GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 17 - September 2011

opportunity to increase your earnings in the immediate future. Variations in conversion rates between brands can be as high as two to three times for the same traffic, so by diverting traffic from a low- performing brand to a high-performing brand, you could double or triple your daily earnings overnight. It’s doubtful that you could generate that kind of immediate impact through SEO or social media activities. Aside from insufficient analysis, another common mistake that affiliates make is jumping to conclusions without statistically significant data. For example, they might see a drop in conversions over a few days and think something has gone wrong with the tracking. Perhaps they might refer one player, see a lower than average value and assume that the operator does not have a good CRM team. While it never hurts to be cautious, it’s important not to take drastic decisions based on insufficient data. If you think tracking may not be working, run tests rather than immediately removing a brand from your site. If you think a brand may not be performing well, ask other affiliates about their experiences with the brand (forums such as GPWA are a great place to present such a question). If you’re unsure how to determine statistical significance, there are numerous free sources of information on the topic available online. Once you have a general idea of how statistical significance is determined, you’ll be able to intuit if the results you are seeing are significant without performing a complicated math equation each time. Stats tools for affiliates Possibly the most impactful tool available to affiliates is Google Analytics. While its existence may not be news to most affiliates, a great many misuse or underuse this powerful and free service. When combined with Google Website Optimizer, Google Analytics allows you to work in a methodical and scientific manner toward greatly improved conversion rates and overall website function. Moreover, by studying your source data, or the breakdown of where visitors come from, in combination with conversion data, you can determine what traffic is most valuable to you and direct your traffic-building efforts accordingly. Another incredibly useful stats tool that affiliates can use is a custom tracking variable for each link on your site. Most programs have a function allowing you to append your own unique variable to the tracking link and sort your reporting by these variables. By keeping track of the conversions of each banner or each link, you can learn which pages, and which particular spots on each page, have the best conversion rates and place your highest value brands in the best converting spots. Finally, since saving time on stats analysis is vital to affiliates, there are a number of tools which help you export your stats automatically so you don’t have to log in to each individual program to review stats. This can be a lifesaver if, like many affiliates, you promote over 50 different brands. Many programs have a stats API or XML option which allows you to export the stats to your own database, assuming you know how to build such a database. If you’re not so keen on building your own stats center, Stats Remote (www.statsremote.com ) – for about $300 per year – provides a potent single stats center that is already compatible with most major brands. Either way, by making stats analysis a quicker and more centralized process, you will help ensure that you don’t let this important task fall by the wayside. Louis Deering Louis Deering has worked in online marketing since 2005. Beginning as a marketing manager for an online clothing retailer, Louis later began specializing in affiliate marketing, working as a network rep for Income Access, in Montreal.Voted Best Non-Traditional Affiliate Manager at the 2010 iGB Affiliate Awards, Louis currently works remotely as a Senior Affiliate Manager with Income Access from Medellín, Colombia. 58 Affiliate Marketing by the Numbers