Bigmouthmedia search engine news: affiliate-marketing

AOL acquires affiliate network

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Internet firm AOL has announced the acquisition of independent affiliate network buy.at.

The network offers a performance-based e-commerce marketing program platform for both publishers and advertisers and will become a wholly-owned business unit of AOL's Advertising.com - acquired in 2004 - as a result of the transaction.

Buy.at was first founded in 2002 and makes use of a model whereby advertisers only pay a fee once a visitor has carried out an action such as signing up for a free trial of their product or undertaking a purchase.

Its ContentEngine service enables retailers to dynamically promote offers and products across a range of affiliate websites, while its leads division sources consumer leads for financial services merchants.

The deal represents AOL's fifth advertising-related acquisition in the last 12 months, following the purchases of Quigo, TACODA, Third Screen Media and AdTech.

"This acquisition further enhances our Platform-A advertising offerings by enabling us to offer a new set of advertiser and publisher products, while also supporting our international strategy," commented Randy Falco, chairman and chief executive of AOL.

"We look forward to accelerating the expansion of buy.at's affiliate network in the US and worldwide," he went on to add.

Earlier this week, AOL announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Goowy, a widget technology company that also runs a consumer-facing website and provides widget-based advertising services.

Both firms had previously collaborated to provide widgets for the myAOL website.

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Affiliate marketing generates more than £3 billion in sales in 2007

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Affiliate marketing continues to show why it is an area of digital marketing that should be considered along with Paid Search and SEO. According to recent research by E-consultancy, there was a 45% increase in revenue through this channel in 2007, when compared with 2006. The research indicates that £3.13 billion was generated in online sales in 2007 through affiliates, compared to £2.16 billion in 2006, showing strong growth that is expected to continue into 2008.

The affiliate channel has proved a cost effective way of generating online sales for merchants who are keen to further their digital marketing efforts. Affiliate campaigns drive revenue for the merchant by getting the brand exposure on a number of affiliate's websites, which can drive sales, acquisitions and leads. However the benefits of affiliate marketing are not restricted to generating sales, as the channel can also be used for raising brand awareness or changing brand perceptions.

The E-Consultancy Affiliate Marketing Networks Buyer's Guide, published this week, highlights one of the major affiliate trends from last year: the growth in sales driven through incentive and loyalty affiliate websites. One of the largest and best known loyalty websites who have contributed to this is Quidco, who pass on all of the commission earned directly to their members.

Interestingly, affiliate marketing is no longer relevant only for blue chip companies, as E-Consultancy's research shows that SMEs are increasingly seeing the affiliate channel as an intelligent way to drive their online sales. As it stands, brands in the travel, retail and financial services sector are the ones most commonly found to be running an affiliate programme. However affiliate marketing can work for a wide variety of brands across a range of sectors, as it continues to gain in popularity.

E-consultancy's Head of Research Linus Gregoriadis said:

"Affiliate marketing continues to gain momentum because the performance-based model is so popular with advertisers. When the biggest consumer-facing brands in these industries do not have a well-defined affiliate strategy, it now tends to be an exception rather than the rule."

With the momentum swinging in the right direction, 2008 looks to be the year where affiliate marketing will become an essential component of online marketing campaigns.

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Affiliates4U gets a makeover

Mon, 21 May 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Affiliates4U, the hub of the affiliate industry in the UK has had a facelift - and quite a significant one at that! The Affiliates4U site has historically been a forum for members of the industry to meet, discuss and develop all aspects of affiliate marketing.

Affiliates4U was originally launched in 1999 by Matthew Wood, the founder of the forum's parent company Existem. With the relationships between affiliate networks and merchants key to the success of affiliate marketing, the forum was able to thrive immediately as it provided the platform necessary for these relationships to blossom. Since this time, its membership growth has continued steadily.

With its re-launch, the Affiliates4U forum now has a full social networking facility, with the addition of member generated communities, user and provider profiles, integrated blogs and an increased number of forum verticals.

Some of the major players in the UK affiliate marketing industry voice their opinions on the forum, including a few original super-affiliates. A4U has always been seen as a place of learning in the affiliate community, with a wealth of information available. In the spirit of continuing to amass such valuable information, the new site also boasts the addition of affiliate and merchant universities.

Members are able to add their thoughts to the site in true Web 2.0 style, and these are displayed in a simple thought-bubble to the rest of the community.

Expert bloggers can integrate their blogs into the site and are able to post articles. Community members can then 'back' or 'slap' the article to show their support or disdain for a particular standpoint, in a manner very similar to 'Dump or Bump' on Bumpzee.

The forum currently has just over 14,000 members and it's expected that the re-launch will see the A4U community increase significantly. Affiliates4U will continue to be seen as an unbiased source of information and an integral part of the Affiliate Marketing industry in the UK.

Existem are also responsible for the first Affiliate Marketing dedicated exhibition, the A4Uexpo, to be held later this year in London.

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Affiliates concerned over impact of Google Checkout

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Google Checkout has been causing a bit of a stir amongst the affiliate community in the last few days.

Google Checkout allows users to purchase from websites quickly and easily and then track all information on those purchases in one place. It offers a secure way to purchase goods from multiple sites, with one centralised account - very similar to Paypal. For e-commerce sites, it provides an alternative way to accept payment for goods or services. And with Google currently offering substantial discounts to users and advertisers, many are looking to implement the system.

At present, Google Checkout is being rolled out across the UK with a handful of merchants participating in the scheme. The potential benefit for online marketing is generally obvious; but the possible impact on the affiliate marketing community has already been recognised.

For affiliate sales to be tracked by the affiliate network, the network's tracking code must be present on the transaction confirmation page. Google has so far only formally authorised one UK affiliate network to place their tracking code alongside Google Checkouts' own tracking.

In essence, this means that affiliate sales will not be tracked by the network if the sale was made using Google Checkout. The impact of this on affiliates and networks is an obvious loss of revenue. Merchants may also see a loss of revenue, as affiliates are likely to leave affected programs whilst this huge leakage channel is left unaddressed.

Currently, this isn't a major issue. Only four or five merchants in the UK running affiliate programs have implemented Google Checkout. Equally, other UK networks are actively seeking authorisation from Google to be a tracking partner.

As Google Checkout increases in popularity, it's imperative that merchants appreciate the implications that it will have on their affiliate program before signing up. It's also important for the remaining UK affiliate networks to actively push Google for authorisation.

Once all UK networks have been approved, it is possible that Google Checkout will benefit affiliates, bringing an increase in conversion rates and a higher number of users repeatedly shopping online.

The new partnership between Yahoo! and Paypal, announced this week, may face similar obstacles.

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