The gold mine of the affiliate marketing: PPC traffic and what you need to know about it

We won’t be telling you anything groundbreaking when we say that PPC traffic is one of the hottest commodities in the iGaming scene. But what’s truly phenomenal about it is that it’s not just popular, it’s gaining momentum year after year, with no plans of slowing down. 

PPC is one of the most valuable types of traffic in affiliate marketing. Affiliate networks and advertisers are all chasing after it. And webmasters who bring in quality PPC traffic get some hefty rewards. 

So, what exactly is this beast? And how do you work with it? Let’s dive deeper.

*tap here if you want to read article in the RU version

Nice to meet you, I’m PPC!

PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, is a traffic model where webmasters pay for advertising based on user actions, specifically clicks. This comes with its first advantage: you’re not wasting your budget on irrelevant impressions, but rather investing in a relevant audience that’s interested in your ad. 

* It’s a great way not only to attract leads that could potentially become active players but also to optimize expenses. 

With this model, how much you’ll spend on advertising and how many people will see it depends on the platform’s algorithm where you’re running your ads. It’ll conduct an auction and analyze the following factors: 

• Your bid per click; 
• Ad completeness; 
• The audience you’re targeting; 
• Competition based on the geographical location; 
• Their forecast of effectiveness.

Where to get PPC traffic?

The second advantage of PPC traffic is its flexibility, making it available on practically all platforms. The most popular ones include:

• Search engines (Google Ads, Bing Ads, and others); 
• Social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram); 
• Native Advertising; 
• DSP (Demand-Side Platform). 

You can find PPC traffic using any of these sources, BUT!

* The most valuable, relevant, and high-quality traffic is often considered to come from major platforms. That’s why in affiliate marketing, PPC traffic from Google Ads tends to rake in particularly good profits.

To launch or not to launch, that is the question!

Working with PPC traffic is appealing and comes with an impressive list of advantages. But to say that you won’t encounter any drawbacks when facing this model head-on would be a lie. 

In addition to the pros of PPC that we’ve already covered, it’s also essential to mention: 

• Working with warm audiences who come to you with the right queries and are likely ready for quick conversions. 
• High demand in the market. If you know how to bring in cool PPC traffic in good volume and on a regular basis, you stand a chance of getting more favorable terms from both affiliate networks and advertisers. 
• The ability to work with practically most existing verticals. 
• SEO optimization of landing pages based on keyword analysis, thereby increasing the effectiveness of ad campaigns. 
• Precise statistics needed for optimization and increasing ROI. 
• Predictability, which simplifies budget calculations. 

However, here are some not-so-pleasant aspects you might face: 

• High competition, leading to potential advertising costs. Besides advertising budgets, you’ll also need to spend on essentials like accounts, proxies, cards, and so on. 
• It’s only suitable for one goal – lead generation. If your goal is, for instance, to increase brand awareness or the number of visits, it’s better to choose another format. 
• It’s a rough ride for newcomers. PPC advertising has its own specifics that require time and tests to learn, and only then can you come out on top.

When choosing to “launch”, consider some key points that will help your advertising more effective

• Create highly informative creatives and ads that immediately convey to the audience that you’re exactly what they’ve been looking for. If you want to pay for irrelevant clicks, skip this step. 
• Try to minimize “branded” keywords (usually they’re paid at a lower rate or not paid at all) and build your campaign around “general” ones: there’s higher competition, bids, and a better chance to bring in a fresh audience. 
• Stay trendy – add colloquial keywords. More and more users are forming queries using voice input, so conversational keywords are becoming increasingly popular. 
• Make sure you’re protected from click fraud: set up traffic distribution and regularly monitor statistics in your tracker to immediately disable the campaign in case of unusual bot or competitor activity. 
• Negative keywords are your best friends. They help improve traffic quality and reduce promotion costs. 
• Keywords require ongoing work. Just adding them won’t be enough. You need to analyze, expand, change, and, importantly, prioritize them. 
• Remember, on the road to profit, it’s not just about the campaign, but also the landing page. It should be informative, optimized for keywords, and encourage action. 
• Don’t forget about retargeting 😉

Next step – just tests… and knowing common mistakes to avoid.

For example, 

• Not deleting ineffective keywords, thus giving away more and getting less; 
• Not using daily budget spending strategies; 
• Not pausing the campaign while it’s under moderation; 
• Not using UTM tags; 
• Not working with automation services: bid management, keyword gathering, ad management.

And for those who still choose to “launch”, we’ll help choose profitable offers with good terms. And here, there’s no need for lengthy analysis or philosophical pondering, just message our managers on Telegram to learn more in detail.