9 Metrics of Affiliate Performance and What They Say About Your Program -
A well-designed affiliate marketing channel, like all online channels, offers information about the performance of a program using various measures. The metrics used for determining affiliate sales performance are similar to the other metrics used online that may have the same name, but in the context of the affiliate market, they could tell an entirely different story about the performance of the program.
Integrating the affiliate channel in your other marketing activity dashboard will assist you in shape not only the affiliate marketing process but also aid in the rethinking of the other marketing strategies you can use online and roll them into a performance-based model as well. Here is a quick overview of the key metrics you should monitor and track to determine the success of your affiliate marketing plan.
1. Impressions
The number of impressions indicates the level of your product's exposure in the affiliate channels of promotion. A very high volume of views that are related to only a few clicks or sales can signal faulty affiliate tracking, a lack of connection between people who are affiliates with the products you sell, or an uncongruity between the advertisement that is promoted as well as the landing page that the advertisement directs visitors to.
*Please note that not all programs or ad formats support the reporting of impressions, so it may not be a useful measurement for your program unless you plan to pay some affiliates based on the number of impressions.
2. Clicks
The number of clicks is an indicator of interactions between the clicks generated by your adverts and how people interact with the displayed banner or link. The number of clicks is a measure of curiosity in the contents where the ads related to it are displayed. Essentially a click can equate to the audience "taking an additional step" toward the end goal of a sale or the action.
3. Acts
The quantity of activities is representative of the total amount of conversions in an affiliate program. Sales is the most popular measure of conversions, however other activities such as leads generation and trial downloads may also be part of a program and count as actions. If affiliates are not driving actions, it is important to comprehend the reasons. Insufficient actions across an entire program may indicate integration or tracking issues and the affiliates who do not drive actions may offer a chance to boost your program's effectiveness by taking care of their requirements.
4. Conversion Rate
The conversion rate of affiliate marketing is normally measured by subdividing the total number of steps by the number of clicks resulting in an amount. As one of the more commonly used performance indicators within e-commerce, the convert rate applied to affiliate traffic is a measure of the performance of affiliates, particular ads as well as ad types and campaigns. The rates of conversion above 10% are usually considered very high and could indicate that an affiliate's website shares a significant affinity with your market, but sometimes, it might indicate that the affiliate has been using shady promotional methods.
5. Cost
The most basic sense of affiliate marketing refers to the amount of commissions you pay to your affiliates in relation to the action they perform. This metric may be divided into various silos depending on the platform you are using, therefore it is important to understand how the expenses relate to the report that you're looking at. Most often, calculated bonuses such as platform fees, ad serving charges, and any other fees related to affiliate marketing are not included in sales reports that are purely based on numbers, therefore be sure to review and know the full cost of your system so that you can fully recognize how each expense fits into the total costs for a program. If your platform costs or serving charges are excessive this could affect the commission amounts you are able to offer or the kinds of ads that you include in your program.
6. Revenue
Affiliate marketing revenue is the same as revenue earned from any other channel of marketing and is defined by the sales tracked through that system. Taking the revenue metric an additional step, incremental revenue is additional revenue attributable to a specific channel. Though incremental revenue may be difficult to identify and sort out with 100% assurance, it is especially true for marketing strategies that involve numerous touchpoints across multiple sources. The ability to determine the value of incrementally your marketing activities at some extent is a vital role in prioritizing tasks related to the marketing mix as well as the determination of which kind of marketing performs best for the specific task.
7. Active Affiliates
In most cases, an active affiliate has generated a click, an action, or both. Some programs use one variation of these guidelines to develop outreach programs that help bring their affiliates into an active status. Particularly when the affiliate was active previously but was recently inactive, proactive outreach to determining why this occurred and how an affiliate can be convinced to come to an active status can help ensure that your organization is running in good health. It is possible that you will receive useful feedback from affiliates regarding high commission rates, or the absence of assets.
8. Affiliate Mix
In general, affiliates are classified based on how and where they interact with their audience to drive traffic and sales to your website. Typical designations are influential people, creators of content media websites such as deals and coupons paid search, email marketing, bloggers or even affiliate networks operating as affiliates subordinate to. By keeping your affiliates in groups it will enable you to message them more effectively by sending actionable messages that are specific to their needs, in addition, it will allow you to see areas you might want to expand or reduce the amount of affiliates you choose from a specific category for optimal affiliate selection.
9. Returned Orders
Returned orders are simply an amount of returns within your system. The rate for returned orders from affiliate traffic ought to not differ significantly from your overall return rate. If you find an affiliate that has a greater than average return rates from the sales they have made, examine how they promote your products and driving traffic to your site. It is possible you are able to see that they exaggerate the benefits of your product, causing clients who have been referred by them become unhappy, or you could be able to determine that they're using illegitimate practices to generate sales and they should be removed from your affiliate program.
