UK Affiliate Census 2009

UK Affiliate Census 2009

In association with Affiliate Windowhttp://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Linus GregoriadisResearch Director Econsultancy.com

Email: linus.gregoriadis@econsultancy.com

Website:http://econsultancy.com

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Overview Methodology Findings

Affiliate businessesNetworksMerchants Communication and resourcesQuestions

Methodology Online survey in January 2009 Two years after the inaugural affiliate census Promoted by all leading networks to members Over 1,000 respondents

34% full-time 46% part-time20% hobbyists

All respondents UK basedUK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

| 13 January 2008 | Course Title| 4

Affiliate businesses

Revenues generated from affiliate businesses A third of affiliates (31%) earn less than £50

per month. 13% earn more than £50,000 per month (for

merchants)

True content (36%) and PPC (20%) top-rated categories.

PPC more important for full-time.Text links ( 35%) and banners (26%) top-rated

linking methods.Banners more important for part-time.

Ranking of affiliate categories and linking methods

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Voucher-code / cashback sites Seen as a threat by 43% of affiliates. Could increase awareness about the sector.

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

“They will educate and reassure the public

masses about various sectors (cash-back, bingo, discounts),

opening up a much larger customer base for

us all.”

“Voucher code and incentive-based sites are going to

destroy affiliate marketing for normal people and small

businesses completely if the systems that are currently allowed for them remain

unchecked.”

“Cash-back incentives don't stop people from searching

for a still better deal, or reviews before they buy. Not

necessarily a threat - depends on how you present the

merchant to buyers, and what niche you're in for competitor

reasons.”

“These will of course damage existing content sites as more people are

aware of cash-back models.”

Last click wins rewards model

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

| 13 January 2008 | Course Title| 8

Networks

Ranking of different networks

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Percentage of affiliates ranking #1 network

43%

18%

10%

9%

8%

5%

2%

2%

Most important criteria for selecting a network

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Range of advertisers and tracking reliability deemed most important

Role of networks Includes both positive and negative sentiment

Failure to take responsibility for dubious affiliates.Lack of good support from some networks.Need for more transparency. Appreciation of networks and satisfaction.–Delivery of a professional service and tech

support.–Saves on time and effort.–Recognised/established networks can be

trusted. –Can help increase revenue streams.

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

“They still have a long way to go in

terms of providing a high quality, professional

service.”

“I think networks are a fantastic idea…It cuts out all

the hassle of dealing with individual advertisers and it saves the bother of joining dozens of individual affiliate

programmes...”

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

“There is a need [for] more transparency about

how merchants are ‘policed’, to ensure valid

sales are logged.”

“I would prefer quicker responses to request for assistance with technical

issues, and would prefer to discuss issues and solutions over the phone, rather than

via email.” “There appears to be a

lack of training to affiliate managers (on both a

network and merchant level) in understanding an

affiliate.”

“Trust is an important issue, when it comes to networks.”

“As affiliate marketing moves from an unregulated

profession to a reputable marketing channel,

networks will be relied upon to clamp down upon the ‘cowboys’ within the

industry.”

“They need to be more aggressive in

policing bad affiliates, even if it costs them

income.”

| 13 January 2008 | Course Title| 13

Merchants and sectors

Most widely promoted sectors

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Travel / flights: 33%

Electrical goods: 29%

Gifts / gadgets: 28%

Fashion / Clothes / lingerie / accessories: (27%)

Entertainment / music: 26%

Computers / laptops / peripherals: (25%)

Home / Gardening: 23%

Books: 22%

% Change

Home / Gardening (+ 8%)

Gifts / Gadgets (+ 6%)

Electrical goods (+ 5%)

Health / Sport / Fitness (+ 5%)

Computer games and consoles (+ 5%)

Biggest climbers since 2007

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Reasons for not promoting a merchant

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Reasons for dropping a merchant

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Demonstrating loyalty to affiliates HonestyFlexibilityBetter communication

“Open communication is good. [It is important] to

work as a team. After all, both the affiliate and the

merchant have a common goal – sales.”

“Be willing to look at alternative ways of

promoting the company, beside the traditional methods.”

“Why should a merchant show loyalty? I have no

loyalty; if another merchant pays me, then I will redirect traffic there. I don’t expect loyalty, as I

can’t reciprocate.”

“Better communication, fair

incentives, maximum notice when terms

change.”

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Reasons for working with merchants directly

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Reasons for not working with merchants directly

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Direct relationships: time-consuming

| 13 January 2008 | Course Title| 21

Communication and resources

Ranking of different sources of information

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Level of communication with merchants

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Opportunities and threats

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

Opportunity

Threat Mobile internet 55% 10%

Recession 55% 30%

Google 30% 44%

Super-affiliates 22% 36%

Voucher-code sites 20%43%

How to revolutionise the industry

UK Affiliate Census | http://econsultancy.com/reports/affiliate-census

“Consolidate the number of networks

and agencies. Hopefully, the

forthcoming recession will bring this about.”

Enforcing stricter rules for voucher code sites. Skills and training.Better tracking to ensure fair commissions. Communication and transparency.Competition to prevent over-saturation in the

industry.

“Decent analytics for merchants to see the sales process and the ways the

affiliate sectors influence it. i.e. late stage addition of voucher

code or cash-back affiliate. They will then see the true benefit of content vs. non

content affiliates.”

“Technological advances in tracking and monetising links

from social networking sites and blogs in unobtrusive

formats.”“Training

merchants to understand

online marketing.”

Questions?

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