Amazon vs. Walmart: Affiliate Marketing Lessons to Learn
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Transcript of Amazon vs. Walmart: Affiliate Marketing Lessons to Learn
Amazon vs. Walmart:Affiliate Marketing Lessons
to Learn
Geno Prussakov
CEO, AM Navigator (affiliate management agency)
www.amnavigator.com
Founder, Affiliate Management Days (conference)
www.amdays.com
888-588-8866 | Washington, DC [email protected] | @ePrussakov
.
and
Comparing the Giants
(or Mind-Blowing Facts)
MONTHLY VISITORS:
80 MILLION PEOPLE
×24
Mall of America
×60
Disneyland
MONTHLY VISITORS:
80 MILLION PEOPLE
could fill:24 Malls of Americaand60 Disneylands
Source: PCMag, “Infographic: Just How Big Is Amazon.com?”
WAREHOUSES:
70 MILLION SQ FEET
Madison Sq Garden×700
×10,000
WAREHOUSES:
70 MILLION SQ FEET
that’s more than:700 Madison Square Gardensandcould hold more water than 10,000 Olympic Pools
Source: Business Insider, “10 Mind-Blowing Facts About Amazon.com”
PROJECTED 2015 REVENUE:
$100 BILLION
that's$190,132 per minuteand$15,844 every 5 sec
Source: Morgan Stanley’s Scott Devitt as quoted at ZDNet
49 MIN OUTAGE (JAN 2013):
$3.2 mln+ LOST
AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Source: NAJobBank.com, 2008 job posting
AFFILIATE PROGRAM
AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Amazon.com Associates: The web's most popular and successful Affiliate Program
Page Title Says It All:
Source: Deloitte.com
×20,000
Out of all retailers, Wal-Mart has the greatest capacity to compete with Amazon online.
Geno’s opinion
Annual web sales in billion U.S. dollars. Source: Statista. Copyright © 2015
Top 10 U.S. e-Retailers in 2014
Interesting Facts (2014)
o Amazon owns every fourth dollar spent online in the U.S. (and every third in Q4);
o For the first time in a decade, Wal-Mart's web sales grew faster than Amazon's (30% vs 20%);
o Yet, in 2015 Amazon is on track for $100 billion in revenue, predicted to eclipse Wal-Mart.
How Do They Run Their Affiliate
Programs?…and what we can
learn from it
1. Program Support Websites
Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Advertiser Research Report
Top Recruitment Methods (adv)
Source: AffStat 2014 Report by Affiliate Summit
Top Recruitment Methods (aff)
1. Program Support Websites
1. Program Support Websites
2. Performance Incentives
It Does Pile Up…
Source: Darren Rowse, The Ultimate Guide to Making Money with the Amazon Affiliate Program, ProBlogger.net, 4/24/2013
3. Low Payment Threshold
If you select payment by direct deposit, we will directly deposit the advertising fees you earn into the bank account you designate, but may accrue and withhold advertising fees until the total amount due to you is at least $10.
Amazon.com Associates Program Operating Agreement
4. Variety of Links
Text links Banners Product links (feed)
Advanced creatives widgets
flex links
Video
Thousands of linking options Convenient categorization
(by product lines and types of promotions) Intuitive interface
Deep-Linking Capability
Site S
tripe
Deep-Linking Capability
5. Ease of Integration
© 2015 Universal Studios
Both Amazon & Walmart.com make activation easy!
Key Elements:
o Resources(to educate)
o Incentives(to motivate)
o Tools(to equip)
o Support
5. Ease of Integration
6. Communication Channel
6. Communication Channel
Affiliate Manager’s Responsibilities
6. Communication Channel
6. Communication Channel
Source: 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report
Affiliate-Preferred Newsletter Frequency
6. Communication Channel
Most Desired Affiliate Types per AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Advertiser Research Report
7. Empowering Bloggers
Source: Technorati Media 2013 Digital Influence Report
7. Empowering Bloggers
7. Empowering Bloggers
Application Programming Interface – a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.
Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
8. Equipping Developers
via APIs
8. Equipping Developers
9. Attracting Mobile Appand Game Developers
9. Attracting Mobile Appand Game Developers
9. Attracting Mobile Appand Game Developers
As a mobile app developer, I’m very interested in Amazon’s In-app-purchasing (IAP) and Mobile Associate (MAP) program.
Most affiliate programs seem to focus on desktop experiences... On mobile, most browsing time is spent inside apps, and most users will try to avoid clicking on something that will interrupt the in-app experience by opening up a window in the mobile browser since it ‘breaks the flow’ of navigation (even if it’s a web-view within the app).
An API such as Amazon’s IAP/MAP allows a purchase to happen within the same context where it was originated and allows mobile developers to create purchasing experiences that are more pleasant for people using apps to get ideas on what to buy.
Loyalty Affiliateso Amazon.com: 17.6%o Walmart.com: 13.5%
Affiliates Using Diverse Methods:o Amazon.com: Q1 – 5.6%, Q2 – 4.1%,
Q3 – 6.09%, Q4 – 10.85%o Walmart.com: consistent 2.3-2.9%
range throughout all quarters
Source: AM Navigator 2009 Affiliate Survey
10. Heavy Focus on CRO
11. Fairness to “Closers”
If the customer clicks an add-to-cart link built with the Enhanced Product Links tool, the Amazon cookie is now set to 90 days (instead of 24 hrs for most other inbound links). And unless the customer removes the product from their cart, affiliate commission is secure for 90 days.
Sometimes, a customer needs an extra day to checkout. So not using direct the add-to-cart links (vs. a more broad landing page) can hurt the affiliate.
12. Exclusive Contracts
Amazon is the exclusive advertiser on my sites.
Moreover, they convert better
You may NOT:• employ, use or place any web browser
add-ons, toolbars or pop-ups on your website;
• employ the use of any type of software download or technology which attempts to intercept or redirect traffic or Referral Fees to or from any website;
• install spyware on another person’s computer; cause spyware to be installed on another person’s computer, or use a context based triggering mechanism to display an advertisement that partially or wholly covers or obscures paid advertising other content on a website in a way that interferes with a person’s ability to view that website;
13. Stance on Affiliate Adware
Source: https://affiliates.walmart.com/#!/terms
14. Policies on TM-Centric URLs
Unsuitable sites include those that:
(g) include any trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, or a variant or misspelling of a trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, in any domain name, subdomain name, or in any username, group name, or other identifier on any social networking site
Amazon.com Associates Program Operating Agreement
You may NOT:• use the Trademarks, or any variation or misspelling
thereof, in metatags, hidden text or source code, in your domain name or any other part of your URL
Walmart.com Operating Agreement for Affiliate Network
Source: Darren Rowse, The Ultimate Guide to Making Money with the Amazon Affiliate Program, ProBlogger.net, 4/24/2013
15. Holiday Marketing
15. Holiday Marketing
15. Holiday Marketing
15. Holiday Marketing
15. Holiday Marketing
To Recap…
Lessons to Learn1. Maintain program support website2. Motivate with performance incentives3. Set low/reachable payment thresholds4. Provide a wide variety of linking options5. Make integration/activation easy6. Support constant & consistent communication7. Empower bloggers & content producers8. Equip web developers and savvy affiliates9. Attract mobile app and game developers10. Focus on conversion rate optimization11. Fairly compensate the real "closers"12. Encourage exclusive relationships13. Disallow affiliate adware14. Prohibit TM-centric domains15. Leverage holiday marketing
In Conclusion…
Thank you! Questions?