AFFILIATE MARKETING – What’s working in 2019?

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With the midway point of 2019 readily approaching, we can’t say that we haven’t been busy since the turn of the year.

Many changes have been implemented on our platform with many new features and adjustments having been introduced.

We began with the return of Gaming and Dating offers being made available for both Pop-Under and Pre-roll ad spots. The reaction has been astounding with many of our advertisers jumping at the opportunity of these highly lucrative spots.

Carrying on from this, the month of March saw the implementation of a new frequency cap, a new button for Pre-roll ad spots and the obvious success story that is the Native ad spot. Both Japan and Indian target categories have been added to our arsenal and the most recent addition, our brand new dashboard display for all advertisers at Traffic Factory.

So why are we repeating the obvious when most of our readers will already be aware of all of this?

Simple! Because we listen and pay attention to what the affiliate community has to say.

The good guys over at STM FORUM somehow found the time to collect valuable insights from the affiliate marketing community’s most powerful players. Being the generous souls that they are, they have compiled a concise report with over 200 pages covering all angles imaginable!

The guide makes brilliant reading and has helped Traffic Factory in gaining further knowledge of what our peers have to say and what to predict for 2019.

It sure has helped to gain a different perspective of current issues whilst guiding us to make the necessary decisions on how to continuously improve our operation here at Traffic Factory.

This is sure to help all levels of the affiliate marketing world.

Be sure to find the time to learn from the industry’s finest whilst gaining an advantage for the many different verticals currently available to promote.

Take our word for it; you won’t be disappointed!

Download your PDF copy here, learn from the best and watch your campaigns grow with success!

Traffic Factor Ad Spots – Square Banner

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One of the most important and critical decisions when preparing a campaign will be the choice of which particular ad spot to use. Different ad spots will produce different results. Indeed, certain ad spots will appear to be more effective than others due to their prominent visibility but certain factors should be taken into account depending on the aim of the advertiser and their promotion.

Over the coming weeks, we shall demonstrate and explain each of the ad spots available in the Traffic Factory inventory.

The Square Banner Ad Spot

We begin with one of the most traditional and recognisable spots available, the Square banner. This is sometimes labelled as NTV (Next To Video)throughout the advertising world and, as the name says, indicates its prominent position besides the video content of the publisher’s website.

This ad spot is available for both Desktop and Tablet devices via our network. Our usual banner rules apply.

Each time a user watches video contents on our publishers’ websites, two seperate square banners will be shown to the right of the video. Instantaneously shown upon the loading and play of a video, their dominant positioning is hard to miss.

The dimensions of our square banner spots are 338×235. A little uncommon in comparison to other networks but these dimensions prove to be ergonomically fitting to both parties; the user and the advertiser. The spot is efficient in its role of conveying the advertisers promotion (Visibility) whilst maintaining a high quality user experience (Unintrusive).

Considered to be one of the most popular spots in our inventory, advertisers must bear in mind that such a position will logically obtain a higher CTR than the less prominent positions. Taking this into account will be important in choosing the appropriate bidding method (CPC or CPM) whilst running a square banner campaign. 

CPC or CPM?

Whilst choosing which bidding campaign to use, the first question that should be asked is – What is the aim of my campaign? Is it to obtain targeted clicks towards the offer? Or is the campaign being used to build an audience/ convey a particular message in mass? 

The highly visible position of this spot is sure to generate interest and logically, a high number of user clicks (High CTR) should be expected. Obviously, the target filters (Country/ Geo-Fence, Device, Category) chosen will add to the level of visibility of the spot. An example being: A USA desktop square banner should logically generate greater interest than the same banner targeting the Vatican!

So bear in mind your budget allocation for such a spot!

Upon testing this spot, the choice of using the CPM bidding model would be recommended. The advertiser will pay a set price for 1000 impressions of the banner whereas using a CPC model, each click will incur a charge. A high CTR spot will generate a larger amount of clicks thus a larger budget if using CPC. 

Tips

  • The use of attractive creatives is important in order to obtain interest from the user. Bear in mind that the user will have selected video content in order for the creative to be shown so its attractiveness is important to grab the attention of the user.
  • The choice of bidding model is important. This is a spot that generates a consistently high CTR so your budget will increase. Test new creatives and campaigns via a CPC model but do not hesitate to revert to a CPM model if the CTR proves to be high!
  • This is a popular spot for the majority of countries so competition with other advertisers will be higher. Minimum bids for each spot are an indication but it should be noted that for the higher positions, advertisers should be prepared to bid significantly higher than the minimum!
  • Currently, certain countries have very good opportunities for the square banner ad spot; there is less competition than usual! Make sure to get in touch with your Account Manager to get a better knowledge of current prices for particular countries.

Spot Opportunities for May

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A question that we often get asked here at Traffic Factory is, which are currently the “best” spot opportunities available?

Similar to many open-ended questions, there are many ways to answer this but let’s define what we consider as “Spot Opportunities”

What is a “Spot Opportunity”?

Traffic Factory’s definition is an ad spot which potentially receives vast levels of traffic but currently has the least amount of competition. This is a combination of several factors – country, device and ad spot.

Each ad spot has a minimum bid price but the amount that you bid determines the position you obtain. Based on the principles of supply and demand, fluctuations in pricing differ due to the level of competition between advertisers for an ad spot.

Current Traffic Factory Spot Opportunities

 

COUNTRYSPOT OPPORTUNITY
FRANCE (T1)DESKTOP HORIZONTAL
GERMANY (T1)DESKTOP POP-UNDER
ITALY (T1)DESKTOP HORIZONTAL
JAPAN (T2)DESKTOP NATIVE
VIETNAM (T2)MOBILE HEADER

 

The results above prove quite surprising with three Tier-1 countries featured, all three with strong ad spots available.

The Pop-Under is sure to get your promotion seen as it is activated on the very first click of a user. Those with the need to give a special promotion across quickly should take up this opportunity. 

The horizontal desktop spot is another well-positioned option. This is a good option for the budget-minded CPC advertiser looking for precise clicks and an on-going promotion.

Followed by two emerging Tier-2 countries, Japan and Vietnam, both consistently obtain very high levels of quality traffic respectively.

We point out that Native Banner spots and Mobile Header banners are notorious for their high CTR. Very rarely do these popular ad spots make an appearance on Traffic Factory’s list of opportunities.

Mobile Header banners are arguably one of the most popular and sought after positions. Their prominent position to the user make them highly attractive with strong levels of success to many of our advertisers.

Those with good video creatives should make use of the current opportunity for Native ads in Japan.

How long will these opportunities remain?

Be sure not to miss out, get onto these opportunities quickly and avoid disappointment!

Advertiser Dashboard

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Welcome to your freshly remodelled dashboard!
Creating campaigns and uploading banners remains the same.

All analysis begins with the collection of data and the way it is then interpreted.

We’ve modified the display of your stats and figures making it easier to have a global overview of your overall performance.

The PDF below breaks down each column and what they represent.

Advertiser Dashboard.pdfDownload

We will keep improving the dashboard to become more user-friendly. Please share your feedback with your Account Manager.

Traffic Factory – Releases from 2018 (Video)

It was a long year, full of changes, growth, and success!
In this video, you will find a short story of our 2018 together.

Our video features:

  • Our contests including the TF World Tour & our Halloween contest
  • The numerous features that have been added to the platform including CPM Custom Frequency Cap, Duplication Tools, Geo-Fencing for local offers, banners in mp4 format, etc
  • A recap of new services such as a Dedicated Review Team, New Tutorials in both classic & video format and our new marketing materials. 
  • Our numerous appearances at Trade Shows across the globe including European Summit in Lisbon, Web Master Access in Amsterdam as well as Affiliate World in Bangkok.

 

We thank you for making 2018 the success that it proved to be!

Let’s keep making this story last long and making the best for both sides!

“You’ve dreamed about secured flat rate deals?”

If Christmas is the time for giving, it looks to have come early at Traffic Factory.

The strength of our platform has always been the fact that it is a self-serve format allowing you to have full control of your campaigns and their parameters.

We’ve listened to you, our clients, who aid in the success that is the Traffic Factory platform.

Now, it wouldn’t be Christmas if wishes weren’t to be granted…

So, it is with great joy that we present to you our new Reservation Process!

To begin, it will be important to visit here to see what positions remain available.

The new format is based around the principals of a “blind-auction” allowing advertisers to:

  • Place an inquiry for relevant ad placements.
  • In continuing with our self-serve format, you will be guided and informed accordingly for each step.
  • You shall be informed of the estimated impression count for your given budget
  • During the process of the reservation, a recap confirmation message will be shown informing you of the eventualities of the auction end and commencement of the campaign.
  • Once the auction period has closed, an email informing whether you have won or lost the reservation will be sent.
  • Please note this is only available for CPM campaigns
  • You’ll be able to check your reservation status here

Please click this link to be taken to the relevant tutorial for this new reservation process.

We sincerely hope you take the time to read over all of the contents and do not hesitate to get in touch with your Account Manager if further guidance is needed.

From all the team at Traffic Factory, spanning across the globe, we take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season!

Important Holiday Season Information – Traffic Factory

The holiday season is steadily closing in upon us with a vast majority of companies slowing down their activities at this time of the year.

Important reminders from Traffic Factory:

24th – 26th December – Public Holidays but Traffic Factory remains OPEN. Banks will be closed so make sure to add funds to your balance in advance.

Some Account Managers will be away over this period but replacement Account Managers will be present to help cover. Please verify the availability of your respected Account Manager over this period and to verify who will be their replacement point of contact.

Account Manager Period Away Replacement AM
Mayara 21 – 26 December Romain
Heidi 25 – 30 December Peter
Yatin 22 – 26 December Takanori
Helena 25 – 31 December Marion
Alla 25 Dec – 2 January Takanori

The Banners Review Team will be reduced so please prepare and send your banners in early for verification.

We again take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year. We sincerely hope that you shall all have a great time but don’t forget; this will be a busy period for online traffic so make sure that you are fully prepared to avoid disappointment.