I'm back to direct linking to affiliate offers so I'm wondering what are pros and cons of it. Like, I've been thinking.. If you direct link and you get 5% conversions. With review page you get 8% from the page, but you only funnel 50% of visitors to landing page. That actually means that you have just 4% conversion. And if you look at it like that it's better to direct link. But if you get 2% with direct linking and just 5% with review page, that would mean that you actually get 2.5% thru review page from all traffic. So I guess I've already answered my own question.. I have to test both for every single offer I promote and I'll probably have some that convert better with review pages and some with direct linking. I'd be really glad if some of you shared your stats thru YSM and Adwords advertising of affiliate offers and if review converts better then direct linking. And why do you prefer the one you're currently using
People who search for solutions or opportunities on the internet are already in search of something but are unable to trust what they see...this is the internet after all. Provided your lander can provide them with credibility, as in a recommendation (showing you've used it yourself and found it beneficial) or a review, then you've pretty much got it made. review pages work best for tools, software or equipment kinda products whereas reco pages work best for the relationship and health niches. So it all depends on the product your promote. And to answer your question: Not everyone who comes to your site is willing to buy anything. Most of your visitors are on the lookout for free stuff or information, and the people who are willing to buy stuff will be willing to see everything, including clicking through to your merchant's page. Basically, your responsibility in a landing page comes to: -Building credibility and making the product look trustworthy -Creating excitement and interest in the product (make them want it). And yeah, try and avoid blogs and freebie pages as much as you can...domains come incredibly cheap nowadays and will certainly compensate you for the few extra sales that might've been scared away by the cheapass blog.
Ok this makes sense. So what you are saying is that if I advertise 10 products in adwords and yahoo search marketing I'll make more money with review pages then with direct linking? See, with most of my ads I prequalify them by telling them the price. And that means that if they click they know they'll have to buy something if they'll want the info.
Yep, that's it. The mistake most people make with review pages is that they just put out a review...your visitor wants to know who's reviewing it, and what makes his opinion any better. So give yourself a few "credentials". Just like anyone can be a "home energy supervisor/expert/researcher", and mention the criteria you're basing the ratings on (most important being time and money) and you're sure to clinch at least a few sales. Even if I saw 10 review pages, I'm more likely to look at the expert's page again before making a purchase.
I think a review page will do better for any kind of a product, but as MedicAffiliate said, there should be a different review type landing page for each product. For example, if you are looking how to cure acne, then you wouldn't want to see a comparison of top 3 acne cure programs. You would want to read some personal opinions and real stories. However, if it's a registry cleaner stuff or money-making programs, then comparison landing pages will work better, rather than opinion sites.
I see and I actually agree with you. I just want to mention that I've started running first campaigns yesterday and I got the first sale from direct linking in YSM today. I'll report back here once I have a few more products that convert daily. You got me thinking and I'll probably keep on using direct linking just to find which offers convert and once I know that something does sell I'll go on and make a good review page.