A
rough rule of thumb for most affiliate
links is that you need 30-40
clicks on your link to the merchant to make a single sale. If the
average number of clicks per sale is 40 then the conversion rate
is 1:40. This relatively low ratio is why affiliates need to work hard
to attract traffic to their site.
A conversion, then, is where a
click on an affiliate link to a merchant
results in a sale. That sale earns the affiliate a commission.
Particularly where the affiliate is using pay
per click advertising, he
must be acutely aware of the average conversion rate for his links. For
example, if he earns $40 for each sale (his commission) and, on
average, the conversion rate is 1:40, then, on average, every click on
the affiliate link must cost the affiliate less than $1 to avoid a loss.
Of course, not every visitor to the affiliate's site will click on the
affiliate link, so he must also take account of the ratio of site
visits to clicks on the affiliate link in his calculations. If it is a
ppc advertisment that links directly to the merchant, the calculation
is simpler as it relates only to the conversion rate. Obviously the
affiliate must set keyword bidding to a level that does not exceed his
maximum cost per click calculation. This approach of ppc plus eg
Clickbank can be used to good effect by affiliates, even where the
affiliate does not have his own website.
How to combine approaches such as this with all the skills that you
require as an affiliate is explained in our ebook Successful Affiliates Guide.
To maximise conversions, it helps to use your own website to assist the
selling process by providing genuinely useful and relevant
informational content.
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