Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:23 am Post subject: Good click-through rate - bad conversion rate
Hi,
My name is Ajay and I have just joined this forum in an attempt to get a better understanding of how affiliate marketing works.
I own and have read many books on getting setting up through ClickBank and Google AdWords. Now, I started 3 weeks ago on the night of the superbowl (Chicago Bears and Indiana Colts).
Well, within a few hours of my first campaign, I made a commission! I was excited and realized instantly the potential of affiliate marketing - I made a $40 profit accounting for approximately $5 in advertising costs, which if done on a larger scale, can add up quite a bit.
Well, my next sale wasn't until 2 days after. However, I never saw any sales after that for the following week, despite my greatest efforts in taking out certain keywords, adding more targeted ones, and even doing split-testing with my ads.
Eventually, the campaign surpassed 300 clicks, which I believe gives a good indicator of how the campaign is going to do in the long run. Of course, being my first campaign, my lack of success after a week could have largely been due to a lack of real experience.
Eventually, I decided to promote a new product in the same niche, using the keywords from the previous campaign that I believed were more focused than others, and that seemed to be getting a steady number of clicks, with good CTR's - from 1% to 25% throughout any one day.
I feel I have gotten the hang of Google AdWords, since I had paused the first campaign and started a second one in the same niche, and managed to get better CTR's still, and was paying slightly less overall (throughout the day).
This second product only made one sale last week, and I am down in profits by about -$70.00 and decreasing! I wasn't sure whether it was my ads, the sales copy for each website, or what it was.
What am I doing wrong? I'm getting good click-throughs and my ads imply that the product isn't free in a sense (without the exclusive display of the price, though I tried that and didn't seem to get anywhere either!)
I thought it may be the sales copy and so was considering creating some form of "pre-sell" with this web page creation software I bought a year ago. However, I know that it is possible to profit from such affiliate marketing without having to create a website, right?
What is the best advice you guys can give me? I want to know how I can increase sales from a product that isn't mine and a web page sales copy that I have no direct control over. Does the campaigns set up in Google AdWords play any part in the conversion of a visitor into a customer? Or is it just the sales copy?
I appreciate all of you guys for reading this, and feel that I need some form of expert communication here, as I don't have anyone else (but the books) to ask questions to.
Hi AJ,
I like direct linking aka Google Cash method a lot and Chris has just updated the ebook a while ago. However, I prefer to setup a squeeze page and an autoresponder to leverage on the clicks that I got.
You'll never loose that way since you're already good at selecting profitable keywords. Keep up the good work on split testing. Build a powerful squeeze page and split test both campaigns results. Statistics don't lie..
Have you considered the fact that there are a whole lot of websurfers who have tracking cookies BLOCKED by their browsers or security software?
How would you even know if you are getting the correct conversion numbers?
Most people have no idea how many cookies are blocked by default by the almight Microsoft Corporation.
It's becoming a huge problem, and none of the people pushing affiliate programs or ebooks wants to talk about it. And why should they... they are gettin FREE customers and they don't even have to pay the affiliate a commission.
The sales still go through it's just the commissions are not tracked.
Affiliate Marketing relying on cookies being set ... well those days are numbered. As more and more methods are being implemented to Block the automatic collection of data the likelihood of affiliates getting honest commissions for honest work is declining.
The affiliate game is going to get tougher not easier. _________________ Earn $50 Per Sale - Every Online Business Needs This!
100 Proven Email Templates - List building Power Tools
Then maybe it's better to choose an affiliate network which makes really good tracking with more methods, not only relying on cookies. We can decide, so we can say goodbye to affiliate vendors or networks that do not their best on tracking.
Another possibility that many use is, to presell and to offer special bonuses, so that the customers WANT to buy from THEM, and they explain also that they have to allow cookies and take heed of that the affiliates nane is shown on the pay page, because otherwise they would not get their bonuses or rebate.
There are always people who give up in the face of the circumstances and they who search for new posibilities. _________________ Just COPY the system from Ewen Chia. http://www.AffiliateKickstart.com
I am not aware of any affiliate programs that work with anything else other than cookies.
I guess this is grounds for the mantra I keep hearing out there for creating your own product.
I am just starting to focus in affliate marketing anyone out there experiencing any down fall with revenues in their affliate campaigns like what is happeing with adsense revenues nose diving.
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:09 pm Post subject: my first post - hope its helpful
Hello,
I have also experienced this frustration, and I would say that the problem lies in Clickbank's hoplinks. From past experience, I can tell you that clickbank's hoplinks get hijacked constantly. My computer is virtually (please excuse the pun) free of viruses and spyware and when i test my hop links with it they always work fine..however i tested my hoplinks on my friend's computer (filled with spyware and constant popups), and noticed something extremely disturbing. I would click on my hoplink and follow it until the last page where you pay and at the bottom it says the clickbank user name who is getting credit for the sale. Each time a seemingly random clickbank ID would show up! I was not getting credit for the sales.. I imagine the computer had a spyware/virus that automatically rewrote the cookie..or something..
Anyway to make a long story short, your hoplinks are probably getting hijacked and you should start Cloaking them. Just do a google for "cloaking clickbank links" or something.
At least not when the link is cloaked in a frame. That's my experience. Many cloaking programs just cloak in a frame. _________________ Just COPY the system from Ewen Chia. http://www.AffiliateKickstart.com
Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:28 pm Post subject: Hijacking of hoplinks
This sounds like a very, very serious problem, no less important than having someone hack into your bank account over the Internet and steal your money.
For anyone who suspects this sort of problem, the first thing to do is to record the offending URL and send it to clickbank, explaining exactly what happened. This should allow them to identify the offending account, or to check if the vendor is doing something odd (seems unlikely).
This is a criminal matter that must not be ignored. I for one would be very pleased to see anyone using malware to steal money from Internet traders banged up in prison where they belong.
Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Bangkok, TH
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:51 am Post subject:
Unfortunantely, more often than not many networks turn a blind eye to Malware. They are getting their commissions one way or the other and they really don't care so much how they get the sales.
CJ and Linkshare have both been accused of being overridden by Malware and Parasite affiliates. I'm not really sure what the situation is like at Clickbank.
Also, often times, there's nothing "illegal" about what these parasites are doing. When a inexperienced or unwitting user "accepts" these parasites and BHOs (browser helper objects) on their computers, they are "accepting" the TOS which state that affiliate cookies maybe be overwritten so that the user gets "the best deal available".
Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:29 am Post subject: Thanks guys
Hey,
It's been a while since I checked on this reply, and whilst doing a search on my username "aarunjon" I came across this thread!
All of you guys have made very valid points and consiering that it has now been over a year since I posted this thread, I can relate to alot of what you guys have mentioned.
I have been using ClickBank for some campaigns, and have to say that on one occassion whilst testing my hoplink, I was startled to see someone else's affiliate ID in place of mine on the order page!
I got in touch with ClickBank, and the lady wrote back saying that I must have got to that sales page through someone else's link, even though I know I went through my own link on my OWN website! And it was cloaked, which goes to say that cloaking doesn't necessarily work 100%.
In other words, ClickBank wasn't ready to admit that my hoplink had been hijacked.
I am considering the incentive idea right now, and shall remember to ask the customers to ensure that my affiliate ID and, if required, to enable their cookies for the sale. Sounds like a bit too much to ask of them, but I'm sure they would do it if they saw a real value in the bonus incentives.
Will keep in touch on further progress.
P.S. Having been over a year since I posted, have any of your guys' ideas on affiliate marketing, and marketing online in general, changed significantly? I'm interested to hear what others have to say on the subject.
Clickbank has a problem with this more than most sites. Hackers know alot of people promote the site so they make software that gives them comission not affiliate. _________________ Surveys that pay t1 prices Cheap Hosting
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