Top 5 Affiliate Marketing Trends | Performance Marketing Trends

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Over the last month, we’ve been monitoring which projected 2019 affiliate trends are already taking hold. Mobile will take center stage, and many of the other notable trends revolve around this platform.We have identified the following five trends as forerunners for you to keep in mind…

Voice Search

Voice search is one of the newest trends in technology. With the influx of voice-activated devices such as Alexa, Google Home, and Siri, searching the internet is now easier than ever. This does, however, change marketing and SEO techniques.

Nearly 40% of adults now use voice searching at least once per day. How does this impact you? The phrasing in which someone speaks a question will be drastically different than other methods of searching. For example, let’s say you wanted to learn about affiliate marketing.

You go to Google, and you type: “Affiliate marketing.” The results show up.

Now, let’s say you did this with voice search… Given the personification of Artificial Intelligence, most people would not just say “affiliate marketing.” Instead, they would phrase it:

“Tell me about affiliate marketing”

“How is affiliate marketing different from other types”

This means that, when optimizing content for SEO, you must be aware of the variances in search platform and adjust your techniques to accommodate conversational language. Given this trend is rapidly increasing, get ahead of the curve now – start planning for voice searches before your competition does.

Mobile

Our next trend is closely tied to voice searching. While a small percentage of voice searches are done through a desktop or laptop computers, the majority are done through mobile devices. This avenue of marketing holds massive opportunity for affiliates and advertisers alike, but is not currently being taken advantage of.

In the past, it was more difficult to track on mobile. Devices like Apple’s have measures in place to prevent such tracking, which discouraged the utilization of mobile. However, with the advent of cookie-less and cross-device tracking, it is now possible – and lucrative – to tap the mobile market.

In 2018, global mobile population surpassed 3.7 billion unique users, and mobile devices represented half of all web page views worldwide. These numbers will continue to climb in 2019, and are projected to increase nearly seven-fold by 2021. If you aren’t already exploring mobile avenues, now is the time to do so!

Data, data…. And more data.

90 percent of the world’s data has accumulated in the past two years. With the rise of big data comes incredible flexibility and personalization of advertisements. For affiliate marketing, this means more insightful data regarding target audiences.

The first step in utilizing the data is to define your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These types of metrics can be a variety of things – clicks, sales, impressions, etc. – and they must align with your business goals. From here, you can analyze the information to improve the efficacy of your advertising.

A key aspect of data interpretation is the method of collection and analysis. In order to optimize the data, you will want to use a system like ThriveTracker that allows you to succinctly collect and interpret the data. As this trend takes hold, do your research and leverage the data you have to increase profits.

Blind to Banners

Historically, banner ads have been frequently used in affiliate marketing. However, a strange effect some have deemed “banner blindness” is occurring. We are so accustomed to seeing banner ads, our brains begin to filter out unnecessary sensory stimuli, leading to “optimal inattention” – or in other words, the disregard of banner ads.

In 2019, a huge focus of advertising will go beyond banner ads and into the realm of native advertising. Methods of delivering advertisements to consumers without them realizing is taking precedence as more companies turn to advertorials, influencer partners, and other, stealthy ad placements.

Influencer Marketing

Last but not least, influencer marketing is on the exponential rise and will be a trend to look out for in 2019. Countless surveys, polls, and research show that influencers – as their name suggests – hold inordinate power in the world or social media marketing. This facet of marketing is so powerful that some are considering it to be an independent vertical.

Not only is influencer marketing changing the status quo of traditional marketing methods, it’s changing the world of affiliate marketing. For publishers that have developed long-standing relationships with loyal customers, influencers can pose a threat… But also an opportunity. Research has shown that 74% of people trust social networks to guide them to purchase decisions. On top of that, nearly half of social media users rely on influencer recommendations.

Influencer marketing surpassed print marketing in 2016, and has continued to grow ever since. As a native source of advertising, influencers can be a tactical source of revenue if used correctly.

As you look ahead, be sure to keep these trends mind. Recent years have shown fast, exponential growth in these 5 key areas, and we expect that they will continue to grow rapidly throughout 2019. With the increased usage of mobile comes more data, easier access to influencers, voice searching, and more. If utilized properly, centering your approach around these trends will bring increased profits and a successful 2019!

Top 5 Affiliate Marketing Trends in 2019