"Brandon, the Ultimate Pay Per Click Guru, (ok, I added that part myself) I have what I think is a great affiliate that pays a little more that the common affiliate that everyone uses. Most of the affiliate programs people are promoting pay $3.50 per action by mine pays $4.25. Should I try to jump in this flooded market?"
I responded by saying, "How flooded is flooded?"
Anonymous Bob said, "There are about 3 pages of Google AdWords ads that all go to landing pages for that one affiliate. Only 2 of the ads go to my affiliate."
This situation kinda perplexed me. Why would there be nearly 3 full pages of affiliate marketers promoting an affiliate that pays $.75 less than another affiliate selling the same product.
I could think of a few reasons.
1. The higher paying affiliate doesn't convert well.
2. The higher paying affiliate has a lot of returns.
3. The higher paying affiliate doesn't work well with affiliates.
2. The higher paying affiliate has a lot of returns.
3. The higher paying affiliate doesn't work well with affiliates.
One of those 3 is probably going on in this situation. In fact, all three might be the reason that nobody is using this other affiliate. On the good side, one of the following might have happened.
1. The affiliate isn't part of a big network like Commission Junction or AzoogleAds.
2. The affiliate doesn't have a dedicated manager promoting the affiliate program.
3. They recently raised their payout rates and you were among the first to notice.
2. The affiliate doesn't have a dedicated manager promoting the affiliate program.
3. They recently raised their payout rates and you were among the first to notice.
I don't know which of those 6 options is actually occuring here but there are a few ways to check it out.
1. Create 2 Ad Groups, one for each affiliate. Create identical landing pages. Create the same keywords for bidding, and bid the same for each term. With this identical setup, you should only have a conversion variation based on the actual affiliate program. While one may convert more, you are only looking for actual money made with sales.
2. Use one landing page for a full week. Then switch the affiliate url to the other affiliate at the end of one week. With two full weeks of data you should be able to see if there is a reason nobody is using the higher paying affiliate.
Should you jump in this flooded market? That would depend on your level of affiliate experience and your expertise in that area. If you aren't careful the big fish will eat you and your ad budget. You might make a few sales, but in the end you will lose.
If you do decide to jump in, don't do it with both feet, test the water with 1/10th of your daily budget. What I mean is that I would start small with a daily budget of about $10-15. That way, if you spend a weeks worth of money and make no sales you've only lost $70-100.
Bob, if you can fill in some of the blanks I have about this affiliate program I will reassess your question and hopefully give you a better answer that includes a 'yes' or 'no'. Until then, I'd have to say, "It depends".
