3 Ways Affiliate Marketers Can Use Big Data To Adapt To Competition

The affiliate marketing industry has exploded since the Amazon first started it its Associates program. Some experts estimate that the affiliate marketing industry will be valued at $6.8 billion by 2020. This represents a fantastic opportunity for affiliates to scale business. However, it is also leading to more intense competition than ever before, which is increasing advertising costs dramatically.

Smart affiliates recognize that they need to use big data to maintain a competitive edge. WhatRunsWhere actually wrote an insightful article on the impact of big data in the affiliate marketing industry.

Although the affiliate marketing industry is creating new opportunities for affiliates as it grows, new challenges are also being presented. Many popular niches that used to be very profitable have become too saturated. This means that affiliates need to consider new opportunities or refine their strategies to remain successful. There are a number of reasons that big data can help. Here are some of the key benefits.

Some affiliate marketing niches have become so competitive that they are virtually impossible to compete in by using standard approaches. Performing lead generation for auto insurance companies is an example. One affiliate marketer that I spoke with promoted a car insurance offer with PPV traffic and wouldn’t have been successful without using big data tools. Most affiliates were bidding on the root domains of major insurance carriers. The cost per impression of these targets was at least $0.30, even though they didn’t convert very well.

This affiliate used a data mining strategy to find other targets to use instead. He was able to find a landing page from a similar lead generation site that relied on native advertising. He tested this traffic and found that it had a 500% ROI. This aligns with claims from Single Grain that big data is changing the future of PPV marketing. Ignition One is a PPV network that they said benefits from big data.

He pointed out that big data is essential for finding high converting targets that other people are not bidding on, especially with very competitive niches.