Considerations paid traffic source

[LinkGenius]

Free traffic sources seem like a safer choice since you only invest you time and not directly money. Paid traffic can actually cost you both time and money, so before I start with it I want to know I'm doing thing right.

So what are the considerations if you want to start with paid traffic? In my case it is a existing website with a traffic stream from Google where I have the information from the Search console, Google analytics (including affiliate link clicks) and my affiliate network (commissions, not directly linked to the clicks).

How what paid traffic source options are there and how do you select one? What are the things you need to consider (budgets, audience, keywords, etc) in order to setup a paid traffic source successfully.

 

[Graybeard]

Paid traffic can actually cost you both time and money,

This is true

Lower cost DSP/RTB pop and push traffic can be useful for validating affinity and the possible scale of an offer, product or service --and that is about it IMO; based on empirical conversion events I have experienced.

AI barks out the long version:
except! DSP is the acronym for Demand Side Platform Perhaps AI implies the use if the `process` in its statement? Or it is just erratum

 

[Graybeard]

You have to estimate your margin and conversion rate to decide on a media to advertise on.

So there is no pat and easy answer.

Let's say (for discussion):

I am trying to sell watches in the $100 to $500 price range
the median purchase is $280
my CPA (commission) is 12%
; 280 * 0.12
$33.6

Say,Google Ads cost me 2.20 PPC​

@ 1:15​

; 15*2.20​

33​

I would only break even​

​

Say, Facebook ads cost me 0.55 CPC​

@1:30​

; 30*0.55​

16.5​

I might see a real return​

@1:60​

; 60*0.55​

33​

I would only break even​

​

I am pulling these numbers out of the sky --but this is what you need to validate and with better quality traffic;

1. maybe 200-300 clicks and 100 or more successful referrals to your offer (or, target; money shot)
2. this might validate to allow you to decide whether or not to scale the campaign.

 

[LinkGenius]

Thank you for your response! I've been analyzing my data and the cost for Google Ads. I tend to think the cost of paid visitors are just to high to make it profitable to direct traffic to my site. Also, I have some troubles linking the data of the affiliate network to the current keywords.

From the affiliate network:
- Average commission per sale is quite low (sitewide): < €2 per sale
- Average sale to click ratio seems terrible (sitewide): average: 1:15

From GA4:
- For my keywords typically between 1:4 and 1:6 users click one or more affiliate links (I've marked affiliate link clicks as conversion in GA4).
- Based on my commission monthly commission and the number of monthly GA4 conversions a user who clicks one or more affiliate links generates €0,32 on average.

In Google ads, Looking at the top of page (low bid range), I don't see any values under €0,37 for an ad. If you bid way below this range your ads simply won't show right?

Looking at Facebook ads, I'm not able to see any prices. So it's hard to estimate the costs. But I guess the same will hold. Is it typical for Facebook ads to have lower pricing and lower conversion ratio's due to their nature? (Because keywords are more accurate than target audiences).

Is it correct to say these average commissions and conversion ratio's are just to low to make paid traffic profitable? Or is my data simply not accurate enough to draw any such conclusions?

 

[T J Tutor]

Free traffic sources seem like a safer choice

No, no, and absolutely no. Free traffic is not a good or sustainable means by which to learn this business or earn with this business. I wish all those insane, misleading, "gurus" would stop pitching that bu**s**t!

You learn nothing about this business when learning this business using free traffic! It cannot be targeted, it cannot be tracked, and it cannot be controlled! All free traffic is not free, all free traffic is tertiary traffic.

If you wanted to learn auto repair, you have to buy the tooles to do the job. You cannot show up to an auto mechanics job with no tools. That is what you are doing when trying to learn and grow a business in this industry.

SEO traffic and unpaid social traffic are tertiary traffic sources and not a primary controllable traffic source to earn from. Not yesterday, not today, and most certainly not tomorrow.

How what paid traffic source options are there and how do you select one?

This all depends on what you are promoting. Not everything is a good match for Google. Somethings are in need of other paid traffic sources. Some of them very cheap, some not so much.

I find Google exceptional for my charter sites, and it is extremely expensive. If you are doing banners, then having ad agencies getting those banners on websites may be the answer, paid banners on social sites if the promotion is in compliance, and for push, pops, native, etc., maybe traffic sources like those registered in our Resources "Traffic Sources" will be of great value to you. Keep in mind that there is a lot of overlap now between traffic sources, affiliate networks, etc.

 

[LinkGenius]

Thank you for your response. Currently, my view on free traffic is different from yours, but maybe that might change because I have no experience with paid traffic yet.

You learn nothing about this business when learning this business using free traffic! It cannot be targeted, it cannot be tracked, and it cannot be controlled! All free traffic is not free, all free traffic is tertiary traffic.

I agree that paid ads are much better controllable than free ads. Assuming you don't buy traffic directly to your affiliate links, I don't see the difference in targeting when comparing SEO with SEA (both use keywords). Also, I don't see how tracking would differ between the two.
It is true that free traffic requires an investment in time and it is a lot harder to get initial traffic from organic results compared to SEA. However, with SEA I pay for every click/visitor over and over again, with SEO you will get a longer lasting visitor stream for you time investments.

What currently holds me back using paid traffic is that, by definition, I have to invest money for traffic. While free traffic requires time, it allows me to experiment freely with only my time at stake (It is currently more a hobby).Creating experiments for paid traffic actually cost money, being a beginner I know experiments will fail and I will mistakes.

So instead of just starting I would like to know from the experts what things I should consider. I hope, this will reduce the number of mistakes and failed experiments.

I can go with the maths: The commission per sale can be calculated, the cost are (at least for some platforms) known on forehand, so the conversion rate is the big unknown. It depends on platform and how well you target the right audience, and how easily the product converts right? If you are experienced you might have experience/developed "a feeling" for what is profitable. As a beginner, I have no idea what numbers to expect or how I can estimate them accurately.

Thank you for the list with traffic sources, I'll scan them to see if there is a possible fit for my current project. Although I doubt it will be profitable for my current sites to attract paid traffic. Maybe this needs a new project with a different approach from the start.

 

[Hozefa Tijoriwala]

Hello @LinkGenius ,

After reading all the conversations above, i learned a lot of things and i hope you learned too. Now have you decided how you are going to generate traffic and how you will monetise it ? Are you looking for some good offers to promote ? If yes then please do not hesitate to get in touch or check our offers here Health Affiliate Offers | Our affiliate programs | Comfort Click EU. We pay upto 25% comms to our direct partners.

Best Wishes,

 

[T J Tutor]

Thank you for your response. Currently, my view on free traffic is different from yours, but maybe that might change because I have no experience with paid traffic yet.


I agree that paid ads are much better controllable than free ads. Assuming you don't buy traffic directly to your affiliate links, I don't see the difference in targeting when comparing SEO with SEA (both use keywords). Also, I don't see how tracking would differ between the two.
It is true that free traffic requires an investment in time and it is a lot harder to get initial traffic from organic results compared to SEA. However, with SEA I pay for every click/visitor over and over again, with SEO you will get a longer lasting visitor stream for you time investments.

What currently holds me back using paid traffic is that, by definition, I have to invest money for traffic. While free traffic requires time, it allows me to experiment freely with only my time at stake (It is currently more a hobby).Creating experiments for paid traffic actually cost money, being a beginner I know experiments will fail and I will mistakes.

So instead of just starting I would like to know from the experts what things I should consider. I hope, this will reduce the number of mistakes and failed experiments.

I can go with the maths: The commission per sale can be calculated, the cost are (at least for some platforms) known on forehand, so the conversion rate is the big unknown. It depends on platform and how well you target the right audience, and how easily the product converts right? If you are experienced you might have experience/developed "a feeling" for what is profitable. As a beginner, I have no idea what numbers to expect or how I can estimate them accurately.

Thank you for the list with traffic sources, I'll scan them to see if there is a possible fit for my current project. Although I doubt it will be profitable for my current sites to attract paid traffic. Maybe this needs a new project with a different approach from the start.

Everything you are saying is WRONG! You are simply making excuses and using irrelevant information and incorrect information to try and justify starting an affiliate business with SEO traffic. Even the top SEO experts in the world will tell you this is a crazy and not smart thing to do.

You make statements like "I don't see the difference in targeting when comparing SEO with SEA (both use keywords)." and "I don't see how tracking would differ between the two.". You cannot see the difference because you have not made the effort to test and then compare the two side by side. You said it yourself "I can't see". That is a very accurate statement. You can't see is true and you can't see because you have not made the effort and are unwilling to make the effort to compare them side by side through learning and testing.

I'll make you a wager, $1, $5, $100, $1,000, name you wager! I bet you I can take a complete newbie having never been in this business before and within 2 to 4 weeks have them earning a steady $50 a day "net" with a $1000 investment in their new business. We'll do it with paid traffic and you do it with SEO traffic. We'll do it with a proper tracker, with a properly paid traffic source, and with properly targeting the geos and the demographics. You won't be using targeted traffic and you won't be using a proper tracker. You won't be earning even after 6 months. At six months my newbie will be earning at least $200 per day and by the end of next year have a highly sustainable and successful business. You will not because you refuse to take expert advice on how to start an affiliate business properly.

SEO IS NOT how one starts an affiliate business. We have over 137,000 members here and I have never, not once, not here and not in any other forum, learned of an affiliate successfully starting and building an affiliate business with SEO. Everyone that succeeds does so by investing in their business, acquiring the proper tools, and using paid traffic, EVERYTIME!

 

[Graybeard]

Scientists Propose Sweeping New Law of Nature, Expanding On Evolution - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: When British naturalist Charles Darwin sketched out his theory of evolution in the 1859 book "On the Origin of Species" -- proposing that biological species change over time through the acquisition of traits that favor survival and...

science.slashdot.org

The Internet has evolved ...
That worked for me 20 *years ago for a while

 

[LinkGenius]

Thank you all for your responses.

After reading all the conversations above, i learned a lot of things and i hope you learned too. Now have you decided how you are going to generate traffic and how you will monetise it ? Are you looking for some good offers to promote ? If yes then please do not hesitate to get in touch or check our offers here Health Affiliate Offers | Our affiliate programs | Comfort Click EU. We pay upto 25% comms to our direct partners.

Thanks for the offer, I also already learned a lot of things but haven't made choices yet. Still reading information on the topic and exploring options like the types of paid advertisements (push, pop, popunder, native, etc) and their advantages/disadvantages. Information in a new topic can be overwhelming and I Iike to think things though and make plans in my mind first before deciding and taking actions. I will keep your affiliate programs in mind though.

You make statements like "I don't see the difference in targeting when comparing SEO with SEA (both use keywords)." and "I don't see how tracking would differ between the two.". You cannot see the difference because you have not made the effort to test and then compare the two side by side. You said it yourself "I can't see". That is a very accurate statement. You can't see is true and you can't see because you have not made the effort and are unwilling to make the effort to compare them side by side through learning and testing.

Like I said in my previous post, my view might change because I have no experience with paid traffic yet. That I can't see the difference does not mean I deny there is a difference. So, it would be very helpful if someone could explain how, for example, the tracking from SEA differs from the tracking in SEO. I am willing to compare them side by side through learning and testing, that is the reason I've started this topic. However, I want to gather as much information on forehand to minimize my mistakes/failures/loses.

I'll make you a wager, $1, $5, $100, $1,000, name you wager! I bet you I can take a complete newbie having never been in this business before and within 2 to 4 weeks have them earning a steady $50 a day "net" with a $1000 investment in their new business. We'll do it with paid traffic and you do it with SEO traffic. We'll do it with a proper tracker, with a properly paid traffic source, and with properly targeting the geos and the demographics. You won't be using targeted traffic and you won't be using a proper tracker. You won't be earning even after 6 months. At six months my newbie will be earning at least $200 per day and by the end of next year have a highly sustainable and successful business.

Please explain to me how you would do that! Any tips on how to set up a proper tracker, a properly paid traffic source and proper targeting are more than welcome.

You will not because you refuse to take expert advice on how to start an affiliate business properly.

That I said that I think that paid traffic will not be profitable for my current sites (average commission seem to low, numbers given, so please correct me if I'm wrong) does not mean I lost the will to look at paid traffic sources. Like I said maybe this needs a new project with a different approach from the start. That I explain where my views might differ from yours does not mean I try to tutor you, but to give anyone the opportunity to explain why my views are not correct. I know I'm not an expert and my views might be incomplete and sometimes are based on wrong information. Although I try to limit the latter by questioning new information before adopting it. That does not mean I'm unwilling to take advice. I know there is a lot of expertise in this form and any advice is always appreciated.