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What are the Types of Affiliate Marketing
When you decide to try out affiliate marketing there are a number of different types of it that you can consider. These are as follows.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
The affiliate posts a banner or text link on their website. If any visitor to the site clicks on one of these then the affiliate will earn a commission. Generally speaking these commissions are small as not all the visitors routed this way will buy the service or product being offered. The Merchant is taking a risk by using this method and relying on the quality of their website to convert the visitor. The affiliate gets paid regardless of what the visitor does on the merchant website.
Please note that this is sometimes known as PPC (Pay Per Click) although this should not to be confused with Google Adwords.
Cost Per Sale (CPS)
The affiliate is paid when the visitor they have sent to the merchant site buys something. This is obviously the method adopted by e-commerce sites. This method is also commonly called Pay Per Sale (PPS)
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
The visitor is routed to the merchant site and completes an ‘opt in’ of some kind. Generally speaking this will be a form with a fair amount of information required and so this is a quality lead which the merchant can hopefully turn into a sale or start to build a relationship with the prospect leading to a sale over time.
The affiliate gets paid when the visitor completes the form and becomes a prospect. Please note that this is also known as Pay Per Lead (PPL). CPL leads will typically pay a much higher rate than CPC and also more than CPA as they are about building a longer term relationship.
Cost Per Action (CPA) , also known as Cost Per Acquisition
This is similar to CPL in that the affiliate gets paid when the visitor completes a particular action following arrival at the merchant site. Typically only basic information such as an email or a postcode is required and CPA marketing is about giving the merchant a shorter term opportunity today rather than the longer term opportunity offered by CPL.
CPA affiliate marketing has been hugely popular with affiliates in recent times as it offers them a chance to earn some serious money if they work out the correct process to follow.