In order to make accurate affiliate marketing decisions, it is essential to have all the information you can get about your potential customers. Surprisingly, website analytics reports are one of the best sources for reliable information about the needs, interests and habits of your target audience. By carefully analyzing this information, you can gain access to an enormous amount of consumer data and use it to guide your future marketing efforts.
“Using web analytics, you can determine the conversion rates of your affiliate marketing efforts.”
Finding Your Web Analytics Reports
Fortunately, there are a number of different ways to use web analytics for affiliate marketing. While it is possible to collect the data from your own website log files, this can be a tedious and time intensive process.
In most cases, your web host will provide a weekly or daily statistics report featuring some very valuable web analytics, such as page views, click-through rates and unique visitors. Affiliate programs typically compile web reports, as well with information on link clicks and actual sales. Finally, you might consider also using a third-party source such as the free Google Analytics tool to further track your web analytics numbers.
Look at the Data for Customer Trends
While the sheer abundance of data may seem overwhelming at first, breaking the information down into manageable chunks can make it much easier to understand. The total number of visitors to your site can indicate the success of your search marketing and advertising campaigns.
As you look at your web analytics reports, pay special attention to sources of your traffic. If a large portion of your audience is finding your site via certain search terms, you may want to consider adding more affiliate products within this area.
Focus on Increasing Conversion Rates
Using web analytics, you can determine the conversion rates of your affiliate marketing efforts. Compare the number of customers who purchased an item to your total number of website visitors. Your goal as an affiliate marketer is to get as many of these customers as possible to actually purchase something on your website.
If you have high traffic and low sales, it is time to reevaluate your affiliate marketing strategy. This might involve improving your sales text, improving landing pages or even changing the affiliate offers that you promote. The advantage of using web analytics for affiliate marketing is that you can use this data to make changes and then quickly gauge the impact on your profitability.
