Affiliate marketing can often present website owners with some tough decisions,
especially when it comes to getting paid. While a pay per click advertising campaign
offers customers the guarantee of a steady income, is it really worth it to bypass
commissions all together? This article will take a close-up look at both payment
structures to help our readers make a more informed decision.
Pay Per Click Affiliate Marketing- The Basics
Pay per click advertising essentially means that whenever a website visitor clicks on a
banner or text ad on your website, you’ll receive a payment for making that connection.
Since there are no other requirements for you to fulfill besides delivering customers to an
affiliate site, these payments are both easy and profitable. Another big perk of pay per
click advertising is that the website owner does not have to have a substantial knowledge
of the affiliate or its products.
Commission Affiliate Marketing- The Basics
A commission structured affiliate marketing contract is the exact opposite of pay per click;
you will only get paid if your website visitor actually purchases something from
the affiliate. While this process gives up any form of payment guarantees on clicks,
the commissions can easily add up to be a much more substantial sum of money if you
represent the product or service in a way that would make buyers receptive. This affiliate
method is basically making you a paid sales representative.
The Negatives of Pay Per Click Marketing
Obviously, pay per click marketing could seem like a foolish move for domain owners
that service very specialized industries. If a consumer performs a Google search
for, “Kenmore part #LX92715,” and they land on your website, then the odds of them
making that purchase are very close to 100% if the affiliate has it in stock. It would
make no sense to accept fifty cents or a dollar for the click when the commission may
give you $20-30 or more, so pay per click marketing websites have to think that aspect
through.
The Negatives of Straight Commission
On the same note, domain owners with very generalized websites may not find a
commission structure as their ideal payment option. Take a sports website, for example,
that talks about game recaps and player profiles. While it would seem feasible to
hope for profits off of jersey sales and other memorabilia, you are not likely attracting
motivated buyers that are ready to make an impulse purchase. It would make much more
sense to take the pay per click revenue in this case.
Choosing between Pay Per Click and Commission
In a nutshell, the decision between pay per click and commission is often a fairly
easy one to make. If your website is geared more towards fast, single visits within a
specialized industry, then grab that commission check and run. If your domain is more
geared for repeat visitors that are seeking information on a broad range of topics, pay per
click will produce really well for you. Of course, there’s no rule saying that you can not
launch campaigns that combine a little of both either; the choice is ultimately yours.
While these are the most common options, do not limit yourself, things like
pay per view also are gaining in popularity.