Hey guys!
Choosing an ad network has never been simpler, there we said it.
No seriously, with all the information out there about affiliate ad networks it’s made the process much simpler. If you are searching for what to look for in an advertising network, then you’re in the right place.
Let us show you what is important and what you can ignore when choosing the ad network that meets your needs.
Read on to find out how to choose the best affiliate ad network for you and your affiliate marketing campaigns!
An advertising or ad network (or even ad exchange) is the place affiliates like you come to find traffic for your ads. These ad networks have access to the consumers that an affiliate marketer wants to reach. They have access to these consumers via publishers who will host your affiliate ads so that the consumers can interact with them either by viewing or clicking on them. So it is beneficial for ad networks to have a large number of publishers as the more people able to see your affiliate ads the better. As we all know the more interested eyeballs on your ads, the more chance of conversions.
So an ad network must have a good relationship with its publishers and their affiliate marketers in order to be successful.
When choosing an ad network it is best to have a list of things to measure it against according to your business needs. Therefore, we have come up with a list of the fundamental criteria that you should look out for when choosing one ad network over another.
Feel free to make your own pros and cons list based on this and your individual affiliate marketing needs.
One thing that marketers have always worried about is having enough people viewing their ads. That’s why at times like the Super Bowl, companies pay millions to advertise to the millions of people watching the game. Well, traffic volume is all about how many people could potentially view your affiliate ad, so it is important. Every bit of that traffic is another potential lead for you, which can turn into a customer and kickback some commission to you.
So, if you are choosing an ad network based on traffic volume don’t forget about the scalability that comes with this. We’d suggest you opt for one with a high traffic volume which obviously comes with high scaling potential!
Speaking of high traffic volumes, the traffic calculator in Zeropark will show you exactly how many available redirects are available per ad format, as well as in a particular GEO too.
For example; there are more than 62 billion redirects available for Pop traffic, 2.4 billion for push and nearly 4 billion for domain redirects this month.
This means there is enough traffic for any of your affiliate marketing campaigns in any ad format we offer, no matter how niche.
Every affiliate marketer wants to serve their customers with ads that will fulfill a need or want in their lives, however, there are obstacles in the way which means that this is not always possible, one of these obstacles is bot traffic.
You see, the Internet not only has users like you but is also made up of bots. And while some of these bots are useful there are some which are a menace to the advertisers of the world.
First, it’s important to state that some bots are positive and others are negative. The positive ones improve the internet by completing tasks such as indexing for SEO. And then there are the negative ones, that are used to create spam comments or even worse some bots are used for ad fraud where these bots click on your ads automatically.
This ends up costing you money and losing you the opportunity to present that impression to an interested user, and overall resulting in bad KPIs for that campaign.
So, yes bot traffic is a problem for ad networks, but there is a solution.
Some advertising networks platforms like Zeropark take pride in tackling bots like these with coding that filters them out. Unfortunately, not every ad network has bot filtering which might lead you to pay more for clicks and impressions that have little to no chance of a conversion. That’s not what anyone wants.
If you have been looking for which countries to target with affiliate marketing? Then choosing an advertising network with access to multiple GEOs would be a good place to start.
So, take a look below to understand which countries are available to advertise to within Zeropark.
This infographic shows the three tiers of GEOs available in Zeropark:
The tier 1 GEOs are as follows: US, FR, UK, IT, DE, CA, & AUS, to name a few.
The average bid for pop ads in tier 1: $0.0009-$0.0004
The average bid for push ads in tier 1: $0.0269-$0.0449
The average bid for domain redirect ads in tier 1: $0.0161-$0.0464
You will find countries such as AT, BE, CY, RU, CZ, GR, ES, NL, JP, and many more.
The average bid for pop ads in tier 2: $0.0006-$0.0003
The average bid for push ads in tier 2: $0.0123-$0.0947
The average bid for domain redirect ads in tier 2: $0.0021-$0.0101
Examples of countries found in tier 3 are; CN, IN, HU, ARG, KR, MX, PL, BR, and more.
For a full list of countries in each GEO check out this article on the tiers of traffic in affiliate marketing.
The average bid for pop ads in tier 3: $0.0005-$0.0001
The average bid for push ads in tier 3: $0.0014-$0.0127
The average bid for domain redirect ads in tier 3: $0.0037- $0.0092
The average bid can be calculated using the traffic calculator, try it for yourself with more specific GEO targeting for your campaigns.
Everyone in the affiliate industry is looking to make money, and that’s why it’s important to be careful with which ad network you choose as some charge more than others.
When you buy from the ad network (or ad exchange) you will likely be purchasing on a CPM or CPV/CPC basis. And we know that you know what these terms mean by now. It’s also important to remember that prices vary per ad format, with pop being cheaper than push, or redirect ads.
With that in mind, you can be paying from as low as $0.0001 per view for pop traffic (depending on your targeting options) with some networks charging more than others. Again using pop traffic as an example here, traffic would be considered expensive if it were $0.005 per view or more.
Whereas, push ads are typically around $0.03 per view and domain redirects could be between $0.0021-$0.0101 per view (depending on GEO).
However, it’s worth remembering that just because you pay more for traffic doesn’t mean that it will convert better. As we said before many factors affect the success of your affiliate campaigns such as keyword targeting, GEO, and optimization methods used. So, keep that in mind when planning your campaign budget.
We also mentioned above that the average bid per ad format will likely differ depending on which countries you target. It’s a good idea to go with the recommended bid suggested by the ad exchange if they have this as a feature.
Another thing to remember is the minimum deposit needed when signing up for some ad networks, as some are as much as $1000 (within Zeropark it’s only $200).
Targeting is vital to the success of any affiliate marketing campaign as it determines who sees your ads. And with any good marketing campaign, the narrower you are with your target niche the more likely you are to get a good conversion rate.
Affiliates should choose an ad network that helps them to find an audience that will react positively to their marketing campaigns.
If you’re still wondering which targeting options you should choose, then have a look below.
For campaigns in Zeropark here are your targeting options:
However, not all of these mentioned are available in other ad networks.
While not all ad networks have access to automatic optimization tools, the ones that do help you to get the most out of your campaigns. And how do they do that?
Well, it comes down to the reason any optimization tools were created, saving you time and money.
Within Zeropark it’s known as rule-based optimization. It’s just one of the things that allow affiliate marketers to make money while they sleep.
What you need to do to get started is set up some rules that you want your campaign to be governed by. All you need to do is set up some IF-THEN conditions for your campaign to follow and you will be all set to make money while you sleep. Based on these rules you set, the campaigns will be able to optimize themselves automatically.
For example, you set up a rule that your campaign should bid up when you are getting a high number of conversions, then it does and you buy more of the traffic and get a chance to get more conversions. Sounds simple, right?
Our advice would be to look for an advertising network that has access to some type of automatic optimization. It could just save your campaigns from burning their budget.
Magda
Choosing an ad network has never been simpler, there we said it.
No seriously, with all the information out there about affiliate ad networks it’s made the process much simpler. If you are searching for what to look for in an advertising network, then you’re in the right place.
Let us show you what is important and what you can ignore when choosing the ad network that meets your needs.
Read on to find out how to choose the best affiliate ad network for you and your affiliate marketing campaigns!
What is an ad network?
An advertising or ad network (or even ad exchange) is the place affiliates like you come to find traffic for your ads. These ad networks have access to the consumers that an affiliate marketer wants to reach. They have access to these consumers via publishers who will host your affiliate ads so that the consumers can interact with them either by viewing or clicking on them. So it is beneficial for ad networks to have a large number of publishers as the more people able to see your affiliate ads the better. As we all know the more interested eyeballs on your ads, the more chance of conversions.So an ad network must have a good relationship with its publishers and their affiliate marketers in order to be successful.
What to look for in a good ad network?
When choosing an ad network it is best to have a list of things to measure it against according to your business needs. Therefore, we have come up with a list of the fundamental criteria that you should look out for when choosing one ad network over another.Feel free to make your own pros and cons list based on this and your individual affiliate marketing needs.
- Traffic volumes
- Traffic quality
- Available GEOs
- Available ad formats
- Price of the traffic
- Targeting options
- Optimization options
- Support options
- And anything else that might be important to your affiliate business.
Why is traffic volume important?
One thing that marketers have always worried about is having enough people viewing their ads. That’s why at times like the Super Bowl, companies pay millions to advertise to the millions of people watching the game. Well, traffic volume is all about how many people could potentially view your affiliate ad, so it is important. Every bit of that traffic is another potential lead for you, which can turn into a customer and kickback some commission to you.So, if you are choosing an ad network based on traffic volume don’t forget about the scalability that comes with this. We’d suggest you opt for one with a high traffic volume which obviously comes with high scaling potential!
Speaking of high traffic volumes, the traffic calculator in Zeropark will show you exactly how many available redirects are available per ad format, as well as in a particular GEO too.
For example; there are more than 62 billion redirects available for Pop traffic, 2.4 billion for push and nearly 4 billion for domain redirects this month.
This means there is enough traffic for any of your affiliate marketing campaigns in any ad format we offer, no matter how niche.
Traffic Quality — is bot traffic a problem for ad networks?
Every affiliate marketer wants to serve their customers with ads that will fulfill a need or want in their lives, however, there are obstacles in the way which means that this is not always possible, one of these obstacles is bot traffic.You see, the Internet not only has users like you but is also made up of bots. And while some of these bots are useful there are some which are a menace to the advertisers of the world.
First, it’s important to state that some bots are positive and others are negative. The positive ones improve the internet by completing tasks such as indexing for SEO. And then there are the negative ones, that are used to create spam comments or even worse some bots are used for ad fraud where these bots click on your ads automatically.
This ends up costing you money and losing you the opportunity to present that impression to an interested user, and overall resulting in bad KPIs for that campaign.
So, yes bot traffic is a problem for ad networks, but there is a solution.
Some advertising networks platforms like Zeropark take pride in tackling bots like these with coding that filters them out. Unfortunately, not every ad network has bot filtering which might lead you to pay more for clicks and impressions that have little to no chance of a conversion. That’s not what anyone wants.
Available GEOs — where do your ads convert best?
If you have been looking for which countries to target with affiliate marketing? Then choosing an advertising network with access to multiple GEOs would be a good place to start.So, take a look below to understand which countries are available to advertise to within Zeropark.
This infographic shows the three tiers of GEOs available in Zeropark:
Tier 1
This is the most expensive zone for purchasing traffic but often has good conversion rates. This tier is for seasoned affiliate marketers, the ones who know how to optimize their campaigns well, and when it’s time to kill a failing campaign. But that comes with practice.The tier 1 GEOs are as follows: US, FR, UK, IT, DE, CA, & AUS, to name a few.
The average bid for pop ads in tier 1: $0.0009-$0.0004
The average bid for push ads in tier 1: $0.0269-$0.0449
The average bid for domain redirect ads in tier 1: $0.0161-$0.0464
Tier 2
The second classification of GEOs is made up of the following countries and can be considered on the whole cheaper than the first tier, but more expensive than the third tier.You will find countries such as AT, BE, CY, RU, CZ, GR, ES, NL, JP, and many more.
The average bid for pop ads in tier 2: $0.0006-$0.0003
The average bid for push ads in tier 2: $0.0123-$0.0947
The average bid for domain redirect ads in tier 2: $0.0021-$0.0101
Tier 3
Although this may be the cheapest tier it is also where profit can be found by many affiliates. Consider factoring the volume of traffic you use for each of these tiers when running your campaigns as it can be more profitable to run in a cheaper GEO with more traffic volume. We recommend if you are a beginner to try out this tier to get started as you will lose less money with the learning curve that comes with affiliate marketing, or new ad networks.Examples of countries found in tier 3 are; CN, IN, HU, ARG, KR, MX, PL, BR, and more.
For a full list of countries in each GEO check out this article on the tiers of traffic in affiliate marketing.
The average bid for pop ads in tier 3: $0.0005-$0.0001
The average bid for push ads in tier 3: $0.0014-$0.0127
The average bid for domain redirect ads in tier 3: $0.0037- $0.0092
The average bid can be calculated using the traffic calculator, try it for yourself with more specific GEO targeting for your campaigns.
How much is the ad network charging for traffic?
Everyone in the affiliate industry is looking to make money, and that’s why it’s important to be careful with which ad network you choose as some charge more than others.When you buy from the ad network (or ad exchange) you will likely be purchasing on a CPM or CPV/CPC basis. And we know that you know what these terms mean by now. It’s also important to remember that prices vary per ad format, with pop being cheaper than push, or redirect ads.
With that in mind, you can be paying from as low as $0.0001 per view for pop traffic (depending on your targeting options) with some networks charging more than others. Again using pop traffic as an example here, traffic would be considered expensive if it were $0.005 per view or more.
Whereas, push ads are typically around $0.03 per view and domain redirects could be between $0.0021-$0.0101 per view (depending on GEO).
However, it’s worth remembering that just because you pay more for traffic doesn’t mean that it will convert better. As we said before many factors affect the success of your affiliate campaigns such as keyword targeting, GEO, and optimization methods used. So, keep that in mind when planning your campaign budget.
We also mentioned above that the average bid per ad format will likely differ depending on which countries you target. It’s a good idea to go with the recommended bid suggested by the ad exchange if they have this as a feature.
Another thing to remember is the minimum deposit needed when signing up for some ad networks, as some are as much as $1000 (within Zeropark it’s only $200).
What Targeting options are there affiliate campaigns?
Targeting is vital to the success of any affiliate marketing campaign as it determines who sees your ads. And with any good marketing campaign, the narrower you are with your target niche the more likely you are to get a good conversion rate.Affiliates should choose an ad network that helps them to find an audience that will react positively to their marketing campaigns.
If you’re still wondering which targeting options you should choose, then have a look below.
For campaigns in Zeropark here are your targeting options:
- RON – (Run of Network) This option targets all traffic coming from a selected GEO. If a new source appears in this GEO, your campaign will start buying traffic from this new source as well.
- Target – This method targets a single website(s). You need to provide a list of targets for this campaign to start receiving traffic. The only way to obtain that list is to build it yourself, based on the best targets from your previous campaigns.
- Source – This method targets traffic coming from a single source publisher, that usually consists of several targets. You need to provide a list of sources for this campaign to start receiving traffic. The list can be created by yourself or you can also request one from your account manager or the support team.
- Keyword – This method targets traffic that contains a certain keyword or keywords. You need to provide a list of keywords for this campaign to start receiving traffic.
- Multi-Geo – This method allows you to target several GEOs at once. If a new source appears in one of the selected GEOs, your campaign will start buying traffic from this new source as well.
However, not all of these mentioned are available in other ad networks.
Automatic optimization tools — do you really need them?
While not all ad networks have access to automatic optimization tools, the ones that do help you to get the most out of your campaigns. And how do they do that?Well, it comes down to the reason any optimization tools were created, saving you time and money.
Within Zeropark it’s known as rule-based optimization. It’s just one of the things that allow affiliate marketers to make money while they sleep.
What you need to do to get started is set up some rules that you want your campaign to be governed by. All you need to do is set up some IF-THEN conditions for your campaign to follow and you will be all set to make money while you sleep. Based on these rules you set, the campaigns will be able to optimize themselves automatically.
For example, you set up a rule that your campaign should bid up when you are getting a high number of conversions, then it does and you buy more of the traffic and get a chance to get more conversions. Sounds simple, right?
Our advice would be to look for an advertising network that has access to some type of automatic optimization. It could just save your campaigns from burning their budget.
If you want to learn:
- Where to look for recommendations?
- Affiliate ad tracking — do all advertising networks have this?
- Everything you need to know about doing business with ad networks;
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Magda
