Affiliate marketing provides an attractive opportunity for any online entrepreneur looking to diversify their earnings. It’s a fast-growing industry, it’s simple to understand and easy to implement, and there are practically unlimited options for generating revenue.
With the wide range of tools and APIs currently available for affiliate marketing, publishers can really get creative with their affiliate strategy. Even if you’re not a traditional content publisher or social media influencer, it’s possible to capture incremental revenue from search traffic.
Search engines are a natural fit for affiliate marketing because they’re also shopping engines. Readers often begin their search with immediate purchase intent. After all, as Google once famously stated, “People searching for barbers probably want a haircut.”
Monetizing Search Traffic
By monetizing search traffic, you can help your readers discover new merchants and products, turn browsers into buyers, and add a new source of revenue. The key is understanding what your audience is searching for and how they found you in the first place.
From there, publishers have several options for converting search traffic into revenue. Here are two of our favorites:
- Merchant Tile Placements
Even if you don’t sell or review specific products on your site, there may be an opportunity to earn money by highlighting merchants related to your content. Some publishers do this through permanent (or semi-permanent) merchant tile placements, usually shown in a prominent spot well above the fold on the homepage.
By placing these merchants in front of readers immediately, publishers can give their readers a quick and easy way to buy products they’re already interested in — while building a clear association between their content, their readers, and high-quality brands. And merchants love tile placements because they’re highly visible and appealing to readers.
Merchant tiles can drive incremental revenue without competing with other ad units on your site. Tile placement is easy to implement using a tool like Sovrn Commerce, and tiles can be changed out at any time based on merchant performance and reader engagement. - Knowledge Panels
Another way to monetize search traffic is by using knowledge panels. When a reader conducts an online search, a knowledge panel directs them to your merchant hub — allowing you to capitalize on more clicks.
Knowledge panels work by connecting motivated buyers with the product or merchant they’re interested in. When they search for a specific product, merchant, or sale, you simply give them a direct route to their desired destination and convert their purchase intent into income.
Get Creative with Your Affiliate Strategy
These innovative placement tactics allow you to diversify your revenue without relying on individual pieces of content (like articles or social posts) to drive clicks. But tactics like these aren’t just for search engines! They can be applied to any number of scenarios to drive incremental revenue in creative ways.
For example, say you have a website that offers software coding tips and tricks. You could place merchant tiles (as shown above) on your site, linking out to your favorite software courses or products. If you run a fashion website, you might create permanent tiles linking to your favorite stores. Your recommended shopping destinations will likely appeal to readers who share your sense of style.
Ready to Start Earning with Affiliate Marketing?
While affiliate marketing is relatively easy to understand, getting started can be daunting. And even if you’re already making money through affiliate marketing, there are always new ideas to try and new opportunities to enhance your strategy.
Download the free ebook, 5 Ways to Make Affiliate Marketing Work for You. You can also visit our website to learn more about Sovrn Commerce, the fastest and easiest way to start earning through affiliate marketing.
