There is no denying that the last three months have been quite challenging both for advertisers and publishers. Driven by the uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many advertisers were left with little choice but to pause most (if not all) of their affiliate marketing campaigns. While this decision has certainly enabled businesses to save costs in the short run, many countries are slowly lifting restrictions.
If you are still considering whether or not to resume your affiliate marketing campaigns on search platforms, here are four good reasons why you should:
1. Be one step ahead of your competitors
If you made the decision to work with search platforms or price comparators in the first place, it’s because you had certain priorities that such publishers could support you with. But as you might know, unlike with some other affiliate partners, such services require a bit of time to ramp up and build ROI. Now that many countries are entering their recovery phase, making sure that your products have time to reoptimize on publisher sites will enable you to be one step ahead of your competitors, thus increasing your sales and market share.
2. Compensate for the loss in revenue caused by the lack of brick-and-mortar sales
As governments were forced to take restrictions in order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many brick-and-mortar stores were mandated to close their physical stores, which resulted in a significant loss of earnings for businesses that were not 100% ready to switch to online commerce. Despite the fact that many countries are slowly recovering from the pandemic, it will take some time for things to get back to normal. But how do you make up for the loss of revenue caused by brick-and-mortar stores being temporarily closed? Resuming your affiliate marketing campaigns on search platforms might be the perfect solution: for a low investment, you will not only generate additional revenue but also bring new users to your website and boost your brand awareness.
3. Sell your excess or out of season inventory
Despite the fact many countries are slowly recovering from this pandemic, it’s safe to assume it will take some months before brick-and-mortar stores see similar foot traffic as before. As many products will be out of season when stores open again, it will be very challenging for stores to sell their current collections. Resuming your affiliate marketing activities can therefore enable you to sell your excess inventory while increasing your sales. Additionally, if you are experiencing lower demand for these products on your target markets, why not target new strategic countries where your items can still fit the local customer needs?
4. Get support in achieving your goals
Each business’s goals have shifted a bit in reaction to the pandemic, and it’s of course in the interest of publishers to support advertisers in achieving them. During the past three months especially, Stylight has tried its best to ensure we support our advertisers’ goals as much as we could. Reaching out to your publishers will allow you to see where you stand in the market and where you can be more competitive. Hand in hand with the publishers you collaborate with, you should be able to put an action plan in place that will help you make the most of the situation.
