Quick Answer: The average conversion rate for affiliate links in 2024 is 0.5%-1% for niche websites, 2% for email marketing and 2-5% on Youtube. If you have high quality, engaging content then you can expect your conversion rates to be slightly higher than these figures.
When you take that step to become an affiliate marketer you’re setting out to help people, promote products and create a life-changing online business for yourself.
And getting your conversion rates up is a massive part of that:
A tiny increase from just 1% to 2% on the same amount of traffic and click-throughs will double your affiliate income.
But how can you get more people buying so you get more commissions banked?
This post will answer those questions and more.
First, we’ll take a look at some affiliate link conversion stats before diving into exactly what you can do to boost your conversion rates.
What Is A Conversion Rate & How Is It Calculated?
In the affiliate marketing world, there’s more than one way to measure your success.
You’ve got metrics like:
- The average order value
- Number of blog posts/videos
- Number of daily organic pageviews your website gets
- How many email subscribers you have
- Total commissions made at the end of the month
But too often the conversion rate gets overlooked and I think that’s a huge affiliate marketing mistake.
So what is a conversion rate?
A conversion rate is the percentage of people who take the desired action after viewing a piece of content.
For example, if you have a blog post that gets 100 views and 10 people click on the link to learn more about your product, then your conversion rate would be 10%.
Conversion rates can be used to measure the success of pretty much anything—email campaigns, social media campaigns, website design, etc. As long as there is a goal that you want people to achieve, you can calculate a conversion rate.
How do you work out the conversion rate?
Calculating a conversion rate is pretty simple. Just take the number of conversions (people who take the desired action) and divide it by the number of total contacts (people who saw your content). Then, multiply that number by 100 to get your conversion rate percentage.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say that you send out an email blast to 1000 people and 100 of them click on the link to learn more about your product. Your conversion rate would be 10%.
Why Average Affiliate Link Conversion Rates Vary
The truth is, average conversion rates for affiliate links are going to vary depending on a whole array of factors:
- The type of product you’re selling
- Whether it’s a low-ticket or high-ticket item
- Your call to action
- Whether the affiliate link is at the top or bottom of a page
- How good the product landing page is
Even where the affiliate link is makes a huge difference:
For example, if people are seeing your affiliate link within a blog post, conversion rates will be around the 0.5%-1% mark.
If your affiliate link is in a Youtube video description your conversion rate will be 2%-5% on average.
And if your affiliate link is placed within an email you send out to subscribers, you’ll get about a 2% conversion rate.
It’ll be different again for different types of paid ads.
Conversion Rate vs. Click-Through Rate
A conversion rate is the percentage of people who complete a specific action on your website, Youtube channel or email or paid ads campaign.
For example, if you’re running a campaign to increase subscriptions to your email list, your conversion rate would be the percentage of people who sign up for your email list after viewing your ad or landing page.
A click-through rate, on the other hand, is the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it.
CTR is a good metric for measuring the effectiveness of your ad, but it doesn’t necessarily tell you how successful your campaign is.
For example, if you have a high CTR but a low conversion rate, that means that people are clicking on your ad but then not taking the desired action on your website.
A common mistake that businesses make is focusing on CTR while ignoring conversion rates. However, while CTR is a good metric to track, the conversion rate is ultimately more important because it tells you whether or not your campaign is actually achieving its goal.
14 Pro Tips To Help Get Your Conversion Rate Up
If you’re an affiliate marketer, then you know that one of the most important things to focus on is your conversion rate.
After all, the whole point of affiliate marketing is to get people to take action, whether that’s:
- Requesting a quote
- Subscribing to an email newsletter
- Signing up for a free trial
- Making a purchase.
The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to increase your conversion rate.
1. Identify Your Target Audience
The first step is to identify your target audience or in other words, decide who you are trying to reach with your affiliate marketing campaign.
Once you know who your target audience is, you can start thinking about the best ways to reach them.
- What social media platforms do they use?
- What type of content do they respond to?
- What time of day are they most active online?
Answering these questions will help you fine-tune your affiliate marketing strategy so that you can cast a wider net and reach more people who are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.
2. Use Tracking Links
You can only improve what you can measure so wherever possible, use tracking links in your affiliate links so you can see which traffic sources are providing the most conversions.
This information will be valuable in helping you adjust your strategy going forward.
You may find that certain sources are converting better than others, or that certain types of content are getting more clicks than others.
3. Focus On Commercial Keywords
Whether you do affiliate marketing on a website, on Youtube or on social media, know that there’s a massive difference in conversion rates between informational vs. commercial keywords.
Commercial keywords are better because they’re phrases searchers type into Google when they’re already decided they want to make a purchase. They have buyer intent.
Keywords like:
- Product review
- Best earphones for running
- Product A vs. product B: which is best?
- Top 10 best Bluetooth speakers
- Best place to buy a mattress
Whereas informational keywords are search terms like:
- How to bottom water plants
- Tips for beginner runners
- How to connect a Bluetooth speaker
You always want a mix of both information and commercial keywords because you can still recommend products with how-to guides and the like, but really focus on buyer-intent keywords like buyer guides, product reviews and comparisons if you want to boost your conversion rates and affiliate commissions.
4. Make Sure Your Offers Are Relevant
One of the best ways to increase your affiliate link conversion rates is to link to products your audience already wants.
Promote only top-quality products that answer a specific problem or addresses a certain pain point you know they have and you’ll go on to become a very rich and successful affiliate marketer.
5. Use Scarcity & Urgency
Another effective way to increase your conversion rate is to use scarcity and urgency in your marketing messages. When people feel like they might miss out on something, they’re more likely to take action.
So, if you can make your offer seem like it’s only available for a limited time or in limited quantities, you’ll be more likely to convert leads into sales.
6. Send Targeted Traffic To Your Landing Page
It doesn’t matter how great your offer is if you’re not sending targeted traffic to your landing page.
There are lots of ways to generate traffic but not all traffic is created equal.
The people who visit your page should already be interested in what you’re offering before they even get there. If they’re not, they’re unlikely to convert no matter how good your offer is.
7. Test, Test, Test!
The best way to increase your conversion rate is to constantly test different aspects of your landing page and see what works best for your audience.
Try changing the headline, the images, the call-to-action buttons, or anything else that you think might make a difference. Then, keep track of your results and see which changes led to more conversions.
And always check your posts on mobile.
60% of people coming to your website are doing so on mobile, so as you hit publish, get your phone out and have a look.
You’ll be amazed at how many times that button or table you just spent so much time on needs tweaking.
8. Tell People What To Do!
Your CTA is what tells people what they need to do next, so it’s important to make it as clear and concise as possible.
So use persuasive language to encourage people to take action.
Use action words like: “Click here”, “Get started now” or “Find out more”
9. Make It As Easy As Possible For People To Take Action
Don’t make people jump through hoops in order to take the desired action. If you’re selling a product, for example, then include a “buy now” button on every page of your website.
And if you’re looking for newsletter sign-ups, then include an opt-in form on every page as well.
The easier you make it for people to take action, the more likely they’ll be to do it.
10. Use Strong Visuals
Images and videos are worth a thousand words—literally.
By incorporating strong visuals into your marketing materials, you can grab attention and make a lasting impression.
People are also more likely to remember information when it’s accompanied by images or videos, so this is an effective way to increase conversions down the line.
There are dozens of sites you can find royalty-free images for blog posts but one of the most powerful ways to supercharge your conversion rate is to share your own photos and videos.
If you’re writing a product review for example, why not record a quick video of you actually using the product? It’ll boost your trustworthiness and credibility and you’ll see a surge in sales.
11. Keep Your Website Simple and Clean
If you want people to take action on your website, then you need to make it easy for them to do so. That means keeping your website design clean and uncluttered.
Get rid of anything that’s not absolutely essential and make sure that your call to action is prominently displayed.
And if you’re looking for a responsive, clean and crisp easy-to-customise theme then GeneratePress is a great option.
12. Use Persuasive Copy
If you’ve ever watched the Netflix series Mad Men then you know just how powerful words can be.
But you don’t have to Shakespeare – just write like you talk, be as helpful as you can be and make every effort to answer people’s every question or concern.
You don’t want to come across like a sleazy salesman but rather, you want to put your audience first and do your upmost to serve them.
13. Use Social Proof
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book – because it works!
Whether it’s a top 10 best list or a product review, customer testimonials, user reviews, or even celebrity endorsements.
When potential customers see that other people have had success with your products or services, they’ll be more likely to make a purchase themselves.
14. Give Multiple Call-To-Actions
Don’t rely on a single call-to-action (CTA) to do all the work for you. Experiment with different CTA placements, colours, and wording to see what gets your visitors to take action.
And don’t forget to test different CTAs for different types of products or services. What works for one might not work for another.
The Bottom Line
Now you know what the average affiliate link conversion rate is and how you can increase yours to beat the average statistics.
Whether you’re just starting your affiliate marketing journey or you’re a veteran affiliate looking to increase your conversion rate and make more sales, check out Commission Academy.
You’ll get free and instant access to our Fast-Start and Advanced training that will arm you with the cutting-edge affiliate marketing strategies you need to blow your online income goals out of the water.
