Successful affiliates create websites that increase sales for merchants while being profitable for the affiliate. Some affiliate sites can be spotted right away while others don’t even seem like they’re affiliates. Donna McCarthy from Search Marketing Gurus has a video covering some basics of affiliate marketing that begins to discuss a few different types of affiliate websites. Below are some of the types mentioned plus additional types with examples.
Loyalty Sites
Loyalty affiliate provide some sort of incentive to shop through their site.
Example:
Upromise.com - At Upromise, you can receive money to pay for college.
Comparison Shopping Sites
Comparison shopping affiiliates aggregate different feeds or offers allowing the user to compare the same or similar products to see which has the lowest price or provides the best service.
Example:
BizRate.com
Deal / Coupon Sites
These type of affiliate sites usually use feeds to offer their users the latest special offers and coupon codes for various merchants.
Example:
CoolSavings.com
Review Sites
These sites provide either user generated or editorial reviews for different products or services letting visitors see which product/service is best.
Example:
ConsumerSearch.com
Informational Sites
These affiliate websites provide information on a certain category or niche. The information is usually more generally targeted at helping or informing their visitors rather than directly trying to sell them on one particular service, however, they provide links to companies related to their topic.
Example:
fivecentnickel.com - This blog deals with topics related to money and finance and uses affiliate links within its Sponsors section.
Sites that Strictly Sell
Affiliate sites like these are made for affiliates who can generate targeted traffic at a cost below what they receive in revenue from the merchant. They may not offer anything different from the competition, but the owner’s of these types of sites are able to either bring in cheaper traffic, can convert their traffic better than their competitors or have better payouts.
Example:
Most ringtone sites in search
Sites Providing a Unique Product or Service that Adds Extra Value to Users
While many of the above sites provide some sort of added value, these sites go the extra mile by investing a large amount of resources in creating a unique offering for their users with a business model backed by affiliate marketing.
Example:
Zafu - Zafu is simply a great idea. This company has personally tested hundreds of different types of jeans on women with different body types. The user is able to provide information about their body type and Zafu will match them up with different brands and styles of jeans that will fit them best. Once a user goes through their links and purchases the jeans, Zafu receives part of the commission.
Hybrid Sites Using Several of the Above
Hybrid affiliate sites would be sites that create added value by combining several helpful features together for their users.
Example:
FatWallet - FatWallet provides users with deals, comparison shopping and even has a cash back loyalty program.
As you can see, there are a variety of different types of affiliate sites out there - and these are just the ones off the top of my head. As the industry matures, it will be the sites that provide the most value to their users and the sites that can create the most value for the merchant that survive.
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