Affiliate traffic trends 2020 (Q3-Q4) review by Yep Ads
It’s the middle of the year, which was turbulent to say the least, but now let’s take a look at the bright future of affiliate marketing. In Yep Ads we believe that 2020 will be a bigger and better year for affiliate marketers as the tech and possibilities come pouring in. As the industry evolves players evolve as well, so today we will try to take a look in the future and see what it holds for affiliate marketers and people whose main source of income is their traffic expertise.
In this article we will cover two things: promising traffic sources and verticals in affiliate marketing that are going to be the cream of the crop in 2020. Let’s talk about traffic sources first.
Traffic sources
Let’s start with heavyweights — Google and Facebook, as time passes, they keep gathering the audience and providing affiliates who can properly run campaigns with more and more high-quality traffic. However, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome and they keep piling up on a pretty much daily basis.
During elections this year most probably, Facebook will become a moderation nightmare and ban pretty much everything, but for a seasoned affiliate who can come up with creative approaches that time will be great because the competition will be lackluster.
Affiliates run a plethora of offers on Facebook, but the most lucrative and widespread are Nutra, E-commerce and Finance. In CIS geos betting and casino offers are promoted via Facebook and prove to be very profitable, but they require a geo-specific approach, as most of the CIS audience prefer to play in casinos and bet with mobile apps, so the funnel may be slightly different.
As for Google — search traffic is not going anywhere, it is and it will be crème de la crème for affiliates who can work with Google Ads and utilize SEO methods properly. However, as time passes, the skill requirement for working with Google is getting higher and higher. So, if you want to work with this highly lucrative traffic source you should’ve started learning yesterday.
Google, same as Facebook, requires a lot of skills but for those affiliates running Nutra and E-commerce Google Ads can prove to be especially effective, if done right.
Then there are push notifications — the year 2019 was a rollercoaster for this advertising format with its highs and lows and it’s possible that right now everyone on the planet Earth is subscribed to push one way or another. And if you don’t see the opportunity there, that’s on you.
Those experienced with push format should pay close attention to ever expanding variety of push format: in-app push and in-page push. They are less intrusive and can be pretty effective for those affiliates who already have the approaches and expertise with push format and looking for scaling possibilities.
For affiliates running push campaigns, Dating, Sweepstakes, CC submit and Software verticals are the most attractive, as they provide huge volumes of relatively cheap traffic.
Push traffic can be used for scaling existing Nutra and E-commerce campaigns, but the funnel should be adjusted accordingly.
Pop traffic may be dying since its inception, but there are people who are successfully running campaigns and making a profit on it while keeping the myth alive and taking the best piece of traffic pie for themselves for a very good price.
Pop formats keep evolving, despite the fact that Chrome is cutting down on then. Even now advertising networks add new formats to their inventory. The latest one is interstitials — a new format that resembles tried and true pop, while complying with Chrome’s requirements and providing good engagement rates. Combined with the expertise and a good approach this format may become a goldmine for affiliates.
Pop traffic works with Dating, Sweepstakes and Software. The audience is always looking for something free or tempting, so the above offers will do great on POP traffic.
And of course, the elephant in the room, TikTok is all the rage right now and as it is opening its gates to advertisers. The only obstacle to overcome is getting an advertisers account, but there definitely are agencies willing to help and provide the necessary services.
Yep Ads can help you monetizing this new and fast-growing traffic source.
SMS traffic is still there, but the regulatory offices keep on cutting down on malignant advertising, that was so widespread a few years ago that right now it’s difficult to launch a profitable campaign with this type of traffic in Europe, CIS and Asian geos. But as always there are exceptions. Ask your Yep Ads affiliate manager for the ‘secret sauce’.
But if you are set on running SMS campaigns you should definitely take a look at LATAM and African geos as they are developing and relatively fresh markets where money still can be made with wapclick, Software, and CC Submit verticals.
Verticals
As for verticals they are changing and expanding.
Betting vertical suffered the most from coronavirus and shrank to mere fragments of its previous scale. However, once the matches begin again there will be a torrent of people willing to bet on their favorite teams and players. So, betting will eventually recover and it’s just a matter of time. Keep your guns ready.
While betting was hemorrhaging players, casinos were doing their best to “catch” them and introduce them to online gambling. Right now, gambling vertical is bigger than it ever was, and may very well keep growing.
The so-called social casinos are a breath of fresh air for those wishing to test their luck, without hurting their wallet, and for affiliates that sub-vertical may be very lucrative. It has its downsides compared to traditional casinos, but if you take your time and let the player get hooked — the commissions will come.
As casino offers require high-quality traffic the sources should be chosen accordingly. Facebook traffic is one of the most effective ones but bear in mind that Facebook is not OK with the advertising of gambling, so you’ll have to come up with creative angles. Review sites are still doing alright, but there is one promising approach — streaming, where people “play” in casinos and provide people with affiliate links. This method is relatively new, but there are people who are already making money on it.
We can’t really talk affiliate marketing and don’t mention Nutra vertical, as it’s one of the oldest and largest there is. People want to be young, fit, and beautiful without exercising, so demand is definitely there. People all around the world spent the last few months lying on their couches dreaming about their hot and fit summertime bodies, so it’s just a matter of the offer to promote and hitting the right audience.
Although with the new Mastercard and Visa regulations this vertical is under some pressure. But with the right offer, there is still some good volume to be made. Ask your Yep Ads affiliate manager for more details.
One of the recent trends in Nutra is CBD, the miracle drug, one pill to cure everything. Thanks to all the buzz around CBD oil, people get excited about CBD products and readily purchase them, in countries where it’s legal, of course. And the best thing is that CBD is legal in mostly Tier 1 geos, so payouts there are quite attractive.
Sweepstakes will be a big hit this year with upcoming launches of PS5, new lineups of iPhones and flagship Android phones, so there will be enough attractive sweepstake offers to go around and people will definitely be interested in those no matter where they live because everyone would like a chance to get a nice new phone or gaming console. So no matter the opt-in model, this vertical will reach new heights, especially with new products and newly-opened geos, that are ripe for the taking.
CC submits offers are now going anywhere and will follow the trend. Given the relatively simple flow, high payouts (up to $40) and a variety of accepted traffic, combined with a spike in newly available products and people’s general interest in giveaways affiliates, who can create a proper funnel will make good profits in the foreseeable future.
Affiliate marketing in 2020 will be developing in a very different and unexpected pace, and marketers will have to face new challenges and overcome them by working smarter and expanding their expertise while working with something they are proficient with or exploring new verticals, traffic sources and approaches. As the whole world is changing affiliates have to adapt and be quick on their feet so seize the profits and make the best of the ever-changing marketing landscape.
Good luck and the tests will tell!
Yep Ads Team