1. Measuring the value of
affiliate marketing
Measuring the value of
affiliate marketing Kevin Edwards, Affiliate Window
kevin.edwards@affiliatewindow.com
Kevin Edwards, Affiliate Window
kevin.edwards@affiliatewindow.com

2. GLOBAL PERFORMANCE
MARKETING EXPERTS
PART OF LARGEST GLOBAL
PERFORMANCE NETWORK
ESTABLISHED IN
2000
CUSTOMIZED
PORTFOLIO SERVICES
2
TIMES WINNER OF
PUBLISHERS’ CHOICE
OF NETWORK
TIMES WINNER OF
AFFILIATE NETWORK
INNOVATION
$2.5bn
1,700
MERCHANTS

3. 3

4. Where we’ve come from & where we’re going
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Are they the
right type of
sale?
Are they the
right type of
sale?
Am I paying for
sales I would have
got anyway?
Am I paying for
sales I would have
got anyway?
Are coupon
affiliates goal
hangers?
Are coupon
affiliates goal
hangers?
Are affiliates
cannibalizing my
other activity?
Are affiliates
cannibalizing my
other activity?
Am I paying
too much for
sales?
Am I paying
too much for
sales?
How do I measure
how incremental
my sales are?
How do I measure
how incremental
my sales are?

5. 5
in·cre·men·tal adjective
: of, relating to, being, or occurring in
especially small increments <incremental
additions> <incremental change>
“How incremental are my sales?”
≈
“would I have got my sales if I didn’t run an
affiliate marketing campaign?”

6. mea·sur·ing val·ue
There are practical ways we can do so:
• how many sales are standalone?
• how close are the clicks to the sale?
• how many affiliates are involved in the sale?
• how many of the sales are new customers?
• how many of the sales drove repeat custom?
• how many of the sales drove good quality?
• how many channels were involved in a sale?

7. What is incremental? Average Order Value
Upselling
Volume
Profitability
Frequency
Demographics
New vs. Existing
Churn

8. De-duplication is not an
attribution strategy!
Cross-channel reporting is
vital to understanding
incrementality
What is incremental?

9. How many channels are affiliates de-duplicated against?
What is incremental?

10. What channels are de-duplicated against?
What is incremental?

11. Prioritising de-duplication: retail client
11
All channels
de-duplicated

12. Prioritising de-duplication: retail client
12
Priority Campaigns Secondary Campaigns
Affiliate PPC Brand
PPC Generic Direct to Site
Email Brand SEO Brand
SEO Generic Retargeting
Social Natural

13. Prioritising de-duplication: retail client
13

14. Prioritising de-duplication: retail client
14

15. 15
-22.5%
Prioritising de-duplication: retail client

16. The incrementality of affiliates
• Brief: to understand how affiliates impact
sales and other channels across whole online
ecosystem
• Retail client’s data from August 2012
• All channels, both paid and unpaid
marketing, assessed
• Insight project handled by Affiliate Window’s
Strategy and Business Intelligence Teams
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17. The incrementality of affiliates
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38% single
interaction
88% three
interactions
or less

18. The incrementality of affiliates
18

19. The incrementality of affiliates
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20. The incrementality of affiliates: AOVs
20

21. The incrementality of affiliates: AOVs
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• Use promotions strategically to boost AOVs
• Different affiliates can improve AOVs: work
with them on an individual basis
• Targeted campaigns can be run on certain
product ranges to increase basket values

22. The incrementality of affiliates
22

23. The incrementality of affiliates
• Understand how affiliates are influencers in the
path to conversion. Work with them to
influence the products they are promoting.
• Work with influencers to understand how they
can convert rather than just influence
customers
• Recognise the value these partners add in the
research phase of the customer journey and
how to increase exposure across these partners
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24. The incrementality of affiliates
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25. The incrementality of affiliates
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26. The incrementality of affiliates
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27. The incrementality of affiliates
27

28. The incrementality of affiliates
• Understand the affiliates that are involved in sales on an
individual basis to find out the profile of their customers
• Look at offers that could help convert from the affiliate
sites that are frequently involved without winning the sale
on a last click basis
• Work with individual partners to get better placements
across their sites. Alternative payment models may need to
be considered
• Look at bespoke offers for the largest incentivised sites to
see how to best capitalise on their loyal membership base
to drive incremental value
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29. Understanding the value
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AWin visibilityClient visibility Client visibilityClient visibility Client visibility
Wider AWin project to conduct ongoing analysis of
affiliate programme quality: will rely on data
sharing

30. Understanding the value
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31. Understanding the value
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32. Understanding the value
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33. Understanding the value
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34. Understanding the value
It is important to understand the variances amongst individual
affiliates: same categorisation, different results
Coupon Coupon Coupon
Coupon

35. ADD THE SHOPPING TROLLEY SLIDE
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36. Understanding the value
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Assess ‘incremental’ in context of changing consumer habits
There is no one measure of incremental: Look beyond volume
to value
Cross-channel paths to purchase can show where value is
added: a single attribution model does not work for all
Demand insight into publishers’ audiences / member bases
Not all affiliates with same promotional method are the same