How is it that some affiliate marketers make it big, but others don't? They get more and more traffic for every affiliate promotion and, ultimately, a significantly greater amount of commission. So what is it that they are doing differently?

One of their biggest secret sauce is knowing which traffic sources are going to work best for what type of promotion. We are way past blogging being the only affiliate traffic source. Plenty of available traffic sources are out there for you to tap into. With this blog, we are going to cover what the major affiliate traffic sources are and which ones can be considered the best traffic sources for affiliate marketing. 

What are Affiliate Traffic Sources all about?

Affiliate traffic source refers to platforms that divert visitors to the landing page or website of the affiliate product/service that is being promoted. Affiliate marketers use them to promote the service. They act as a medium that helps potential customers discover new brands that can be of relevance to them. 

Monetize Your Traffic – Become an Affiliate!

Think of it this way. Suppose you are a blogger who has just ventured out into affiliate marketing. You choose a product to promote, and for that, you create a how-to blog. After inserting your affiliate link and posting the blog, you start seeing a surge in the number of people who click on that link to check out the product. This traffic that was converted from your blog will be considered as 'affiliate traffic', and your blog will be the 'source'.

Affiliate marketing for businesses is all about getting new users (or leads). When you start focusing on the quality of your traffic, leads will increase, and you will start earning more commission.

Affiliate Traffic Sources- Paid and Organic

Broadly speaking, we can classify affiliate traffic sources into two categories- paid and medium. 

Paid 

Any traffic that you get from paid sources, such as ads, is considered to be a paid traffic source. They can either be a result of paid campaigns run on search engine platforms through Google ads or other ad networks or on social media platforms.

While they do cost you a bit, the results are far better than what organic means can achieve. Through paid ads, you get a quick, targeted reach within the audience that is most likely to buy the product. All you need to do is convince them to use your affiliate link while making the purchase. 

Organic 

Traffic that you generate through unpaid means is called your organic traffic. As an affiliate marketer, this traffic will solely rely on your existing presence on the internet. If your followers on social media platforms and current website traffic is high, then the traffic you generate will naturally be higher. 

However, plenty of affiliate marketers often hit the nail with their organic promotions, generating high traffic despite having low followings. 

A Deeper Dive 

Now that we're familiar with what the major affiliate traffic sources are, let's understand the best ones in a bit more detail. 

PPC Advertising 

Running ads for affiliate products and services has been a major trend among affiliate marketers lately. The reason? They work amazingly well if you need to be promoted in the short term. You can very easily reach your target audience with a little investment on your part- paying only once someone clicks on your link/ad. It's very similar to how brands advertise their own products, except this time, it's affiliates promoting somebody else's products. 

Traffic received through paid advertising can further be classified based on what type of ad you are using. They can be: 

Banner Traffic: Banner ads are primarily known for their visual appeal. They appear on the free spaces of the website, usually at the top or at the sidebar. Website visitors who come across this ad and click on the link attached to it come under banner traffic.

Push Traffic: Push traffic comes from ads that appear as push notifications on a website. They don't take up much space and convey the offer in very few words. 

Native Traffic: Native traffic is generated through ads that subtly appear on the website. They follow the tone and context of the original content of the webpage without looking too intrusive. 

Pop Traffic: Pop traffic can be generated from two types of ad formats- popup and popunder. Popup ads appear on the webpage as soon as it is opened, while popunder ads remain hidden behind the browser window. 

Paid Search Traffic: Traffic generated from ads that show up when a specific term is searched for is called paid search traffic. It works by bidding on keywords, wherein your affiliate link shows up in the search results.