· Issue 23 · August 2013
Unlocking the Value of Coupon Affiliates
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Jillian McGary
by Jillian McGary
ot long ago, positive year-over-year affiliate revenue numbers provoked approving nods from around the conference room. “Get top spots on
some of the big coupon sites and you’ll be golden,” I heard in the hallway. Today, merchants pull down codes, commission rates
adding exclusions or lowering the discount may allow your codes to stay profitable.
are scrutinized and advertisers are leery of coupon affiliates. So, what happened? Are coupon sites suddenly bad for merchants?
Understand Traffic from Coupon Sites Some large coupon sites may have only a few minutes
Inquiring affiliate managers with better internal and
between the click and the sale – suggesting consumers got
network analytics are uncovering patterns in attribution
a coupon code during the purchase process. Other coupon
that lead them to question the incremental value of some
publishers may have a delay between click and sale – sug-
affiliate sales. However, before we start slashing commis-
gesting greater incremental value.
sions and expiring publishers, we need to understand the whole landscape.
Publishers using paid search, social media, newsletters or blogs to promote their sites may reach consumers earlier in the buying process. Compare the data on publishers ap-
Research Confirms the Value of Coupons More than 50% of U.S. Internet users (92.5 million)
pearing on page one in natural search for keywords such as “[Your Brand] coupon” versus “Shoe coupon.”
say they plan to use online coupons this year, according to
Perhaps it makes sense to increase commission or
eMarketer.com, and 74% of these online coupon shoppers
offer a vanity code for certain coupon publishers in ex-
say they search multiple coupon sources each and every
change for category and newsletter placements to im-
week. Consumers who earn $100,000 or more per year rep-
prove brand awareness.
resent the biggest percentage of online coupon consumers. The vast majority of consumers (88%) who visit coupon sites say that coupons “close the deal” when they are undecided on a purchase, according to a 2011 report conducted by Forrester Research on behalf of WhaleShark Media.
Case Study for Merchant Focused on Incremental Sales To meet one client’s goals, we recommended and implemented attribution tracking. This technology allows merchants to create specific rules for awarding commissions. For
Start From Within Many brands have a coupon box within their check-
example, if an affiliate’s click occurred less than 5 minutes before the sale conversion, they are awarded 0% commission.
out—inviting consumers to leave in search of a coupon.
Since implementing click stream, revenue increased
Before cracking down on coupon affiliates, consider testing
150% and cost per sale decreased more than 30%, saving as
this coupon box. What happens if the box is hidden?
much as $3,000 per month for the advertiser. This solution
What coupons do your competitors offer? Are there certain products that can’t support a price cut? Perhaps Jillian McGary is a Senior Affiliate Manager at Schaaf-PartnerCentric.
allowed the merchant to realize the sales benefit of coupon publishers while only paying for incremental sales.
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