How long do you wait for an affiliate sale?

[RazorNF]

Say you are getting pretty decent ctr for a banner for a particular product, but are not getting any sales. Let's say its a good brand and we aren't concerned about cheating.

How long do you give a program before you abandon it and put something else in its spot?

 

[Welkin]

This is strictly individual and depends a lot on the particular program but a possible way is to compare its performance with something you already know. For example, if you've had an AdSense block at the same spot previously, you can see whether you would make more money with AdSense for the time period needed to make a single sale through the aff program.

 

[enlytend]

How long have you been running it and how many total clicks has it had?

Also, what does the merchant landing page look like? Are there any "leaks" on the page that could be siphoning off and diverting your traffic to a channel which wouldn't produce revenue for you? Example: A big phone number on the landing page, pop-up live chat assistance, Adsense (shudder) ...

 

[dompro]

How long do you give a program before you abandon it and put something else in its spot?

It depends how much you expect to get per click. If you promote $100/sale offer, after 99 clicks and no sale, it still will be $1/click if the 100th click converts. You should decide what is minimum CPC you would call a good conversion, and thus how many clicks you can afford with no single sale.

 

[aditd]

Say you are getting pretty decent ctr for a banner for a particular product, but are not getting any sales. Let's say its a good brand and we aren't concerned about cheating.

How long do you give a program before you abandon it and put something else in its spot?

I have a coupon site all with affiliate links. I don't abandon anything. If I make sale I note the program to make more advertising for it. If not ... is somewhere on my site.

 

[adela1102]

For example, if you've had an AdSense block at the same spot previously, you can see whether you would make more money with AdSense for the time period needed to make a single sale through the aff program.I agree with the comments you have made

 

[Makis.TV]

I wait at least 6 months for each affiliate product I choose to work with.
Good thing is that in the meantime I m already making money from other affiliate products so its not lost time.

If you find one steady affiliate revenue source then everything will be easier for you.

 

[Obosh]

100 Clicks and no conversion would be a "Red Flag" for me....
200 Clicks and no conversion would be a "Good Bye" for me....

every click has a value....So, I would try a different one....

 

[CodingTheDomain]

Anything with less than 1 percent conversion rate and I would no longer promote that offer.

 

[fm1234]

If your CTR rate is decent, and you aren't getting any sales (let alone a measurable but silly number like .2% or whatever) then there's something that needs to change, plain and simple. Try a different product, the same product on a different landing page, move the ad around, something.

On small purchases I go 200 clicks out without a sale and it gets canned, I don't care how long it's been performing. That is pleny of traffic to divert that they ought to be able to close one. If the item or service being advertised costs more than $50, I will let it run out a little farther, but not by much.


Frank

 

[Most Wanted Domains]

Many affil' (in EU) using the "ten-per-cent" rule which is about if you don't get at least 10% conversion ratio you should drop that campaign immediately!

Eg: You should get at least 10 sales of 100 click.

 

[enlytend]

On small purchases I go 200 clicks out without a sale and it gets canned, I don't care how long it's been performing. That is pleny of traffic to divert that they ought to be able to close one. If the item or service being advertised costs more than $50, I will let it run out a little farther, but not by much.

If a merchant that was converting suddenly stops, first thing I do, if possible, is a test purchase - they may have a tracking problem. Some code gets changed and someone makes a mistake - it happens. Sometimes a payment method will stop tracking. If my test doesn't track, or I see an unexplained drop in conversions, I tell them. If they ignore me, THEN I drop them.

There are some big-name merchants whose tracking is notoriously hit-or-miss and they don't care.

 

[hopkism]

A lot of the affiliates that I use have a really long cookie duration, like 45-60 and many of the items I promote seem to be those that are often favorited or saved for later. I can see 10-20 clicks with absolutely no purchases and then all of the sudden several weeks later they come in.

Even if I am promoting a great product or service I make sure the landing page is compelling and gives them direction.

 

[himanuzo]

This depends on traffic sources, niches and also products that you promote.

If you do SEO for long tail keywords, maybe you will wait up to 30 days to get first sales.

Forum marketing is good way to see the first sales in less than 7 days if you do the right thing. Don't spam forums!

Adwords is fastest way to get first sales... in less than 24 hours. This depends on your budget. Make sure to find out ROI (return on investment) and also BEP (break even point).

 

[nkjskj]

Adword is quickest way to get sale with affiliate products.

But it should be well researched & targetted to make a sale.

 

[enlytend]

Adword is quickest way to get sale with affiliate products.

Just be very careful that your landing page (and site) complies with their quality guidelines or you'll find yourself dumped from Adwords.

 

[kpzv]

i usually wait for cookie duration / 2

 

[webhostingtoplist]

It depends on the product or the service. Imagine two different affiliate programs:

Affiliate program A:
The product costs $10 and your commission is 10%, i. e. $1

Affiliate program B:
The products costs $100 and your commission is 100%, i. e. $100 (such commissions are realistic in my niche, web hosting, because the customer stays with them for many years if he is satisfied)

So, you promote both products. Let's say you send 100 clicks to both affiliate programs and there are no sales. What these numbers mean for you? If the 101th will be the sale, in the affiliate program A you will earn about $0.01 per click. On the other hand, sale from the 101st click in the affiliate program B means profit cca $1 per click.