Diagnosing Underperforming KPIs

Low Conversion Rate (CR)

• Look at things like ad copy, creative, landing page quality, forms, and targeting: Ask yourself: Am I putting the right message out to the right audience in the right format?

• Reduce the barrier to entry: Ask yourself: Am I asking too much? Sometimes we get greedy with the data we’re collecting or over complicate things.

Reduce the number of pages, text, and form fields a lead has to fill to be a customer.

Low Average Order Value/Average Order Size (AOV/AOS)

• Consider your package: Does your affiliate marketing collateral align with the number of products you want to sell? If you want higher order values, consider equipping affiliates with upsell opportunities that they can promote.

• Use seasonality: Are you incentivizing affiliates to promote specific products during times of the year that consumers are looking to purchase the product? Not capitalizing on seasonality is a big miss, as this is an easy way to get timely, relevant offers in front of your audience.

Low Incremental Sales

• Think about channel differences: Are you treating your affiliate marketing efforts different from your traditional marketing ones? Consider how leads coming in from affiliate sources might be different than the leads coming in from other sources like paid search ads or social media. Are these leads as familiar with your brand? Are they at the same stage of the funnel? If not, make sure you optimize your assets to align with those things.

Ensure that your supply chain or customer support team can be scaled quickly once momentum has begun. Things can take off quickly with affiliate marketing and you don’t want to risk brand reputation by not being able to fill orders or follow up on leads.

Pro Tip:

High Reversal Rate

• Representation: Is your brand or service being represented correctly to your target audience? If your message isn’t resonating, take a step back and make sure people are clear on what to expect after interacting with your ads.

Low Return on Investment (ROI)/Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

• A/B test: Test different products and offers frequently. However, don’t over-invest budget on experiments. Experiments should have a clear goal and be extremely focused on improving elements aligned with improving conversions.

• Follow the data: Optimize based on data values. Avoid basing campaign improvements on vanity metrics and focus on metrics that correlate with your goals. For example, if you’re looking to drive conversions, use engagement and CTR, not likes and views.

Keep in mind:

World events may require you to pivot your KPIs. Make sure your marketing plan is prepared.