Beat the Competition

with theRight Tools

Monitored By:

With Special Guests:

Introductions

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Greg Shepard CEO, AffiliateTraction the largest Affiliate Marketing Agency in the worldLori Weiman CEO, The Search MonitorMonitors Paid & Organic Search, Worldwide

Reports on rank, copy, market share, and compliance with TM’s & affiliate programsMax TeitelbaumCOO, WhatRunsWhereMonitors Display Advertising, WorldwideReports on reach, ad content, & networks

Meet the Vendors

Affiliates Are Competitive…

Look at the Stats

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Earlier this year, Forrester estimated the affiliate marketing industry would grow to

$4.5 billionby 2016

The Presents of Affiliate Marketing

Compiled by: The Search MonitorSources: Shoppertrak, Adobe,

IRM

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

General Stats from Black Friday$12.5 billion

$2.29 billion

40%

Total brick & mortar sales on

Thanksgiving & Black Fridayup 2.3% from

2012

Total online sales on

Cyber Mondayup 16% from 2012

Percentage of retail web

traffic from mobile devicesup 34% from

2012

Compiled by: The Search MonitorSources: Shoppertrak, Adobe, IBM

Consumers that shop via affiliate links spend an average of $7 more than the average shopperOnline shopping through affiliate referrals are 43% more likely to convert than averageMerchants on average see 23% of total online sales coming from the affiliate channel.

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Affiliate MarketingWHY SO COMPETITIVE?

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search MonitorWhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Top Affiliate Marketing Niches

Presence Continued

Health & Wellness

Diet Education

Auto Insurance

Online Gaming

Dating

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Affiliate Reach on Search EnginesTOP FIVE

VERTICALS

10%

7%7.3%

7.4%

7.5%

Apparel Home &Garden

Hobbies &Leisure

Sports &Fitness

Beauty

Scal

e M

odel

s 15

%

Perfu

me

11%

Foot

wear

24

%

Percent of advertisers that are affiliates

Source: The Search Monitor

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Affiliate AdherenceMERCHANT RULES ON PAID SEARCH

34%38%

10%

18%

LOW MEDIUM HIGH EXTREMEcomplie

sTM bids direct

linksdirect links

+TM bids72% COMPLY

Source: The Search Monitor

Case Studies…Competitive Intelligence

Makes a Difference

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?

MarketVisibilit

y

August September

October November

December

WalmartTarget

Source: The Search Monitor

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Super Affiliate StrategyOWN THE PAGE. CONTROL THE MARKET

Affiliates

Merchant Maintains Top Rank Achieved Using Rank Rules

MonitoringMerchant

Understanding Affiliate Marketing’s

Competitive Landscape

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 QuestionsSEARCH

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 QuestionsDISPLAY

How Affiliate Marketers are Using Search & Display

Advertising to Boost the Sales of Merchants

Fairly simple method to learnPlenty of sources to gain data and market researchMany affiliates have found great success using display advertising

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Affiliate MarketersDISPLAY ADVERTISING

These are display ads

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.)

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

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Top Traffic Sources For Ad PlacementDISPLAY ADVERTISING

They have been using these traffic sources for over a year!

Their main focus is on media buys and Adwords.

Same image tested 3 ways with various ad copy and CTA.

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Split-test, Optimize & Repeat!DISPLAY ADVERTISING

Same ad copy and CTA, different layout and images.

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Split-test, Optimize & Repeat!DISPLAY ADVERTISING

Tips for Competitive Advantage in Paid Search

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

38%

Free Shipping

34%

12%7% 6%

Sale Free Shipping

with Minimum

Free Product

Free Shipping

and Discount

Popular OffersBLACK FRIDAY

TIP:Monitor competitive offers.Ask merchants for compelling,unique promos

Source: The Search Monitor

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Product Listing Ads

Jackets78%

Jeans78%

Gift Baskets55%

Camping Gear83%

Smart Phone71%

Sunglasses 85%

TIP:Merchant own PLA.Affiliate own PPC.

Source: The Search Monitor

WhatRunsWhere.com & The Search Monitor

Ad ExtensionsBE UNIQUE

Percentage of ads displaying a phone number 0.11

%TIP:Be unique. Don’t forget phone numbers and otherad extensions.

Source: The Search Monitor