affiliate marketing thesis

Thesis (Ph.D)

A grounded theory of affiliate marketing performance measurement in the tourism and hospitality context.

Although the measurement of offline and online marketing is extensively researched, the area of online performance measurement still presents a number of unaddressed gaps, such as fragmented research and predominance of practitioner-driven measurement approaches. With a focus on affiliate marketing in tourism and hospitality, this thesis addressed these gaps and evaluates the effectiveness of practitioner-led online performance assessment. More precisely, the study explores a potential shift in affiliate marketing measurement practices, and develops a theory of affiliate marketing performances measurement in tourism and hospitality. Relying on a grounded theory research strategy, the work undertakes qualitative analysis of 72 online forum discussions, 37 interviews and 40 questionnaires with the major affiliate marketing stakeholder groups from the tourism and hospitality industry - merchants, affiliates, affiliate networks and affiliate agencies. The findings of the thesis add value to both theory and practice. The theoretical contribution of the research is twofold. First, the work furthers the broader marketing theory and in particular the distribution and promotion literature by exploring an under-researched online marketing channel - affiliate marketing - that can be employed for both promotion and distribution purposes. The study provides a detailed description of an affiliate marketing ecosystem and defines the key affiliate marketing constructs. Second, the work contributes to the performance measurement research by developing a substantiative theory of affiliate marketing performance measurement in tourism and hospitality. From the practitioner perspective, the work brings value by proposing a change in existing performance measurement practices and offering a process-oriented model of performance measurement in affiliate marketing, which details the phases and steps that managers can undertake in assessing performance. To further the findings, future research can explore the applicability of the proposed model to other industry sectors and online channels, and can develop the proposed substantive theory to a formal theory by employing other research methods, for example case studies and action research.

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Mariussen, A

Oxford Brookes departments

Department of Marketing Faculty of Business

© Mariussen, A Published by Oxford Brookes University All rights reserved. Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

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Nevosad, lukas, abstract [en].

This thesis depicts how content providers (aka publishers or affiliates) use affiliate marketing, a performance oriented internet marketing. Three different content providers were interviewed in order to find out detailed information about their usage of affiliate marketing. The thesis identifies main advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing for content providers and specifies conditions, under which affiliate marketing is more beneficial than other types of online advertising. Moreover, the process of selecting affiliate marketing program by content providers is described. This paper concludes in a model of a typical affiliate marketing usage. Furthermore, the work proposes using different terminology for content providers, because it was found out that the term content provider does not cover all aspects of the business any more, as affiliate marketing can even be used without providing any content. Finally, recommendations for companies, that are planning to start a new affiliate program, are also added and the work suggests several topics for further research in this field.

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Keywords [en], keywords [sv], identifiers, subject / course, educational program, wahlberg, rickard, open access in diva, file information, search outside of diva, altmetric score.

Affiliate Marketing Case Studies: 15 Examples for Success

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How would you like to read the best affiliate marketing case studies ever published?

More importantly, how would you like to copy the top practices in affiliate marketing that are based on real-world examples and not just theory to earn money online?

Below, you’ll find a list of the top 15 affiliate marketing case studies along with the results and key findings from each example. By studying these affiliate marketing case study examples and applying the lessons learned on your own website, you can hopefully achieve similar results to increase your commissions as an affiliate marketer.

Table of Contents

Affiliate Marketing Case Studies

Going from zero to $10k in monthly revenue – contentellect affiliate marketing case study.

Follow the steps Contentellect is taking to grow an affiliate marketing website from $0 to $10k a month in under 24 months. Includes a breakdown of the monthly costs, income, and traffic.

Helping Choose Wheels Grow 124% – Intergrowth Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This website had been hit with a Google penalty and traffic was down 80%. See how Intergrowth helped the site recover and grow 124% in 6 months. Bounce rate improved by 15% and average session duration increased by 40%all the while goal conversions increased by 526%.

Zero to $20k/month In a Year – Side Hustle Nation Affiliate Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how the owners of Finvsfin.com scaled their affiliate marketing website from $0 to $20,0000 per month in one year. Includes strategies on keyword research, how to structure content, ways to attract backlinks, optimization tactics to grow their traffic, and more.

How I Made $16,433 With One Product – BloggersPassion Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This case study explains how the site owner made $16,433 from a single affiliate product. The information and steps revealed in this guide can be applied to any affiliate marketing niche.

Amazon Niche Site Project 4: Own The Yard – Niche Pursuits Affiliate Marketing Case Study

If you haven’t seen this Amazon affiliate marketing case study yet, then you should set aside some time to dive into it. Spencer Haws from Niche Pursuits documented the entire journey of building an affiliate site called “Own The Yard” that covered topics like yard games, animals, yard tools, gardening, and backyard gear. Check it out to get the entire timeline of the site build and major milestone achievements.

Amazon Site Earns $2,000/month with 100 Articles – Fat Stacks Blog Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Here’s another Amazon affiliate marketing case study worth reading in depth. Dom Wells from Human Proof Designs posted this case study on Fat Stacks Blog with a detailed focus on content types, content timelines, link types, and link timelines to help other affiliate marketers improve their sites to make more money.

How We Sold An 18-Month-Old Site For Mid 6 Figures – Authority Hackers Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Authority Hackers has a popular blog, podcast, and course on affiliate marketing. Many affiliate marketers consider AH to be the best in the business for teaching aspiring entrepreneurs how to create profitable affiliate sites from scratch. In this case study, you’ll learn everything AH did to grow and sell a niche website for 6 figures in 18 months. It’s literally an entire blueprint from concept to final sale.

Amazon Site 10Beasts Grows from $0 to $4500+ In 4 Months – NichePie Affiliate Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how NichePie took the famous website affiliate marketing website 10Beasts.com to $4,500 in monthly earnings in just 4 months. The site then went on to make $40,000 by month 8 and kept growing. Luqman Khan, the owner, eventually sold the affiliate site for over half-a-million dollars. Inside this case study, you’ll get important insights into the keyword research process, site structure, content structure, SEO, and link building. The article also includes lots of screenshots to help you follow along with the journey.

Zero to 21K Visitors and $2000/month In 9 Months – Web Asset Builders Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This case study covers the journey of a client who bought a Done-For-You Amazon affiliate website from Web Asset Builders, and how the site went from zero traffic to reaching 21,000 visitors and $2000 per month in 9 months.

Project Cashflow: How to Build a Niche Site from Day One – Diggity Marketing Affiliate Marketing Case Study

This affiliate marketing case study was published by one of the most respected affiliate marketers in the industry: Matt Diggity. In this first installment of the Project Cashflow case study, you’ll learn about Matt’s approach to choosing a niche, the pros and cons of buying an existing website, finding the right site to purchase, basic affiliate site valuation and negotiation, and more. You can then follow along with the journey as he publishes new blog posts each month with site updates.

How I Took An Affiliate Marketing Website from $0 to $95,134.05 Using SEO – Stupid Simple SEO Case Study

Mike, a six-figure blogger takes you through the entire process of how he created a brand new affiliate marketing website and grew it to $95,134.05 with over 1,000,000 unique pageviews in just its second year. The site pretty much runs on auto-pilot now with no posting to social media, no emails to a mailing list, and the income is 95% passive.

Flipping an Affiliate Website for $136K In 16 Months – Empire Flippers Case Study

Empire Flippers, a curated marketplace for buying and selling established and profitable online businesses, has many affiliate marketing case studies on its blog. However, this case study in particular is quite valuable for you to read because it explains how one client bought a site for $52,256 and flipped it for $136,773. You’ll learn evaluation metrics this seller looked for when buying a website to flip as well as the growth plan he put into place to scale this site to such high profitability.

How I Got 2 Conversions In 48 Hours – H-Educate Affiliate Marketing Case Study

While the title of this affiliate marketing case study may not sound too impressive, the fact is can help a lot of new affiliate marketers get quick results from their websites. Inside, Hasan Aboul Hassan explains the process for how to make more conversions instantly after publishing a new blog post. Hassan is also a master at Quora SEO and Quora link building , so you may want to check out those articles as well and look for his profile on Quora to follow his strategies for getting more referral traffic from that online platform.

How We Generated an Extra $15,048 In Monthly Revenue In 34 Days – Convertica Affiliate Marketing Case Study

Convertica is a done-for-you conversion rate optimization (CRO) specialist that helps you to maximize revenue from every visitor that lands on your website. And there’s really no other service provider like this in the industry for affiliate marketers. In this case study, you’ll learn the exact CRO techniques Convertica used to increase one of its client’s monthly income by over $15,048. There are also more affiliate marketing case studies on the site’s blog. So make sure to check them out for even more CRO strategies.

$3000 Per Month Using AI and Blogger – Adsterra Affiliate Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how Saif Khan used AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney along with a Blogger blog and videos to earn $3,000 per month. Saif explains all aspects of the case study so you can use it for inspiration.

What Is an Affiliate Marketing Case Study?

An affiliate marketing case study is an in-depth study of affiliate marketing in a real-world context. It can focus on one affiliate tactic or a group of affiliate strategies to find out what works in affiliate marketing to improve conversions and traffic.

Are Case Studies Good for Affiliate Marketing?

Case studies are good for affiliate marketing because you can learn about how to do affiliate marketing in an effective way. Instead of just studying the theory of affiliate marketing, you can learn from real examples that applied specific methods to achieve success.

Read More Case Studies

In addition to affiliate marketing case studies, you may also be interested in these other examples of digital marketing success stories.

• SEO case studies
• Content marketing case studies
• Digital marketing case studies
• Email marketing case studies
• Social media case studies
• PPC case studies

Affiliate Marketing Case Study Examples Summary

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best affiliate marketing case studies that are based on real-world results and not just theory.

As you discovered, the affiliate marketing case study examples above demonstrated many different ways to improve conversions, gain more website traffic, and earn more money as an affiliate marketer. By studying the key findings from these examples, and applying the methods learned to your own site, you can hopefully achieve the same positive outcomes.

New affiliate marketing success case studies are being published every month and I’ll continue to update this list as they become available. So keep checking back to read the current sources of information on affiliate marketing.

7 Affiliate Marketing Trends You Need to Know in 2022

Online shopping is expected to rake in about $5 trillion dollars this year. That represents about a quarter of all retail sales worldwide.

If you want in on this action, affiliate marketing is the way to go. But just as the eCommerce market is constantly evolving, so is what’s driving affiliates’ success. Read on to find out the latest affiliate marketing trends, from artificial intelligence to livestream, and how you can capitalize on them.

Ready? Let’s go.

1. A move toward virtual shopping

It’s much simpler to click a few buttons on your smartphone than it is to haul yourself to a brick-and-mortar store to buy what you need. Today, people are spending more and more via eCommerce thanks to its convenience and 24/7 availability.

China is the largest country for Livestream shopping, but the trend is making its way around the globe.

While many big retailers are taking advantage of this trend and focusing more of their efforts on online shopping, this is also a great opportunity for affiliate marketers . No matter whether you’re a big affiliate marketer with tons of partnerships, or a new one just starting out, you can benefit from this affiliate marketing trend.

Big eCommerce retailers including Amazon , eBay , and Walmart among many others have open-door policies for anyone looking to begin an affiliate partnership because it’s a win-win-win for all. You make money selling for the retailer, the retailers reach more customers, and customers get the products they need.

With so many online shoppers, all you need is a way to reach potential customers. Most affiliate programs are low-cost and low-risk so there is no way you can lose out by creating new affiliate partnerships. All you need to do is create your affiliate links and develop your strategy for guiding website visitors to click and shop.

2. Influencers on the rise

Personal recommendations are the best form of advertising. Influencer affiliate marketing is grand scale personal recommendations. People follow influencers because they trust and appreciate their recommendations and big retailers want to capitalize on this.

Influencers write blog posts or social media content and get compensated for purchases from their recommendations. You don’t need to be a celebrity or a public figure to take advantage of this affiliate marketing trend.

In fact, most brands prefer influencers who aren’t already huge. Today, most brands understand they can greatly benefit from working with micro-influencers, meaning influencers with between 5,000 and 20,000 followers. Today, 47.3% of influencers are micro-influencers, while 26.8% are mid-tier (20,000-100,000) and 18.74% are nano (1,000-5,000 followers). Influencers with fewer followers have better engagement, with nano-influencers having the highest engagement rate of 5% , compared with 1.6% for the biggest influencers in the industry.

Great news for you. Brands prefer working with tons of small influencers rather than with one huge one. There are tons of platforms and affiliate networks , such as eSavvy , for nano and micro-influencers to connect with big brands and start affiliate programs.

3. More video content

Videos are the most engaging type of content and with more and more platforms specializing in video (YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok), affiliate marketers must be taking advantage of this medium. People would rather watch a video, a story, or a Livestream event than read a post.

One of the biggest affiliate marketing trends for video content is Livestream shopping. This is when a retailer or influencer goes live on social media to discuss a product, answer questions, and maybe offer coupons or deals during an online event. Maybe it’s the peer pressure, timeliness of the event, or the thrill of live shopping, but people tend to make purchases during these events.

Smart affiliate marketers will get in on this trend and create engaging video content and live events. Here it is important to build an affiliate marketing strategy so that your video content is engaging and aligned with what your audience will like. You could create specific content that speaks to a niche audience and build your video social media presence.

4. It’s time to talk privacy and data safety

You might think all these measures to protect users’ data are bad for affiliate marketers , but they also present opportunities for you to improve your marketing intelligence .

As consumers become more tech-savvy, they are also becoming more aware of protecting their privacy and online data. Recently, many countries implemented new regulations to protect consumer privacy online.

• China’s Personal Information Protection Law took effect Nov. 1, 2021.
• California’s Consumer Privacy Act took effect Aug. 14, 2020.
• Brazil’s General Data Protection Law took effect Sept. 18, 2020.
• European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation took effect May 25, 2018 and has already companies including Amazon, WhatsApp, and Google , enormous fines.
• Upcoming: To protect privacy, many internet browsers now block third-party cookies, and Chrome will also phase out third-party cookies in 2023.

To improve your marketing without infringing on users’ privacy in the cookieless future , such as powering up your referral source analysis and target audience analysis .

5. AI is evolving

Gone are the days when hand-made or manual labor reign. This is the era of automation and anything that can be streamlined by technology should be. For you, this affiliate marketing trend could mean using artificial intelligence to bid on trending keywords, target different audiences with your PPC campaigns , or interact with your website visitors via a chatbox.

AI is a game-changer for affiliate marketing because it can save you tons of time, energy, and resources, while increasing your sales . Rather than spend your precious time analyzing data and updating campaigns, you can use AI technology to do this for you. This will free you up to invest your time in creating new strategies to grow your business, while AI takes care of the day-to-day.

How can you take advantage of AI in your affiliate marketing business? For starters, you can add a chatbox to your website to interact with visitors. The chatbox can answer questions, provide recommendations, and handle most of your online interactions. This improves the customer experience on your website and could lead to higher sales. AI tools can also help you optimize your content for SEO by providing insightful data, and they can even help prevent fraud on your website.

AI has proven to improve affiliate marketing sales by 30% . If you aren’t already using AI in your affiliate marketing business, you’re throwing money down the drain.

6. Grow partners and payment options

When Bitcoin first launched in 2009, no one was sure what to think of it. Would investing in it make you rich? Or was it an unstable trend that would soon be squashed by government regulation? More than a decade later, it’s pretty safe to say that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are here to stay.

People are investing more and more in digital currencies and, more recently NFTs . There are tons of cryptocurrency affiliate programs that you can join and give yourself a new revenue stream. With the crypto industry growing, there are tons of platforms for users to buy, sell, and trade their digital coins.

As the popularity of digital currencies grows, consumers are looking for more ways to spend their investments. Today about 36% of small businesses already accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. By accepting this type of payment, you’re opening your doors to more customers who might prefer buying from you rather than your credit card-loyal competitors.

Competition between these platforms is cutthroat, and many of them rely on affiliates to help them grow their market share . You can join one of these platform’s affiliate programs and start earning when your users trade their currencies. Some platforms offer huge incentives and commissions of up to 50% on transactions. We don’t have to tell you that’s an attractive rate for affiliate marketing.

7. Co-partnerships between affiliates

Ever heard the saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats?” While you might think other affiliates are your competition, you can actually both benefit by working together and supporting each other. Tons of affiliate programs already account for co-partnerships and many ensure you still get your full commission amount. You can also work with your partners to figure out how you can maximize revenues together.

For example, you can work with another affiliate in your industry to create joint content and introduce your affiliate partners to your audience. You’ll also get introduced to their audience and likely get new followers and website visitors. You could write a guest blog post for another affiliate, or even host a joint Livestream event together. This is a great way to expose yourself to a new audience in your industry.

Another option is to trade backlinks to each other’s websites. Backlinks are an important SEO booster, so this can be a useful practice to improve your Google search ranking.

Ride the latest affiliate marketing trends

2022 is set to be another profitable year for affiliate marketers. How profitable? Well, that depends on you. If you get in on these marketing trends, you’re sure to have a great year.

Further reading: 52 Affiliate Marketing Statistics for 2022

Stop Guessing, Start Analyzing

Find the affiliates that will drive quality traffic

Is affiliate marketing growing?

Yes. The number of online searches for affiliate marketing has grown exponentially since 2016 as more and more people want in on this business. Affiliate marketing is also a multi-billion dollar industry that is estimated to reach $12 billion in 2022. These numbers are only expected to grow as the world’s economy shifts toward more eCommerce and more people are interested in running their own businesses.

What is the #1 affiliate marketing trend I should adopt?

That really depends on you and your business! We know it may be difficult to adopt all of these trends at once, so it might be better for you to choose one that you believe you can excel at. Maybe you’re already creating great content , so why don’t you try more video content? Or maybe you need to expand your audience, so why not try partnering with another affiliate? Choose a trend or two that you can focus on and once you adopt them successfully, move on to another.

How do I successfully get in on a trend?

It’s important for you to create goals and KPIs so that you’ll know how successful you are at adopting a trend. You can track your activities and metrics and decide whether you were successful. If so, great job! If not, it’s important to review your activities and figure out how to improve.

How do I find affiliate programs for me?

There are hundreds of affiliate programs out there just waiting for you to get in on! You can use a tool such as Similarweb to conduct referral research and analysis. Our tool can help you find and analyze top referral sites and find potential partnerships to grow your business.

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How to Succeed in Affiliate Marketing: 10 Pro Tips for Getting Started

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