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There has been a lot of discussion recently about the battle between content networks (google adsense, yahoo publisher network) and affilaite networks. The thinking goes that a publisher only has so much room on their site, and their they will typically either montizie their site through affiliate relationships or through content network ads. Whose ads are they going to place? I feel this might be limited thinking. For me, affiliate relationships are the content of the sites I create, and the content networks are some additional revenue producing opportunities for web surfers who don't find exactly what they are looking for on my sites. This year, I created a number of Halloween Blog / Merchandise sites in order to primarily promote BuyCostumes. On these sites, I ran merchandise from BuyCostumes and advertisements for them and other affiliate sites. In addition I included some Google AdSense content links. (example site www.costumes-for-kids.com). I would have been profitable without the AdSense links, but the revenues I generated from AdSense have made up 10% of my revenues. Additionally, my paid search campaigns for Halloween would have turned unprofitable on October 24th without the AdSense revenues, but with the AdSense revenues I am still profitable and my ads continue to run. For BuyCostumes, this means I generated an additional $26k in sales and over $1,000 in additional revenues for Commission Junction. In order for marketers to be able to afford to run paid search ads to their affiliate sites, the sites need to generate a profit above and beyond the minimum cost per click fees that the search engines charge. Adding content ads to these affiliate marketing sites might just be the combination that makes the difference. So, maybe there is a symbiotic relationship between affiliate networks and content networks? Comments (4) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: AdSense Tips | Affiliate Marketing
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Adam Viener
1. dccg.net on October 26, 2005 12:05 PM writes...
So are you saying the AdSense was in this effective hedge for AdWords, meaning that the NET was a zero-sum event, but enabled the profit from the affiliate sites?
So you are giving Google cash up front for AdWords and they are paying you on a NET30 basis for AdSense... How are you valueing the lag for cash on hand?
Was the 26k your commission from BuyCostumes or the gross that you pulled in for them? If so, what was the payout and how many hours did you log for the Halloween sites?
Thanks Adam!
Permalink to Comment2. WSM on October 26, 2005 2:24 PM writes...
Symbiotic? I would say absolutely. This approach in less refined circles is known as "traffic bouncing" or "bouncing" and the seamless integration of both content and affiliate programs can (as it did in your case) provide reverse side revenue. I have to question the use of Adwords to drive traffic however. Granted, the quantity and quality of traffic they send would be sufficient to make a profit bouncing but if the name of the game is ROI (and it should be) why not use smaller players in the hopes of garnering more content ad clicks?
Permalink to Comment3. Adam Viener on October 26, 2005 4:26 PM writes...
dccg,
I think the AdSense in this case was an effective hedge for my Adwords spend. As far as the time lag for the money, I think that is negligible since I am paying for that net30 anyway on my credit card. The $26k was sales generated to BuyCostumes in that 2 day period I identified where without AdSense I wouldn't have been profitable and therefore would have otherwise turned of my pay per click advertising. Overall for Halloween, I did quite well for myself and my merchants.
wsm,
"Traffic Bouncing" has a negative connotation where sites are created specifically to bounce traffic and spam the search engines. My goal with my costume sites was to SELL HALLOWEEN COSTUMES. I did that very well, the extra 10% in AdSense revenues, was just a bonus. As far as using Adwords vs smaller players, the truth is that Adwords drives a lot of traffic, as does Yahoo Search. I used some smaller players as well for this campaign.
Adam
Permalink to Comment4. dccg.net on October 26, 2005 8:06 PM writes...
Adam,
The net30 being on your credit card does likely negate the net30 from AdSense. Also, thanks for clearifying that the 26k was the gross of BuyCostumes over the 2 days that in this case AdWords/AdSense hedged each other and not the gross in sum for 2005.
Hope you have a Happy Halloween with your family - and thanks for sharing the info!
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