2021 is almost here and, after the difficult year it’s been, now is a chance for businesses to dig in and implement strategies to ensure greater longevity going forward. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that there’s never a good time to become complacent in business operations and the new year should be viewed as an opportunity to strike out and build a consistent marketing plan that will keep consumers engaged as the new decade unfolds. Affiliate marketing can be a great, cost-effective solution to achieve that goal, targeting specific consumer segments to enhance lead generation efforts and drive conversion rates. Understanding the terminology associated with affiliate marketing, whether to grow a gambling website or any new venture, will give you a strong foundation upon which to construct a solid, forward-thinking marketing plan.
Internet marketing can be complicated because of the multitude of traffic and activity that is occurring at any given time. Being able to focus on the specific target is fundamental to ensuring the best use of a marketing budget, which is where affiliate marketers come in. They typically work on a commission basis, helping businesses control costs while still enjoying greater engagement. Since there is relatively low risk and outlay – and a lot of affiliate marketers always looking for new clients – getting started is simple.
Some of the common terminology associated with affiliate marketing is straightforward – advertiser, affiliate, offer, conversion, creative, etc. Others deserve more attention, such as the phrase “above the fold.” For new enterprises or those just getting started in marketing, this refers to the section of the website page (whether it be a blog, homepage or other) that is visible on one page without the viewer having to scroll. All the information crucial to conversions and drawing consumer attention should be included above the fold.
Action lifecycle is the window designated for events (or actions) that are responsible for directly leading to the sale on the affiliate’s website. The lifecycle is an amount of time within which transactions can be corrected, and the typical window, established by the advertiser or the affiliate (or both, in some cases) can be one to four weeks.
Advertiser CID (company ID). A company is typically assigned a CID by an affiliate for advertising purposes to help keep different clients organized and to avoid confusion.
“Black hat” marketing. This is a strategy employed by some unethical marketers to drive traffic and can include things like keyword stacking, keyword stuffing, use of unrelated keywords, etc. The goal is to have the target appear higher in searches; however, the top search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) have gotten wise to the practice and will now penalize companies that engage in black hat practices. Most reputable companies will stay away from affiliates that practice this and other forms of guerilla marketing. As might be expected, the opposite of black hat marketing, and the preferred method, is called white hat.
The cost per action (CPA) is what every action on a website costs. Some affiliates will pay third parties for certain actions, even if they don’t result in sales, so it’s very important that each action on a website be logged.
The cost per lead (CPL) is what an affiliate pays to a third-party website when that site sends a lead to the affiliate. The cost varies and depends on the type of information received (email addresses, names, demographics, etc.). and is established between the affiliate and the third party. Often, third parties will be paid bonuses for reaching certain levels of lead traffic sent to the affiliate. On the other hand, they will also not be paid, depending on the arrangement, unless a minimum earnings per click (EPC) is reached.
Return on advertising spend (ROAS) is the result of a calculation to determine how much revenue can be generated by a certain link or site based on the advertising budget. This drills down to the core of the effectiveness of the overall marketing plan and is necessary for understanding marketing expenses.
This is not an all-inclusive list of affiliate marketing-based terminology; there are plenty more that are found across all forms of marketing. However, with this knowledge in hand, it’s a great start for building an affiliate network and achieving greater results starting in the new year.
