February 15th, 2021 | Updated on November 9th, 2021
Before answering the question, “what is affiliate marketing? ” there is a need for understanding what ‘internet marketing’ is all about.
Online marketing or internet marketing is perceived to be marketing and advertising efforts that can be achieved using the internet to drive sales. It is associated with the use of internet to sell products and services. There are several internet marketing branches.
Affiliate marketing is one of the branches of internet marketing. It is a kind of performance-centered through which businesses reward the affiliate for all customers brought by the marketing efforts of the affiliates.
In simple terms, an affiliate refers to a virtual salesperson and whenever something is bought by a client from merchants because of his actions, he gets a commission. As far as internet market world is concerned, an affiliate can as well be a publisher.
Why Is Affiliation Still A Good Marketing Channel In 2021?
Cross-border shopping has recorded impressive growth in recent times. This is the biggest positive news for affiliate marketing. With the growth of cross-border shopping, 45% of shoppers were willing to buy internationally on the internet in 2020. Another report by SaaS Scout revealed that that affiliate programs drive 15–30% of all sales for advertisers. Global affiliate marketing’s current size is estimated to be $12 billion now, with U.S market having the largest share at $4.5 billion.
Affiliate Marketing Statistics & Trends Globally: Highlights of SaaS Scout Report
- 15% of the total digital media advertising revenue is attributed to affiliate marketing.
- Affiliate programs generate 15%–30% of all sales for advertisers.
- More than 50% of affiliate-referred traffic comes from mobile devices.
- Annual affiliate marketing spending is estimated at US$12 billion
- Driving conversions and increasing purchases are the two main goals for 79% of marketers
- Affiliate marketing spending is expected to grow by 10% in the next few years.
- The global value of the affiliate marketing industry is estimated at US$12 billion.
- With the US market accounting for $4.5 billion of affiliate marketing market share. USA accounts for 39% of the global affiliate marketing market followed by UK and Germany which accounts for 15% and 11%.
- The retail sector contributes 43% of total affiliate marketing market revenue followed by telecom and media, travel and leisure sector which contributes 24% and 16% respectively.
More businesses than ever consider affiliate marketing as a cost-effective way to promote their products. Annual spending on affiliate marketing is projected to reach $8.2 billion by 2022 in the U.S.
Technology and the latest marketing tools have also transformed affiliate marketing. More and more tools are used now to identify customers and learn their behavior. Thanks to technology, it is expected that affiliate marketing will adapt faster and become stronger.
Big Affiliate Marketing Trends For 2021
Change in Third-Party Cookies Rules
Google is going to block all third-party tracking cookies by 2022. The way publishers and sellers function in affiliate marketing will be impacted by Google’s move as Chrome accounts for about 70% of all web users. However, publishers are in the process of identifying new ways of collecting and processing data, and they will soon adapt to this change.
Impact Of Influencers Will Go Up
Trust will be more important than ever to decide buying behavior. Influencers who have loyal followers will be more valuable in affiliate marketing. They will guide customers on how to ignore fake news. Influencers will be more sought after in the coming years.
Popularity Of Video As A Content Marketing Medium
Wyzowl’s video marketing statistics revealed that 84 percent of people actually buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. The same survey also revealed that more than 66 percent of respondents get to know about a new product after watching a short video. Hence, video has become the top priority for content marketers.
5 Best Affiliate Networks For 2021
Are you interested in knowing the best affiliate networks and you do not know where to start from? Worry no more. Below, the best affiliate networks for 2021 are highlighted. Apart from being easy to run, they are extremely profitable.
1. Lemonads Affiliate Marketing
Though it is situated in Geneva, the lemonads affiliate network has been operating worldwide. It has been designed in such a way that publisher, digital marketers and advertisers to grow their businesses, regardless of their sizes. It has a rating of 5/5; this suggests that it was the Affiliate Network with the most growth in 2020 and it is expected to continue in 2021.
Pros
- Excellent profitable campaigns;
- World-class support;
- Unlimited available offers.
Cons
- Coils are known for having several CPS offers ;
- Our platform is 100% oriented for experts.
2. CJ Affiliate
Through affiliate marketing network, it is known for reaching more consumers online. Apart from it having a rating of 5/5, with this affiliate marketing, you have several promotional options to consider. In other words, it has been designed in such a way that makes it possible for you to achieve sustainable, intelligent, and scalable business growth.
Pros
- It has reliable payment;
- It has excellent reporting options;
- It has large partner network.
Cons
- It is associated with limited customer support;
- Its learning curve is steep.
3. Awin
It was previously referred to Affiliate Window. It is known for working with not less than 13,000 active advertisers, as well as 100000 affiliates. Apart from providing user friendly dashboard, it has useful tools that can help you when it comes to boosting your marketing campaigns.
Pros
- Real time and up-to-date reports ;
- Heavily vetting of advertisers/publishers ;
- Using dashboard is easy and it has several plugins.
Cons
- Sign-up fees of $5;
- When account is not approved, $5 is not refunded.
4. Rakuten
It is among the oldest affiliate networks, though it is currently a fair amount smaller unlike other big players in the market. It is in a position of rotating through some banners, especially for products that seems to be of huge advantage when offers are being optimized. For personal merchant pages, it is known for offering a suppler ‘deep linking.’ Through this, it has been possible different kinds of campaigns to be customized.
Pros
- Ad rotation;
- Options of deep linking.
Cons
- Payments to the affiliates are always unpredictable;
- The network is much smaller.
5. JVzoo
It is designed for selling online courses. It is also unique since it does have upfront fees for both advertisers and publishers. On JVzoo website, it is possible to host, as well as create a landing page. It is also possible for experienced marketers to access product launches. It is excellent for people who need a great presence online as far as marketing is concerned.
Pros
- Signing up is free;
- Recommended for those who want to launch new products;
- Your website is not needed.
Cons
- Have several documentations and videos though a fee must be paid by you to access them;
- You cannot instant Paypal payouts if you sell less than 50 products.
Which Affiliate Network Should You Use?
You need to choose an affiliate network that you like, the one that you have great interest in. You need to ensure that apart from having a good quality program, it should be one that is being used by several professional marketers. It is through that you will be able to receive profit from the affiliate network you intend to use.