What gets marketers\u2019 content noticed and trusted by consumers? It isn\u2019t just relevance \u2013 it\u2019s immediate relevance \u2013 links to content, offers, products or services that offer an opportunity to engage that matches the viewer\u2019s in-the-moment intent. Affiliate marketing and search marketing are changing\u2014and savvy marketers should be aware of these changes to ensure their strategy produces the best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first step in transforming your marketing strategy is understanding how consumers are searching for products today. It may seem counter-intuitive, but 83% of users don\u2019t even go to Google once they know exactly what product they plan to purchase.<\/em><\/span> In a customer\u2019s journey from intent to purchase, they may consume a wide range of content \u2013 from product reviews on social media feeds to video. At each point, there\u2019s an opportunity for a brand or performance marketer to capture their interest and win a conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where hybrid affiliate and search marketing comes in. Affiliate marketing can make content and search work for any marketer by amplifying the value of an existing or new search marketing strategy \u2014 delivering new value \u2014 like a coupon, relevant content, or a link to a brand\u2019s searched-for product \u2014 each time consumers conduct a search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketers will spend $15.7 billion<\/a> annually on affiliate marketing by 2024\u2014and the reasons are obvious: it can be phenomenal when it works. In a 2019 survey, publishers ranked affiliate marketing as one of their top three sources of revenue<\/a>, and 20% of marketers<\/a> ranked affiliate marketing as their most important customer acquisition channel. In addition, while a mix of organic and paid search brings 68% of trackable website traffic<\/a>, affiliate marketing amplifies search value for marketers, drawing in more revenue generation opportunities and accelerating consumers\u2019 path through the sales funnel. Leveraging affiliate and search marketing simultaneously to increase marketing performance means creating a new model for marketing strategy\u2014one that takes advantage of modern hybrid marketing tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While consumers may resist a bombardment of poorly targeted ads<\/a>, ads that provide relevant information, offers, or content are welcome by 71 percent of consumers<\/a>. At SitePlug, we\u2019ve worked extensively with brands and affiliate marketers to develop hybrid affiliate marketing and search marketing solutions that can effectively plug bottom-of-the-funnel leaks<\/a> based on the best attributes of affiliate, content, and search marketing. Using \u201csearch-like\u201d performance marketing products and contextual ads that were initiated by a keyword search, we direct consumers to a highly relevant page containing precisely the product or service they were looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By strengthening the relationship between search and affiliate, marketers can overcome consumer avoidance of irrelevant ads and remain visible when high-intent users are ready to engage. Write to us to find out how.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRethink Search: Consumers Already Have!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Evaluate Search Alternatives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When a user types a product name in a search box on browsers and keyboard apps, Site Suggest recognizes the user\u2019s input and displays a relevant product ad, bypassing the search engine results page altogether and navigating consumers directly to the brand\u2019s link.
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Mistyped domain names can cost brands millions in sales and result in a loss of trust and reputation when users are led to broken pages, parked domains, and malicious websites. Site Direct identifies these spelling errors and automatically redirects users to a brand’s correct website.
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As consumers search for reviews, deals, coupons, and social media posts from friends and influencers, they generate valuable data on their intent. At each of these touchpoints, Site Discover leverages this data and directs users to product purchase pages through ‘buy now’ widgets, coupons, and banners across more than 10,000+ carefully vetted publisher sites.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n