Digital marketing and e-Commerce are experiencing exponential growth, and brands and entrepreneurs are anticipating the escalation of various marketing strategies, from loud and colorful influencer marketing to quiet and “passive” affiliate marketing. As social media grows fonder for influencers and other content creators, marketing teams big and small are strategizing new ways to boost brand awareness and increase ROI with affiliate marketing campaigns.
Affiliate marketing is gaining a bigger audience as digital marketers discover the potential of partnerships and user-generated content for marketing purposes. Blogging and other social media channels reinforced the significance of affiliate marketing and spreading the word through monetized traffic.
This article lists affiliate marketing statistics crucial for business owners to know and expectations for the affiliate marketing industry in 2023.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is an advertising tactic where the affiliate brand or advertiser welcomes affiliate partners or publishers to promote their products and/or services. Affiliate partners advertise by sharing their affiliate links on blogs and social media channels.
What are the Different Types of Affiliate Marketing?
While sharing affiliate links in monetized content like blogs is the most popular methodology, there are several other ways to market affiliate programs.
Review-Based Programs
Writing a comprehensive review on the product you are promoting is among the most authentic and convincing ways to market for an affiliate program. With a review, affiliates can be true about their opinions on the product or service without necessarily advertising the product to the audience.
Additionally, product reviews give the audience clearer insights into the quality and value of the product. For an effective affiliate marketing strategy, make sure to emphasize the selling points of the product to convince the audience.
Videos
YouTube is brimming with product recommendations and feedback from affiliates. Video is another excellent way to discreetly promote the product to a curious audience. Reactions and facial expressions show a more honest side of an affiliate’s perception of the product. An effective affiliate marketer will utilize body language, subtle voice changes, and more to convince the audience to grow more interested in the product.
Social Media Content
Social media share the fear of missing out or FOMO. Taking advantage of this phenomenon, affiliate marketers can promote time-limited content related to the product. This will not only increase the anticipation for the product but also generate a sizeable amount of traffic to convert into successful sales.
Email marketing is an excellent extension of affiliate marketing. Affiliates can promote affiliate links without worrying whether they have reached out to the right audience. Email marketing reaches a more specific audience, so chances are higher for a reader to check out the link and learn more about the product.
Tutorials
Tutorials, be they in video or text form, are excellent methods to walk the audience through the ins, outs, and differentiating factors of the product.
Video walkthroughs of navigating a software or gadget, most especially, intrigues many. Reach more intrigued viewers by optimizing the video tutorial with proper keywords and backlinking elements to your business website and social media channels.
Affiliate Marketing Statistics for 2023 Every Entrepreneur Should Know
The state of affiliate marketing for 2023 provides useful insights into how industries will benefit from it, and how marketing trends will be influenced. Take these figures with a grain of salt and assess how your current trajectory for your marketing strategy will be affected.
- Digital advertising accounts for over 64.4% of overall ad spend. (GroupM)
While most businesses take on an omnichannel approach to marketing and advertising, 2021 proves that technological innovations provide marketers with versatility in running profitable marketing and ad campaigns. Digital advertising comprised more than 64.4% of overall ad spend in 2021and is expected to increase at an exponential rate in the years to come.
- Affiliate content saw a 73% increase in user traffic. (Rakuten Advertising)
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed people to stay home for longer, limiting social interactions. This lack of in-person connections led consumers to spend more time online, browsing through product lists and affiliate product reviews. By the end of 2021, publishers flourished in the increasing engagement rates, which will only continue to grow over the years. In fact, affiliate content and subnetworks saw a whopping 73% increase in user traffic.
- By the end of 2022, the United States’ marketing spend for affiliate marketing will reach $8.2 billion. (Statista)
Statista reveals affiliate marketing statistics about how, by the end of the year 2022, The US’ marketing spend on affiliate marketing initiatives will hit $8.2 billion.
- There are 11,400 affiliate programs in the United States. (Zippia)
The United States is home to 11,400 affiliate programs. ShareASale makes up 49% of the total number of affiliate programs, hosting over 5,500 programs from 4,800 merchants.
- 79% of marketers rely on affiliate marketing for engagement with existing customers. (Cake)
The affiliate marketing industry is an excellent booster for conversion rates. In fact, 83% of marketers use affiliate marketing to improve brand visibility. 79%, on the other hand, prefer to use affiliate marketing as an inbound marketing strategy.
- Online dating programs pay up to 75% in commissions. (Digital Fodder)
Online dating has changed the lives of many people, including affiliate marketers. This billion-dollar industry is projected to grow by 6% every year and is an opportunity that affiliates can’t miss out on. Commissions are lucrative, with dating affiliates getting paid anywhere between 30% and 75% in commissions.
- 18% of publishers consider their niche when selecting an affiliate program. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
Profitability isn’t the only deciding factor in choosing affiliate programs. Joining a program that fits their niche enables publishers to create content that is relevant and significant to their audience.
- Global digital ad spend will reach $876.10 billion by 2026. (Oberlo)
As affiliate marketing becomes increasingly popular among brands, small eCommerce businesses, and influencers, it largely contributes to the increasing growth rates of digital ad spend. Come 2026, digital ad spend at a global scale will reach $876.10 billion, a staggering 68.2% increase from 2021’s digital ad spend record of $521.02 billion.
- Affiliate links receive more than 5 billion clicks annually. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
Consumers engage in over 170 million online transactions, contributing to the massive number of clicks garnered by affiliate links.
- The average affiliate marketer earns over $53,000 annually. (Payscale)
Payscale reports that the average affiliate marketer can earn up to $53,382 per year. Higher-earning affiliates can earn up to $73,000 annually.
- The global affiliate market industry is reportedly worth $12 billion. (SaaS Scout)
The United States takes the top rank with more than $4.5 billion worth of market share. Coming in next is the United Kingdom with 15% and Germany, with 11%.
- The biggest affiliate network caters to more than 21,000 advertisers.
AWIN takes the cake for being the biggest active affiliate network, partnering with over 21,000 advertisers and empowering more than 241,000 publishers. Brands with a lesser established digital presence can join affiliate networks to scale their affiliate programs and reach the target publishers.
- Amazon Associates boasts nearly a million active publishers. (Supermetrics)
Amazon’s very own affiliate marketing program is home to the biggest base of affiliates, with over 900,000 affiliates generating custom links to various products sold on the digital marketplace. ShareASale reportedly has more than 700,000 active affiliates, while ClickBank caters to 100,000.
- Smaller brands generate money through affiliate marketing. (Awin)
The Awin Report 2021 highlighted how affiliate marketing is reinventing brand awareness and customer acquisition for micro-SMEs in the United Kingdom. In fact, 2.6 million SMEs contribute to 45% of UK’s overall digital marketing spend.
- Fashion and wellness niches accounted for over $4 trillion in affiliate marketing. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
The broad scopes of fashion (clothing, jewelry, bags, footwear, and more) and wellness (fitness, alternative medicine, organic food, and diet trends) totaled $4 trillion in sales in affiliate marketing alone. That is equivalent to a quarter of all affiliate marketing sales generated.
Travel, technology, gaming, beauty, and pet care are just some examples of other flourishing niches in affiliate marketing.
- 85% of mobile device users are involved in affiliate marketing. (Pew Research)
Mobile devices such as smartphones have become powerful tools to allow publishers to engage in affiliate marketing whenever and wherever. 85% of smartphone users use their devices to place a purchase from an affiliate link or affiliate marketing campaign.
- Blogging makes up 64.48% of affiliate marketing traffic. (Zippia)
Blogging remains a top-notch traffic source for affiliate marketers, generating 64.48% of the total traffic. It only comes second to social media, as preferred by 67.32% of affiliates.
- Conversion rates vary between 0.5% to 1%. (Awin)
Conversion rates are highly dependent on the type of industry an affiliate program belongs to. Unfortunately, most affiliates prefer not to disclose data about conversions. These numbers serve as benchmarks for brands to determine the value and effectiveness of their affiliate programs.
- There are more female publishers than male. (Payscale)
A survey with over 3,900 responses concluded that 75.6% of affiliate marketers are female, while 23.3% are male.
- Cost per Action is the most commonly used commission model in affiliate marketing. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
Cost per action is a payment model where the publisher receives a specific amount of commission for every action a visitor performs. Another common commission model is Cost per Sale, where a publisher earns a percentage of the sold item’s price as commission.
- Affiliate marketing fraud cost $1.4 billion in 2020. (CHEQ)
Fraud is affecting the health and quality of service of many affiliate programs. From spammy clicks to sudden surges of web traffic, fraud affects the tracking progress of many affiliate programs. Additionally, the reputation of the brand is in great trouble if the fraudulent behavior is not addressed immediately.
- Software affiliate programs are among the most profitable in affiliate marketing.
Affise reports that software affiliate programs are among the well-paying affiliate program. For every customer’s purchase of software, publishers can earn around 30% commission.
Additionally, if the software affiliate program enables recurring commissions, publishers shall earn a commission for the lifetime of the paying customer. Recurring commissions are common in affiliate programs offering software upgrades or continuation of the subscription.
What Can We Expect from Affiliate Marketing in 2023?
- Come 2023, advertisers will lose $100 billion to fraud. (Statista)
Despite the consistent attempts of affiliate networks and marketing platforms to adopt fraud detection at the least, fraud is the biggest enemy of the affiliate marketing industry in 2023. Juniper Research had forecasted in 2019 that brands would spend $42 billion on fraudulent activities affecting the Internet, apps, and mobile devices. By 2023, this amount would blow up to $100 billion as exploiters adopt more advanced techniques to carry out their nefarious plans.
- Local SEO will earn its spotlight once again. (ClickBank)
In 2020 alone, 93% of Google searches are related to local services or keywords. Essentially, affiliate marketers whose marketing channel of choice is blogging can narrow down their blog entries to content that the local audience can access and enjoy.
- AI and voice search will see a surge of adaptability in affiliate marketing. (ClickBank)
More than 50% of affiliate traffic comes from mobile devices. That being said, artificial intelligence and voice search will become staple tools in shaping the affiliate marketing experience. For instance, the live shopping feature of many social media channels and online shopping apps is increasing the awareness of the necessity of real-time digital equipment to accompany affiliate marketing and e-Commerce.
- Affiliate Marketing will meet the Metaverse. (ClickBank)
Bloomberg projects that the metaverse has the potential to become an $800 billion market, and brands may not want to miss out on this one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience immersive e-Commerce and advertising.
Marketing experts view 2023 as a ripe moment for digital marketing and the affiliate marketing industry to dip into the virtual world. In fact, designer brand Balenciaga collaborated with the metaverse game Fortnite in dropping in-game digital copies of their branded apparel, as well as providing affiliate links.
- The affiliate marketing industry is expected to witness a 10% growth rate. (Zippia)
Zippia reports that all the way back from 2015 to 2023, affiliate marketing will explode with a 10% growth rate. This number is indicative of how affiliate marketing is playing a crucial role in digital marketing and e-Commerce.
