Affiliate marketing has come a long way from its humble beginnings. What was once a basic digital sales tactic has now evolved into a powerhouse, driving billions in revenue each year.
With affiliate marketing spending reaching around $16 billion in 2024[1], it’s no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s a must-have for brands looking to stay competitive. But in a space crowded with affiliate networks, coupon sites, and browser extensions, it’s crucial to keep your strategy sharp. If you haven’t evolved with the times, you could be missing out on untapped potential — or worse, getting left behind.
The affiliate landscape is complex. Brands often rely on affiliate networks, who in turn work with a vast chain of sub-affiliate networks comprising a variety of content creators, influencers, blog and website owners, browser extensions, and third-party review or coupon sites.
A significant amount of conversions driven by these sub-affiliates now take place through extensions and coupon sites, both of which pose distinct challenges for brands. Browser extensions often showcase offers from competing brands, increasing the likelihood of consumers opting for a rival’s deal. Moreover, these tools often prioritize commissions for the extension provider over maximizing benefits for the brand, which can limit conversion potential.
Similarly, coupon sites tend to attract discount-seeking consumers, but they often only appeal to a relatively small segment of the market. These consumers often browse multiple coupon platforms, splitting commissions and reducing payouts for all involved.
The Challenges with Traditional Sub-Affiliates
Traditional affiliate marketing often relies on sub-affiliate networks, which connect brands to a vast ecosystem of publishers, influences, and coupon sites. While this approach can expand reach, it comes with significant drawbacks:
1. Type of Inventory
Traditional sub-affiliate networks typically offer a mix of inventory types, including coupons, content, cashback, loyalty, and extension traffic. While this approach may appear to cover all bases, it often leads to a more diluted audience, as brands compete for attention in the same space.
2. Publisher Relationships
Sub-affiliates generally act as a bridge to a network of affiliates, without exclusivity. While this can expand reach, it also means brands lack direct control over where and how their messaging is presented, which leads to fragmented and inconsistent brand representation.
3. Transparency
Brands frequently struggle with limited visibility into where traffic is coming from, how ads are being placed, and the overall performance of campaigns. This lack of insight makes it challenging to optimize strategies effectively.
4. Brand Safety
With sub-affiliates, there’s always the risk that your brand may appear next to inappropriate or irrelevant content. Given the multiple layers of intermediaries, it’s challenging to ensure that your brand is represented in environments that align with your values.
5. Complete Control
Advertisers have limited control over where the brand appears or how it is marketed. The more intermediaries involved, the less control you have over your brand’s narrative and performance.
6. Account Management
Traditional networks lack dedicated account management support. Without a clear point of contact, brands often face challenges navigating complex campaigns, optimizing performance, and troubleshooting issues.
7. Optimization
Optimization can be slow and difficult due to the long chain between the brand and the publisher. This fragmented structure often leads to inefficiencies and delays in making adjustments based on performance data.
Here’s how VEVE addresses the key challenges:
VEVE is a privacy-first, transparent branding and performance solution designed to help you reach untapped audiences. By offering unique inventory, direct publisher relationships, and unparalleled transparency, VEVE empowers brands to take control of their affiliate strategies. Here’s how we do it:
1. Unique Inventory
VEVE offers unique and incremental browser homepage inventory. This exclusive, high-visibility inventory ensures your brand stands out and captures user attention in an organic and direct manner.
2. Publisher Relationships
Through our exclusive, global, and direct partnerships with premium publishers, we ensure your brand is represented in top-tier spaces with greater control over the quality of traffic, enhancing your brand’s impact and performance.
3. Transparency
Transparency is a core principle at VEVE. We offer 100% visibility into traffic sources and ad placements. Our detailed dashboard gives you real-time access to track clicks and conversion. This transparency allows you to make data-driven decisions, optimize campaigns, and ensure you’re getting the best possible ROI.
4. Brand Safety
We provide fraud-free, bot-free, and high-quality organic traffic, ensuring your brand is placed only in safe, relevant, and premium environments, safeguarding your reputation and maintaining the integrity of your marketing efforts.
5. Complete Control
VEVE offers complete control over your affiliate marketing efforts. You can pick and choose the inventory that aligns with your brand’s marketing objectives, ensuring that your campaigns are tailored to your specific needs
6. Account Management
We offer dedicated account managers to ensure that your affiliate marketing strategy is set up for success. Our team works closely with you to refine your campaigns, address any concerns, and provide ongoing support for maximum performance.
7. Optimization
Our in-house operations and tech teams are experienced and work directly with you to drive maximum value from your campaigns. This close collaboration allows us to quickly identify opportunities for improvement and implement optimizations to ensure your campaigns are performing at their best.
The Power of a Single Touchpoint
At VEVE, we’ve simplified affiliate marketing with a results-driven approach. As the sole touchpoint for 90% of conversions, we create a direct path from click to sale, reducing competition and boosting conversion rates. Our platform provides clear tracking and real-time performance insights, helping brands optimize campaigns for maximum impact.
Don’t Get Left Behind: Future-Proof Your Affiliate Strategy with VEVE
Affiliate marketing can be a highly effective way to drive growth, but choosing the right partner can make all the difference. VEVE offers a better way forward—one that empowers businesses to take control of their affiliate marketing efforts while maximizing their ROI.
References:
[1] Shopify– https://www.shopify.com/in/blog/affiliate-marketing-statistics
