Affiliate marketers spend a ton on advertising. They expect a return on this investment in exchange—like a sale or a subscription.

It is painful for an affiliate marketer like you to see that you generate traffic but not Conversion.

This guide will help you solve this problem by implementing a technique called Conversion Rate optimization.

Overall, there are ten strategies to reveal to you. In the end, you should be able to make changes to your approach and improve your conversion rate.

What Is CRO & How To Calculate It

The Conversion Rate (CR) is equivalent to the number of conversions over the website’s amount of traffic. In essence, it represents the percentage of conversion for any given traffic. You can calculate it daily, weekly, and monthly.

 Here is the calculation:

Conversion / visitors X 100 = CR

For example, let us say that your website had 500 visitors last month. Out of these 500 visitors, 20 people converted (took the desired action).

As such, your conversion rate is: 20 / 500 = 0.04 X 100 = 4%

There is no way to calculate conversion rate optimization. CRO is not a metric but rather a set of processes. Think of it in the same terms as search engine optimization. You cannot calculate SEO, but you can create an SEO-friendly landing page. 

What you can calculate, however, is traffic. It’s also essential to use SEO strategy to create content that will draw customers to the website

With SEO, you can also look at metrics such as:

• Number of new users

• Returning users

• Sessions per use

• Vague session duration

• Bounce rate

Similarly, you can measure several metrics under the CRO umbrella, such as abandoned carts, subscription count, sales, etc.

Keep in mind that conversion does not necessarily mean sales. Instead, conversion can mean any action you want your site visitor to take. 

For example, as an affiliate marketer, you undoubtedly wish the site visitor to buy something you recommend, but you also want some of them to subscribe. 

How CRO Can Generate More Qualified Leads and Customers

CRO is nothing more than a list of best practices that you must implement to get sales. It is not a magic formula.

Instead, it carries the fundamentals of convincing site visitors to take action. Below are the benefits of implementing CRO as an affiliate marketer on your website.

1. You increase your conversion rate

At the core, the end goal of CRO is to increase your conversion rate. There is no telling what a conversion is—it is only you who can say what it is.

If you implement CRO, everything you do boils down to achieving one goal—to convert your site visitor. As such, from the color of your website to the placement of your pop-ups—you do everything with a purpose in mind.

2. You beat the competition

You are not the only affiliate marketer in the world. In addition to this, the product you promote is not the only item available for a consumer.

The best affiliate products to promote also attract the best affiliate marketers. These marketers are your competition. That is the bad news—there are many of you.

The good news is that not all affiliate marketers know, let alone understand CRO. If you implement CRO, you are boosting the likelihood of your site visitors buying from you.

Instead of losing that sale to your competitors, you snatch the deal from them because you know how to convince people to take action. 

3. You get consumer trust and confidence

An optimized website is a professional website. Part of the CRO principle is to create a website that people can trust—something that has authority and credibility.

CRO is also about lead generation. With it, you will learn the best techniques to generate leads, even for a small business.

As you know by now, leads equal money. Without leads, you have no traffic. Without traffic, you have no sales. With CRO, you can get as many leads as you want and nurture these leads.

4. You understand your site visitors

CRO allows you to understand how your site visitors behave. With CRO, you will measure the results of your action plans.

In a nutshell, here are some things you will implement and do:

• Pop-ups

• Subscriptions

• Sales

• Copywriting

• A/B testing

For all these actions, you want data. And from the data, you can understand what your leads like from your site or offer. For example, you may observe that people are more likely to respond if your button color is red, not green.

You will also base your decisions on data from experiments and measurements like this. You will not implement actions hoping it yields sales. No—you will execute actions because you know they generate sales.

Conversion Rate Optimization Techniques For Affiliate Sites

1. Optimize for Mobile Traffic

There are many reasons why you must optimize your website for mobile. Of all these reasons, the most important thing is volume.

According to GSMA Intelligence, there are 5.31 billion mobile phone users today. Can you just imagine the amount of reach you have? Mobile traffic is the key to improving your conversion. Likely, your target consumers do not even have a laptop. 

Research by Statista shows that mobile traffic keeps increasing as more people continue to access information on mobile devices.

Source: Statista

But what is the difference between a usual affiliate website and one optimized for mobile? A mobile-optimized website responds to the device and presents the website accordingly.

If a website is not mobile optimized, it still shows as it does on a browser, even if the device is a phone or a tablet. The texts are too small, as the device I trying to fit everything on a 6-inch screen.

As a result, it does not provide a pleasant browsing experience. On the other hand, a mobile-optimized website will automatically change the font size and the site design. Users will also find your website easy to navigate.

Because the users have a pleasant experience, they are more likely to convert. Mobile optimized websites are also easier to read, and users find it more convenient to subscribe or make a purchase.

2. Quality Content

Quality content means it provides value to the reader. In addition to that, quality also means exceeding expectations, not only in the style of writing but by meeting what the article title promised.

Below are some of the things you need to look into for when creating quality content.

Use Correct Grammar

The content of your landing page must be grammatically correct. If it isn't, it will look like a non-English speaker put it together.

Proper grammar speaks so much about your education and professionalism. Use a tool like Grammarly if you want to correct your mistakes or hire an editor.

Provide Value

Value refers to what the consumer learned. When people search, they want information. The last thing that they want is a sales talk.

Deliver value from your website by giving tutorials, lists—any information that attempts to educate your site visitor. Do it like how people make money on YouTube. They provide something useful, and the viewer subscribes and eventually buys from them. 

Use the Right Structure

Writing for the internet is not the same as writing for a newspaper. When you write for an online publication, such as your website, you must make it scannable.

What it means is that you must use several sub-headings that break down what information you offer. Never use big blocks of text.

3. Make Comparison Tables

To convince a person to buy what you offer, you must compare the product with something else. For example, you may be an affiliate for Shopify. As such, you want your site visitor to use Shopify, not BigCommerce.

What many affiliate marketers do—and this is where they fail—is they merely regurgitate information that is already on Shopify’s website. You do not want to do this.

You want a table that compares Shopify with another brand, like BigCommerce. To make your article more on point, we recommend that you write a versus article. Then, create a table that compares the features and benefits of the two brands. 

Take a look at the screenshot below:

As you can see, the table tells the site the differences between the services. This method of showing information is visual. Therefore, it is easier to absorb and understand than words.

Designing comparison tables is a critical part of learning how to write good product reviews. Because the more quickly you can help a reader decide which option is better for them, the sooner they’re likely to convert.

As an affiliate marketer, you want your site visitors to be able to make the distinction between the products you sell. And if you can prove that your brand is better, the site visitor is more likely to purchase it.

4. Give Multiple Choices

As an affiliate, you do not want to recommend only one brand for one specific type of service or item. If you concentrate on only one product, you are limiting your conversion.

Let us say that you are a web hosting specialist. As such, you have a website where you review web hosting service providers. However, you are an affiliate only for one brand: Siteground.

Now, what if the site visitor does not like Sitegorund? What if Bluehost speaks to the user’s heart, and he is merely looking for an affirmation?

If such is the case, you lost a sale already. The trick here is to become an affiliate not only for Siteground but only for Bluehost.

To make your content more optimized for conversion, write a review of each item. You can also do a comparison article.

You must convince the reader to click any links between the two items. Then, whichever he buys, you still make a sale.

Always give options to your site visitors. Apart from getting sales, you are also making your website look legitimate. For example, if you only endorse one product, it is too evident that you are earning commissions from it.

5. Implement Color Psychology

Color psychology plays a crucial role in how site visitors perceive your brand. Some youthful people want vibrant colors. Older consumers want dark colors.

Color psychology is what makes your brand relatable. Below are some of the emotions associated with basic colors.

In addition to using the right color, you must also use consistency. There are so many colors out there. Choose a specific color palette and use it all over your website.

Consistency also means that if you use a specific type of color, use it repeatedly. For example, if you chose red with a hex code of #FF0000, you must consistently use the same red, not its variants.

If you are unsure how color palettes work, you may consult a graphic artist. Color palettes are there as a guide, so the colors blend well. For example, it is not good to use purple on your website’s buttons and then red on the text.

Color palettes are free, and all you need to do is choose one that matches your preferred branding color. But why even bother?

It matters because it makes your website look professional. Websites with uniform branding are more likely to generate conversion than those that look unprofessional.

6. Utilize Video Content

The world has changed. People prefer video over text. So, while the text is important to SEO, you must use video for CRO.

Watching is more engaging than reading. It stimulates a site visitor’s eyes and ears. Videos also make it easier for people to comprehend what you are trying to tell them.

It is no wonder why many advertisers use explainer videos to sell their products. Research shows that about 96% of consumers want to learn more about the product they want. As such, they want to watch explainer videos.

As an affiliate marketer, you can create the video yourself. There are many awesome tools out there like Da Vinci Resolve or Camtasia. These tools allow you to make professional-level videos even if you are a beginner.

Videos increase conversion rate, and we suggest that you add them to your web pages. First, add a video on the landing page. Then, add a video to your blogs.

If you have no time or skill to do it yourself, there are many video creators in online marketplaces you can hire. For blog posts, you can embed YouTube links if you want.

7. Implement Exit-Intent Pop-Ups

While some people say that exit pop-ups are annoying, we do not fully agree. Exit-intent pop-ups are only annoying if used the wrong way.

Without exit-intent pop-ups or any pop-ups, a site visitor will not even know that he has to subscribe. Despite what some anti-pop-up people say, pop-ups are still one of the best ways to grow your email list.

Here are some suggestions on how to implement exit-intent pop-ups correctly:

• Give them an incentive – provide freebies like eBooks, coupons, cheat sheets, free membership, and exclusive content

• Tell them the benefit – remind the user what benefit signing up entails. For example, he will get notified of deals or new content.

• Show them a quiz – make a quiz that shows a result about the customer’s profile. People love taking quizzes that will help them understand themselves better.

• Collect their feedback – ask the site visitor what content he wants or how you can improve.

You can use all these four. Never ask for a site visitor’s email address without giving something in return. You see, email addresses are private. People will never give out their email addresses unless they get something of value.

8. Add Testimonials

Testimonials are a great way to increase your conversion rate. We know that it is also challenging to get. You can offer a product for free and then get their feedback. Post that on your site, and now you have a testimonial.

Since you are an affiliate marketer, get feedback from your product provider. For example, let us say that you are an affiliate of Siteground. Why not get the customer testimonial from their website?

Surely, you are worried about copyright. The thing is that you are selling Siteground’s product, so why would they bother?

Take a look at the screenshot below: 

These testimonials are from Siteground’s landing page. If you are selling their products, we see no reason why they would flag you for it.

On the other hand, you can also ask for the product developer’s permission. Another thing you can do is browse the company’s affiliate marketing materials. Big companies that have affiliates provide massive support. Surely, they have testimonials that you can use.

So, why does this even matter? Testimonials establish trust. Positive feedback from users reinforces product credibility.

When you do this, be selective. In addition, make sure you show a face. Testimonials that do not have a face are unreliable. They look fake.

9. Have multiple CTA

Next on our list is to use multiple types of CTA. One mistake that many affiliates make is that they only use one CTA. Then, if it does not work, they think they failed.

Multiple CTAs allow you to observe which one works the best. Now, not all pop-up programs allow you to do several CTAs. If you could, choose a paid email marketing software with A/B testing features.

The best email marketing programs allow you to create two pop-ups. First, the algorithm will decide which one to show to a particular user. Then, you will see who signed up on which pop-up in your dashboard.

Of course, the pop-up should show two different things. For example, pop-up #1 offers a free eBook. Then, pop-up #2 offers a discount.

From here, you will find out what offer appeals to your site visitors. Then, you can capitalize on that. Use an alternative approach if you do not have an A/B test feature.

What you can do is sign-up for two different email marketing service providers. Create two pop-ups. Then, integrate the email marketing programs into your website. Just make sure that the pop-ups appear on different pages, not the same.

10. Retarget Your visitors

The last tip that we have is retargeting. It is a process by which you launch an ad, but you only show the ad to people who have already been to your website.

Why even do this?

Retargeting is an excellent approach to driving or increasing conversions. Since the site visitor is already familiar with you, he knows who you are. He knows what you are selling.

Compared to someone who has not seen you before, a retargeted customer has a more positive impression of you. If you show an ad to someone who does not know who you are, chances are they will skip the ad.

Conversion rate is a tough thing to improve. On average, the conversion rate online is merely 3%. What does that mean? It means that 97% of people who come to your site will not buy.

People will not buy because of so many reasons.:

• They do not know you that much yet

• They are looking for better options

• They do not have the money yet

Whatever the reason is, it would help if you reinforce your brand through retargeting. Of course, you first want to identify what platform you want to use for advertising.

So, if you want Facebook, you must install Facebook’s pixel on your site. If you are looking forward to using Google, you need to embed Google’s code into your site.

Does retargeting work? Yes, it does. It works because it focuses on people who have already shown interest in your offer.

Let us say that a person searched for “why is Shopify the best?” and this person landed on your site. It means that the person is already interested in Shopify. All it takes now is a little nudge to convince this person to pursue the purchase.

Executive Summary

Conversion rate optimization is a process, the goal of which is to increase your conversion rate. Search engine optimization is a fundamental aspect of getting traffic. Making the site visitor take action, on the other hand, is the next step.  

To succeed, you must not only promote your affiliate links properly but also make sure that your website is convincing enough. 

It is where copy meets experience—if your website is optimized for conversion, you can expect people to either buy or subscribe to your email list.