasingly, publishers and brands want reputable traffic that they can trust and this is meaning Google and Facebook traffic becoming the default.
Sure, there is a lot of traffic from these giants, but they are starting to exercise a massive – and somewhat unfair – influence over the market. They also hold the fate of the whole affiliate marketing industry as we know it in their hands. As one person told me, one bit of recoding or a tweak to their algorithms and Google and Facebook could, overnight, stop a whole industry in its tracks.
This has some people worried that perhaps affiliate marketing isn’t the way to source traffic, not least in such competitive times.
However, while there are naysayers, there are also many companies who are seeing great results from both using affiliates and is being affiliates. The dating market is surging, fuelled by affiliates, using it as a way to drive the levels of traffic needed to compete with behemoths such as Tinder and Match.com.
Dating sites are now reliant on affiliate marketing as part of a wide mix of digital marketing services to drive traffic. As dating players look to increase their reach across new markets, affiliate marketing is a clear way in and, as a result, continues to be important – even if some see it as a busted flush. The simple answer is, it isn’t.
Similarly, in some markets, adult images and video, tarot and other stalwarts of the telemedia world are also getting a boost out of affiliate marketing for the very same reasons. It is a part of the way these services are marketed and it is increasingly important way of getting viewers.
Witness William Hill International being seen at AWE19 this year. It knows that you cannot ignore affiliate marketing – not just as a way of driving traffic but also as a way of understanding the market.
On the other side of the coin, all these content types– gaming, gambling, adult, tarot, dating and more – are also generating traction in affiliate networks, especially when combined with a carrier billing element that allows for the creation of instant gratification services, as well as creating opportunities in wider ecommerce – another growth area for affiliate marketing.
Supplying content and a payment mechanic to initiate instant clicking and paying is proving to also be a boon.
Combining these two telemedia stalwarts offers quite an interesting package and could, played correctly, give affiliate marketing a boost.
And it needs one – at least in PR terms. It was once the doyen of digital marketing and has been tarnished over the years and has suffered as a result. Many industry watchers see it as a scammy and dirty business and one that is going to be crushed by the likes of Google and Facebook.
However, that misses an important point: it is a necessary part of the marketing process. Sure the bulk of traffic comes from Google and Facebook, but not all of it – and to mop up those ‘left overs’ creates a profitable niche that can be exploited.
The brands visiting AWE know this. They know that they need affiliates as part of the digital marketing mix and a vital channel to market that isn’t going to collapse any time soon.
CHECK OUT OUR AWE19 HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO AT TELEMEDIA VIEWPOINT – AND STAY TUNED FOR FULL INTERVIEWS WITH WILLIAM HILL, DIMOCO, PRELINKER and many more
