How to avoid shady affiliate networks and traffic sources?

What are those affiliate networks all about? Is that some kind of mysterious knowledge that only a few can have? Or as simple as that: how can you earn money without leaving your home? It’s nothing new so I’m sure you already know the answers. Don’t you? The thing is, as everything else, affiliate marketing can have its lighter and darker sides, or not to be as harsh sounding, the more shady ones. Do you want to know how to avoid them? Come on, I’m going to tell you! 

How to choose a proven network?

First of all, is there actually anything you need to be afraid of? Well, If you don't want to become a victim of the Affiliate Fraud, and I’m sure you don’t, there’s plenty of things you should consider while thinking of starting earning money from affiliate marketing. An affiliate network is one of them. To summarise what an affiliate network is, let’s say it acts as a kind of a broker between the merchant and the affiliate, streamlining the process for both sides. But how to choose the right one? These few points will help you make a more informed choice of an affiliate network:

• backgroundinformation - how long has the company been on the market? How many users do they already have? Do they have their finances in order? Are they as large as they claim to be? 

• fees and binding agreements - do you have to pay a starting fee or a fixed monthly fee? Is it required of you to agree to have a long term binding time? If the answers are “yes”, then try to find a different one. The real and trustworthy networks are free of charge and risk-free.

• payouts- how regularly the affiliates get paid? Does the company have a history of late payments? What is the minimum payout level? Well, the lower the better. Use your tools and do the research. 

• offer width - how many partner programs are offered by the affiliate network? Does it have anything you will be interested in and be able to promote?

• support - are you able to have a close dialogue with your affiliate network? How fast does support respond? If the answer takes several days, there is a risk that you will end up in the same situation as a customer. Try to make sure you can count on them when you have a problem, even in the evenings and at the weekend.  

• legal framework- take a look at your contract. Is there anything you consider to be suspicious?

• user-friendly page - is it easy to sign up? Does the web page look professional? Is the interface user-friendly?

• others’ opinions -  what do people say about the network? Is there more of a positive or negative vibe all around?

Have you ever heard of MyLead? Well, you should have. We are the best answer to all of your questions. Find out for yourself! 

What is a traffic source and how to prevent invalid activity?

Traffic source in the simplest terms can be defined as the origin through which people found your site. It’s an overview of the different kinds of sources that send traffic to your page. So whenever someone visits your website through desktop, mobile, or any Internet-enabled device, uses a specific link or a search engine, or gets to know about your page from social media, it is classified as a traffic source.

There are different types of traffic sources and the list may seem endless. However here are some basics such as direct or organic traffic, social media, referral, paid search, retargeting, or e-mail/newsletter.

DIRECT

This is a direct visit to the website. Our guest enters the website address in the browser bar or opens a tab saved during the previous search.

ORGANIC

Organic traffic is described as clicking on the link that appears as a free search result e.g. in Google.

SOCIAL

A sort of traffic generated via social media - Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etc. 

REFERRAL

This category contains visits through links uploaded on other websites (not qualified as social media). 

PAID SEARCH

As the name suggests this type includes clicks on links that appear in paid search results.

RETARGETING

Retargeting is a form of online advertising which engages the visitor throughout the journey by showing ads of the product they recently viewed.

E-MAIL/NEWSLETTER

This is the kind of traffic that comes from e-mail marketing campaigns or newsletter.

What aspects should you consider before selecting a traffic source? 

• the niche or target audience - you’ll see a lot more success if you specify yourself.

• the quality of the traffic source - the more real traffic a network provides, the more quality the traffic will be.

• rules, laws, and regulations - promoting adult content on a very mainstream network may not be the best idea. Make sure you use the best platform for your subject.

• the available targeting options - we can all agree that: targeting is the key.

  
  

So what to avoid? There are two things that may impact the overall quality of a traffic source: firstly, some networks can just have lousy traffic quality, and secondly - bot traffic. Robots aren't going to pull out their credit cards and buy whatever you’re trying to sell. Shady online traffic sources promising willow pears that seem too good to be true probably are. If you notice something wrong going on with your stats, make sure that the traffic comes from real people. Do you want to earn more from affiliate marketing? Look how easy it is!

Summary

There are some things that you have to keep in mind while looking for an affiliate network or deciding what your main traffic source is going to be. Do your research, communicate, build a relationship, keep things clear. But the most important - always be testing. That is the way to make sure that the numbers work outright. Make it a routine. Check your audience and the numbers and if anything starts to go wrong, try to find the reason to prevent further failures. Remember to do everything wisely.