Since the mass adoption of the internet, affiliate marketing has been around. In recent years, we’ve seen it grow more popular year on year. This blog looks at some recent affiliate marketing stats and trends from recent years. If you’re not already incorporating affiliate marketing into your strategy, you’ll want to by the end of this read.
Key Affiliate Marketing Stats
- 81% of businesses adopt affiliate programs as part of their growth strategy.
- In 2020, £627m were invested in affiliate marketing in the UK, up from £569m the previous year.
- Blogging sites were the number 1 channel used for affiliate marketing by brands worldwide in 2021, making up 27.8%.
- Review sites accounted for 18.7% of affiliate marketing channels in 2021, followed by coupon sites (14.8%), newsletters (7.2%) and editorial sites (6.5%).
- As of May 2022, affiliate marketing was worth $12 billion.
- Affiliate programs can account for as much as 30% of a company’s revenue.
- Affiliate marketing is used by around 84% of content creators to monetise their traffic.
- Mobile devices account for more than half of all affiliate traffic.
- The fashion industry accounts for nearly 25% of all affiliate programs.
Source (Statista)
Key Takeaways from These Affiliate Marketing Statistics
Affiliate marketing has a huge ROI potential
Unlike other marketing strategies, affiliate marketing is paid on performance. The most common set-up is a cost-per-action model, with the action being a sale. By adopting a CPA model, brands only pay for converted sales instead of clicks. In short, affiliate marketing is a low-cost, high-reward tactic that can generate huge ROI.
At Conversion, we generate an average ROI of 900% for our clients.
Affiliate marketing boosts more than just bottom-of-funnel conversions
Affiliate marketing can get a bad reputation. One of the most common concerns we hear from clients is regarding coupon sites damaging their brand. However, as the stats show, almost half of the affiliate channels used by brands worldwide were blogging and review sites.
So, while tactical partnerships with select coupon sites will boost bottom-of-funnel conversions, affiliates can also help convert customers at the top or middle of the funnel. According to Get Cake, 79% of marketers utilise affiliate marketing to engage existing customers, while 83% use it to boost brand awareness.
The secret? Choosing affiliate partners who genuinely align with your brand and ethos. When executed well, affiliate marketing is excellent for building trust and getting attention. The result? More sales!
Your competitors are likely using it
With 81% of brands using affiliate marketing, your biggest competitors are likely amongst them. From editorial sites to influencers, commission rates can often be the deciding factor regarding features. So, matching or beating your competitors can give you a valuable advantage.
2022 Affiliate Marketing Trends
As affiliate marketing grows more popular, it’s seamlessly integrating broader marketing strategies. From influencers playing a more significant role to a response to cookie changes and intelligent cross-device tracking, click here to check out 2022 trends.
Conclusion: Affiliate Marketing is An Essential Investment
Picture this… a year from now, you have an active affiliate program accounting for 30% of all revenue and generating you an average ROI of 800%. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It’s not.
If you’re keen to capitalise on the benefits of affiliate marketing, you can count on Conversion to create a bespoke strategy tailored to your industry and KPIs. So, don’t wait any longer; get in touch today.