For a long time, the affiliate marketing channel was dominated by publishers who focused purely on conversion. This made it difficult for publishers who focus more on inspiration to prove that they can actually be of value, as their share does not usually lead to a conversion directly.
Within the power tool market, many of these inspirational websites are active with a focus on different product groups. Our customer ToolMax, specialized in selling power tools, worked with a last-click attribution model, making it a challenge to attract the right publishers to the affiliate program. Indeed, most publishers did not see the added value, as such inspirational websites were usually not responsible for the last click that led to a conversion. Nevertheless, we were sure that Toolmax's affiliate program made an important contribution to the marketing mix. That's why we switched to a position-based attribution model, with which they hit the nail on the head.
The advantage of a position-based attribution model is that all publishers can be rewarded based on their added value within the customer journey. Using this attribution model, the commission is divided on a 40/20/40 basis among the publishers involved in a transaction. This means that, using this model, upper-funnel publishers are valued just as highly as publishers who have traditionally focused on the converting touchpoint. In other words, if there is an order involving three different publishers and involving a commission of €20, this means that both the first publisher in the conversion path and the last publisher will both receive €8 in commission. In this example, the intermediate publisher receives €4, -.
As a result, both the informational and converting roles are given equal value. The former publishers therefore often missed out and, whether forced or not, often asked for a sum of money to create high-quality, informative content. After all, creating quality content purely based on the Last Click Counts principle was not profitable for these publishers. Thanks to the application of the attribution model, these publishers are fairly rewarded, which makes the creation of quality content profitable in one fell swoop.
This reward based on the actual contribution makes it much easier to make performance-based agreements with the publishers. The proverbial barrier for publishers to create qualitative, informative content has been removed with the application of TradeTracker's Real Attribution. Because high-quality content generally has a long lifespan, the use of these upper-funnel publishers for a longer period of time is invaluable. The switch to a different attribution model has ensured that Toolmax.nl's publisher base has been significantly enriched. As a result, the affiliate program has increased in value in all facets of the customer journey.
The combination of the Real Attribution model and the wide range of niche publishers within the market segment in which Toolmax.nl operates makes it possible to reach very specific target groups. The advantage of this is that they are usually characterized by a high purchase intention.
Many subcategories within ToolMax's offerings are covered by one or more qualitatively interesting content publishers. For example, a wide range of content publishers are now active within the affiliate program. Because ToolMax wants to focus on long-term collaborations with these parties on a broad scale, an incentive is regularly used that can reward publishers extra.
Thanks to the position based attribution model, the upper-funnel publishers are also supported by publishers who focus on other positions within the funnel. The publishers are now able to promote the campaign in a way that they themselves excel. This ensures that the added value of the various publishers as well as the added value of the entire affiliate channel increases significantly. There is no longer competition between the publishers, but the focus is on cooperation. For ToolMax, this diverse mix of publishers is the beating heart of the successful affiliate program.
Want to know more about affiliate marketing and our vision for the channel? Then read our blog From affiliate to partner marketing.
