This presentation is from Affiliate Summit East 2014 (August 10-12, 2014 New York City). Session Description: How merchants can provide affiliates with the same competitive intelligence smarts that top marketers deploy on paid / organic search and display ads, plus the impact of PLA’s on affiliate page rank.

1. Beat the Competition
with the
Right Tools
Monitored By:
With Special Guests:

2. Introductions

3. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Greg Shepard
CEO, AffiliateTraction the largest Affiliate Marketing Agency in the world
Lori Weiman
CEO, The Search Monitor
Monitors Paid & Organic Search, Worldwide
Reports on rank, copy, market share, and compliance with TM’s & affiliate
programs
Max Teitelbaum
COO, WhatRunsWhereMonitors Display Advertising, WorldwideReports
on reach, ad content, & networks
Meet the Vendors

4. Affiliates Are Competitive…
Look at the Stats

5. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Earlier this year, Forrester estimated
the affiliate marketing industry would grow to
$4.5 billion
by 2016
The Presents of Affiliate Marketing
Compiled by: The Search Monitor
Sources: Shoppertrak, Adobe, IRM

6. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
General Stats from Black Friday
$12.5 billion $2.29 billion 40%
Total brick & mortar sales on
Thanksgiving & Black Friday
up 2.3% from 2012
Total online sales on
Cyber Monday
up 16% from 2012
Percentage of retail web
traffic from mobile devices
up 34% from 2012
Compiled by: The Search Monitor
Sources: Shoppertrak, Adobe, IBM

7. Consumers that shop via affiliate
links spend an average of $7 more
than the average shopper
Online shopping through affiliate
referrals are 43% more likely to
convert than average
Merchants on average see 23% of
total online sales coming from the
affiliate channel.
WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Affiliate Marketing
WHY SO
COMPETITIVE?

8. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search MonitorWhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Top Affiliate Marketing Niches
Presence Continued
Health & Wellness Diet Education
Auto Insurance Online Gaming Dating

9. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Affiliate Reach on Search Engines
TOP FIVE
VERTICALS
10%
7%
7.3%7.4%
7.5%
Apparel Home &
Garden
Hobbies &
Leisure
Sports &
Fitness
Beauty
ScaleModels15%
Perfume11%
Footwear24%
Percent of advertisers that are affiliates
Source: The Search Monitor

10. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Affiliate Adherence
MERCHANT RULES ON PAID
SEARCH
34%
38%
10%
18%
LOW MEDIUM HIGH EXTREME
complies TM bids direct links direct links +
TM bids
72% COMPLY
Source: The Search Monitor

11. Case Studies…
Competitive Intelligence
Makes a Difference

12. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Walmart vs. Target PPC Spending
Who had the better strategy?
Walmart who front loaded PPC, then relied on organic?
Target who conversed budget, then pushed hard?
What happened to target in September?
Mistake or intentional after big spending for back to school?
Market
Visibility
August September October November December
Walmart
Target
Source: The Search Monitor

13. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Super Affiliate Strategy
OWN THE PAGE. CONTROL THE
MARKET
Affiliates
Merchant Maintains Top
Rank Achieved Using
Rank Rules Monitoring
Merchant

14. Understanding Affiliate Marketing’s
Competitive Landscape

15. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Are affiliates & merchants working cohesively?
Page rank, messaging, PLA vs. PPC
What are competitor’s affiliates doing that is working well for
them?
Ad copy - Offers/Promos, You vs. Them comparisons
Who is beating you on your own best keyword terms?
Impression share and page rank on TM’s and top kwds
How do I avoid channel conflict across affiliates and between my
SEM/SEO team?
Exclusive offer codes, Direct Linking
How do I manage my reputation on paid search?
Expired offers, offer wording, landing page copy
Top Five Competitive Questions
SEARCH

16. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Who am I competing with on the display networks for my target niche?
What are my competitors top performing display ads?
What ad networks are my competitors using?
Where are my competitors placing their ads?
How can I make my display ads more click-worthy than my competitors?
Top Five Competitive Questions
DISPLAY

17. How Affiliate Marketers are Using
Search & Display Advertising to
Boost the Sales of Merchants

18. Fairly simple method to learn
Plenty of sources to gain data and market research
Many affiliates have found great success using display advertising
WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Affiliate Marketers
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
These are display ads

19. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Gain Inspiration From Top Ads In Your Vertical
Leverage competitive data to boost
your own advertising strategy.
Pay attention to:
• Creative (use of colors, images,
borders, etc.)
• Ad Copy
• Call-to-action (CTA)
(Example: view thousands of banners
from travel competitors using our display
tool.)

20. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Discover profitable traffic sources from your competitors:
Where is your competition running their ads?
What Ad Networks are they using?
Are they taking advantage of media buys to drive traffic?
TIP: Don’t just track competitors, but also track advertisers with a similar target
niche.
Leverage Competitive Insights & Data
DISPLAY ADVERTISING

21. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Top Traffic Sources For Ad Placement
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
They have been using
these traffic sources for
over a year!
Their main focus is on media buys and Adwords.

22. Same image tested 3 ways with various ad copy and CTA.
WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Split-test, Optimize & Repeat!
DISPLAY ADVERTISING

23. Same ad copy and CTA, different layout and images.
WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Split-test, Optimize & Repeat!
DISPLAY ADVERTISING

24. Tips for Competitive Advantage
in Paid Search

25. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
38%
Free Shipping
34%
12%
7% 6%
Sale Free Shipping
with Minimum
Free Product Free Shipping
and Discount
Popular Offers
BLACK
FRIDAY
TIP:
Monitor competitive offers.
Ask merchants for
compelling,
unique promos
Source: The Search Monitor

26. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Product Listing Ads
Jackets
78%
Jeans
78%
Gift Baskets
55%
Camping Gear
83%
Smart Phone
71%
Sunglasses
85%
TIP:
Merchant own PLA.
Affiliate own PPC.
Source: The Search Monitor

27. WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor
Ad Extensions
BE UNIQUE
Percentage of ads displaying a phone
number
0.11%
TIP:
Be unique. Don’t forget
phone numbers and other
ad extensions.
Source: The Search Monitor