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A detailed guide to affiliate marketing from scratch. We have collected and structured all the useful materials on the topic that will help you learn how to drive traffic and earn with affiliate programs. Recommended for beginners.
Affiliate Marketing
What Is Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the purchase of advertising on social networks or websites for the purpose of earning money. A person who clicks on your ad will complete a target action, such as making a deposit with a service, registering, or making a purchase, and you will get paid for it. Simply put, it is buying internet traffic in one place and reselling it on more favorable terms elsewhere.
To work successfully in affiliate marketing, you need a funnel that, depending on the vertical, will include:
- Nutra vertical: Offer, traffic source (social networks, teaser networks), ad creative, landing page.
- iGaming vertical: Offer, traffic source (social networks, teaser networks), ad creative, app (iOS, Android, or PWA) or an influencer (if you work through one). There are also specific needs, such as processing incoming traffic.
Learn more about finding profitable funnels in the “Finding Funnels” section.
Terminology
If you are new to affiliate marketing, we strongly recommend starting by learning the terminology, which includes concepts such as offer, tracker, pre-lander, cloaker, and many others.
Terms you will need in a media buyer’s day-to-day work are available here:
Partnership Models
Affiliate marketing has several key partnership models, each with its own features and suited to different types of offers and target actions. Let’s look at the main ones.
CPA (Cost Per Action) – payment for a completed action
This is a payment model where a media buyer receives a reward for a specific action completed by a user. This can be a product purchase, app install, or other actions that matter to the advertiser. For example, in the Nutra vertical, this can be a confirmed order for the promoted offer. In gambling, it is making a first deposit.
CPL (Cost Per Lead) – payment per lead
A type of CPA model where a media buyer receives a reward for every lead, meaning every target action completed by a potential customer, regardless of whether they make a purchase. These are usually simple actions such as requesting a callback, registering, or subscribing to a newsletter.
This is a model where a media buyer receives a share of the profit generated by the customer they acquired throughout that customer’s interaction with the product or service. It is used in verticals such as gambling or subscription services. With high-quality traffic, this model is more profitable in the long run, but requires more working capital.
Which Affiliate Marketing Niche to Choose
A niche in affiliate marketing is an area where you will acquire and monetize traffic.
Popular Niches
- Gambling and Betting – include working with offers from online casinos, sportsbooks, lotteries, and other forms of gambling. CPA, Revshare, and Hybrid models are common in this niche, allowing a media buyer to earn both on a user’s first deposit and on their subsequent bets.
- Nutra – (from the word “nutrition”) is the promotion of health and beauty products. These can include dietary supplements, weight-loss products, skin and hair care products, vitamins, and much more. Learn more about the nutra vertical here: https://cpa.rip/blogs/trial-ss-cod-2022/.
- Crypto – is a niche related to cryptocurrency projects. It includes promoting crypto exchanges, wallets, training courses, and ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings).
- E-commerce – selling physical products online. This can include gadgets, clothing, home goods, automotive products, and much more. Media buyers in this niche work under CPA models or for a percentage of sales.
- Dating – promoting dating websites and apps, where earnings come from user registrations or subscriptions. Learn more about the dating vertical: https://cpa.rip/raznoe/dating-vertikal/.
- Sweepstakes – is a niche based on offers that let users participate in various giveaways and lotteries. Sweepstakes appeal to users because they can win valuable prizes, such as cars, cash, or gadgets, with minimal effort. Media buyers are paid per lead. Learn more about sweepstakes here: https://cpa.rip/stati/sweepstakes/
- Fintech – (financial technology) is the promotion of financial products and services, such as credit cards, loans, insurance, bank accounts, and much more.
- Search arbitrage – (search arbitrage) is the purchase of cheaper traffic from different sources and its subsequent resale at a higher price to advertisers on a search-results marketplace (a search feed from Google, Bing, etc.).
Finding Funnels
A funnel in affiliate marketing is a combination of several key elements that together form a traffic buying strategy. A funnel includes a traffic source (such as Facebook Ads or Google Ads), ad creative, offer, landing page, and even a bid at which the funnel remains profitable.
A media buyer’s task is to test different combinations to find the most effective funnel that delivers the maximum profit.
Read about finding funnels for white-hat e-commerce here:
Besides finding a profitable funnel through your own testing, you can find and replicate other people’s funnels. Use spy services for your research.
- How to find funnels using the AdHeart.me spy service as an example: Spy Service for Facebook Ads. Finding Profitable Funnels in Affiliate Marketing.
How to Bypass a Cloaker
Once you find someone else’s funnel, you will need to bypass the cloaker to see the final landing page and offer.
Clocking is the process of hiding advertising content from ad platform moderators as well as competitors.
Read about effective ways to bypass a cloaker here:
You can download a landing page you find using one of the methods in this article: 8 Ways to Download a Landing Page, Free and Paid.
How to Choose an Affiliate Network
Affiliate networks provide media buyers with offers to promote. We recommend working only with trusted affiliate networks and direct advertisers.
- Our affiliate program directory – https://cpa.rip/partners/
How to Choose an Offer
After deciding on a niche and choosing an affiliate network, you need to find a good offer. It is best to ask your affiliate network manager, since they know which offers convert well in which GEOs at the moment and can recommend one suited specifically to your traffic source.
You can also find offers in the https://offer.help/ offer aggregator.
Traffic Sources
You can identify the following sources for driving traffic to offers:
Paid Sources
Our directory of traffic-selling services: https://cpa.rip/networks/
- Targeted advertising, such as Facebook Ads. Used to reach a specific audience.
- Search advertising, such as Google Ads. Ads shown to users based on their search queries.
- Native ads/teasers – text-and-image ads embedded in content as part of a website’s content.
- Push notifications – notifications sent to users’ devices.
- In-App – advertising displayed inside mobile apps. Learn more about In-app traffic: https://cpa.rip/advertising/in-app/.
- Banner ads – a graphic ad format displayed as a banner on a website.
- Popunder – an ad that opens in a new browser tab when a user visits a page.
- Clickunder – an ad that opens in a new browser tab when a user clicks anywhere on a page.
Free (Organic) Traffic Sources
These sources require minimal investment but take considerable time and effort. This can include organic traffic from Telegram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social platforms. It is well suited for beginners.
Check out these materials on free (organic) traffic:
- Free Traffic Sources
- Free (Organic) Traffic (UBT) From YouTube Shorts to Telegram Channels and Dating Offers
- Free (Organic) Traffic (UBT) From TikTok to Dating Through Stitch
- How Media Buyers Drive Free (Organic) Traffic From TikTok to Dating
- Organic Traffic on Telegram: How to Collect Free SEO Traffic for Financial Offers
- Creating a Telegram Bot for Free (Organic) Traffic With a Builder
- Free (Organic) Traffic for E-commerce: Sources, Approaches, Methods
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) and working with doorways are long-term traffic acquisition strategies that require expertise in this area, tools, and time. A doorway is an automatically generated website built on generated content. Learn more in this article:
- Doorways: What They Are and How to Make Money With Them
- YouTube Doorways: How Affiliates Drive Traffic to E-commerce From Channels
ASO
App Store Optimization is the optimization of apps to improve their visibility in app stores and attract organic traffic. It is typically used in the gambling vertical.
Tools, Services, and Supplies
- Useful tools and services directory – https://cpa.rip/links/
- Antidetect browsers – https://cpa.rip/services/antidetect-browser/
- Trackers – https://cpa.rip/services/cpa-trackers/
- Auto-launch services – https://cpa.rip/services/auto-facebook/
- Spy services – https://cpa.rip/services/spy-service/
- App rental services – https://cpa.rip/services/apps-rental/
- SMS activation services – https://cpa.rip/services/sms-services/
- Hosting – https://cpa.rip/hosting/free-vps-vds/ – a list of hosting providers with a trial period.
- Free Digitalocean Droplet (virtual machine) for 2 months – https://cpa.rip/hosting/digitalocean-droplet/
- Landing page download tools: https://cpa.rip/stati/copy-landing/
- White page generators – https://cpa.rip/services/white-page-generators/
- ROI calculator – https://cpa.rip/roi/
- Proxies – https://cpa.rip/services/proxy/
- Cloaking services – https://cpa.rip/services/top-cloaking/
- Agency accounts – https://cpa.rip/services/agency-accounts/
- Browser extensions for working with Facebook – https://cpa.rip/services/chrome-facebook-plugins/
Promo Codes for Tools and Services
You can pay for many affiliate services and tools at a discount using the CPARIP promo code. They are available on this page:
Payment Services for Affiliate Marketing
Card issuance services for affiliate marketing with Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and TikTok Ads:
Effective ways to link payment cards to Facebook Ads:
Choosing a Tracker
A tracker collects data on every click, visit, and user action, allowing you to optimize campaigns, filter bots, and much more. Our selection of CPA trackers for affiliate marketing:
The selection includes both cloud-based and server-side solutions. They all offer different features and functionality. Some are designed for cloaking. Choose according to your capabilities and needs. We use Keitaro as our primary tracker.
Installing and Configuring the Keitaro Tracker
Keitaro is a powerful tool for traffic tracking and ad campaign management. Before driving traffic, you need to properly configure the tracker, add landing pages, and set up traffic filtering.
To install the tracker, you need to purchase any VDS that meets the requirements:
For example, you can purchase a VDS with automatic Keitaro installation from Friendhosting. Installation instructions are available on the official Keitaro website:
Check out the detailed guide to configuring the Keitaro tracker, which covers the stages from adding an affiliate network to creating a Facebook Ads campaign:
If you need to move the tracker to another server, use this guide:
Adding Landing Pages to the Keitaro Tracker
The Keitaro tracker supports several ways of working with landing pages:
- Redirect – traffic is sent to an external website through a redirect.
- Local landing page – uploading an archive containing the landing page directly to the tracker.
We recommend using the second method because it lets you configure traffic routing and filter traffic without redirects that trigger ad networks. You can request a local landing page and instructions for connecting it from the affiliate network you will drive traffic to.
Detailed instructions for adding a landing page to the Keitaro tracker:
Configuring Campaigns and Traffic Filtering in Keitaro
For traffic filtering, you can use the free cloaker https://cpa.rip/script/yellow-cloaker/ or one of the paid options from this list: https://cpa.rip/services/top-cloaking/. The most popular paid option is Keitaro.
We wrote a detailed guide on configuring a campaign for Facebook advertising: https://cpa.rip/services/keitaro-tracker/#Sozdanie_kampanii_v_trekere_Keitaro. We also covered a simple traffic filtering setup using Keitaro filters:
Other materials on traffic filtering:
- Traffic Filtering Through Keitaro v10 Tracker With ISP Databases.
- Traffic Filtering by UTM Parameter Through the Keitaro Tracker.
- Facebook Traffic Filtering Through Click Api Client V2/V3 and Keitaro.
- Js Client + Keitaro. Builders.
- Traffic Filtering Through Javascript Integration in Keitaro.
- Cloaking Through the Tilda JS Website Builder Using Cloakit.pro.
- Cloaking Facebook Through Shopify Using IM KLO.
- Facebook Traffic Filtering Using a Github Domain + Keitaro.
- TikTok Ads Traffic Filtering With Keitaro Filters.
- Google Ads Cloaking in 2022: An Effective Method.
- Cloaking Google Using altercpa.one in 2022.
- Automatically Updated List of Facebook, Google, and Bing Bot IP Addresses.
When configuring cloaking, you will need a white page to which bots and ad network moderators will be redirected. To create one, use one of the white page generators:
Configuring Keitaro for Driving Traffic to PWA and WebView Apps
When working with the Gambling vertical and driving traffic to PWA and WebView apps, campaign settings differ. A detailed guide is available here:
Setting Up Postback
Setting up postback in a tracker is the process of integrating the tracker with an affiliate network or advertising platform to automatically transmit conversion data. A detailed configuration guide is available in this article:
Sending lead notifications to a Telegram bot for convenient real-time tracking:
Ad Network Pixels
To optimize an ad campaign on the ad network side, you need to configure a Pixel, an analytics tool that lets you track visitor actions on a website and measure the effectiveness of your advertising. For more complete data transmission, you can additionally use Dataset and Conversions API, connect advertising accounts, and integrate them with the tracker.
Facebook Pixel
- Automatic Facebook Pixel Forwarding to the “Thank You” Page
- Sending the Facebook Pixel Through API Using RSupport
- How to Configure a Facebook Pixel for a Button: Step-by-Step Instructions.
- Trimmed Facebook Pixel: A Growth Hack From IM Group.
- Protecting a Facebook Ads Business Manager Pixel From Bans (Master Pixel).
- Creating a Dataset in Meta, Configuring CAPI, Connecting Accounts, and Integrating With a Tracker
TikTok Pixel
A highly detailed technical guide to configuring and working with the TikTok pixel:
Google Tag
A step-by-step guide to setting up conversion goals in Google Ads for a “Thank You” page using Google Tag Manager:
Sending Conversions From Telegram to Keitaro and Facebook
In the iGaming vertical, traffic is often directed to a Telegram channel. To drive traffic with conversion optimization, you need to set up the transfer of information about new subscriptions. We covered step by step an option implemented with a Python script through the Telethon library, with conversions sent to the Keitaro tracker and to Facebook through Conversion API:
Where to Find Landing Pages and Pre-Landers
Affiliate Programs
Most CPA networks and affiliate programs provide ready-made landing pages and pre-landers in offer cards. You can download them directly from your affiliate network dashboard.
If the required material is unavailable or needs refinement, affiliate network technical support can often help:
- translate a page;
- adapt an existing landing page;
- create a page for a media buyer’s specific tasks.
Finding Ready-Made Solutions and Examples
You can search for suitable landing pages and pre-landers through open sources and niche platforms:
- Ad libraries and spy services let you study competitors’ ads, the ad creatives they use, and links to landing pages.
Facebook Ad Library: How to Find Creatives and Funnels: https://cpa.rip/facebook/facebook-ads-library/
- Search engines help you find examples of pages using keywords related to the required vertical, such as cryptocurrencies, nutra, or gambling.
- Affiliate marketing chats and niche communities often publish collections of pre-landers, advertising funnels, and visual solutions for different verticals.
That means you can look for ideas and suitable examples in several sources at once: ad libraries, search engines, spy services, and professional communities.
It is best to use the materials you find as a basis for analysis and further development of your own page: adapt the copy, design, and visual elements to a specific audience, GEO, and the requirements of the advertising platform. To translate and adapt a landing page for different GEOs, you can use AI tools and ready-made instructions:
Ordering Development
If ready-made solutions do not work for you, you can order a pre-lander from specialists:
- a frontend developer;
- a web designer;
- a copywriter;
- a team that develops advertising pages.
Some affiliate networks also have their own technical departments that can develop a page specifically for a media buyer’s tasks.
Creating Ad Creatives
An ad creative is a tool for the first visual impact on a potential buyer, intended to engage them and prompt a deliberate click on an ad. You can create ad creatives yourself, order them from professionals, or use ones found in spy services.
Creative Collections
The Aff_Lab Telegram channel regularly posts fresh, interesting ad creatives across different verticals:
Searching in Spy Services
When working with spy services, it is important not to simply copy other people’s ad creatives, but to adapt them to your offer and make them unique when needed.
- https://cpa.rip/services/spy-service/
- https://cpa.rip/services/adheart/
- https://cpa.rip/facebook/facebook-ads-library/
Templates for Gambling Creatives
To create gambling ad creatives yourself, you can use ready-made templates. Learn more in the following materials:
- https://cpa.rip/gambling-betting/green-screen/
- https://cpa.rip/gambling-betting/gambling-creatives-video-project/
- https://cpa.rip/blogs/capture-sources-for-live/
- https://cpa.rip/blogs/diy-gambling-creatives/
- https://cpa.rip/blogs/gambling-elements-for-creativity/
Nutra Creatives
A set of basic tips for working with visuals when creating effective ad creatives for the Nutra vertical that will help you overcome banner blindness and attract your target audience.
Ways to use the “before/after” approach in ad creatives for nutra offers in Facebook Ads.
How and Where to Order Creatives for Gambling, Nutra, and E-commerce
We recommend that beginners use professional services and order ad creatives. To ensure your creatives deliver the desired results, you need to find the right contractor and prepare a proper brief. Learn more in the following article:
Apps for the Gambling Vertical
In the gambling vertical, traffic is usually driven to mobile apps that have already passed moderation in Google Play or the App Store, with traffic then redirected to gambling offers through hidden mechanisms within those apps. This helps pass moderation on advertising platforms such as Facebook and Google. Apps also increase conversion rates because they remain on the user’s device and the user will return to them, including through push notifications.
Some affiliate networks provide ready-made apps adapted to offers, or you can rent apps yourself through rental services:
In addition to native mobile apps, there are two more types of apps used in affiliate marketing: PWA and WebView.
PWA (Progressive Web Apps) – these are progressive web apps that work like standard websites and do not require publication in app stores. A user can install a PWA directly through a browser by simply adding it to their home screen.
- How to Create a PWA App in a Builder for Driving Traffic From Facebook
- Configuring the Keitaro Tracker for Driving Traffic to PWA and WebView Apps
A WebView app is a mobile application that serves as a shell for displaying web content and appears to the user as a full-fledged mobile app.
- How to Create a Simple WebView App for Affiliate Marketing
- What Are WebView Apps and Placeholder Apps for Different Verticals
Facebook as a Traffic Source for Affiliate Marketing
Facebook is one of the most popular traffic sources for affiliate marketing thanks to its massive audience and precise targeting capabilities. However, it requires high-quality accounts, careful ad campaign setup, working payment methods, and a reliable cloaker for traffic filtering.
Facebook FAQ
We collected all the growth hacks and nuances of working with Facebook in one extensive FAQ:
Facebook Accounts
A Facebook account is used to launch and manage advertising campaigns, while Business Manager helps you centrally manage pages, ad accounts, pixels, and employee access. To scale advertising, you can use agency accounts, which provide additional limits, stability, and agency support.
- TOP 8 Agency Accounts for Facebook Ads and Google Ads.
- Facebook Business Manager: What It Is and How to Work With It.
- 11 Ways to Create a Business Manager in Facebook.
How to Add a Facebook Account to an Antidetect Browser
A step-by-step guide for beginners:
Facebook Account Farming
To launch Facebook ads successfully, you need high-quality accounts. This article explains what farming is and how to farm Facebook accounts for launching ads:
Preparing a Fan Page
A Fan Page is used as the public page of a brand or project from which Facebook ads are launched. Before launching campaigns, you need to prepare it: fill in the information, design the profile, and make sure the page meets the advertising platform’s requirements. If necessary, you can transfer a Fan Page to another account or Business Manager.
- Preparing a Fan Page to Launch Facebook Ads
- Transferring a Facebook Fan Page to Another Account or Business Manager
Facebook Campaign Management Methods
Different approaches to running Facebook ad campaigns, from using a personal ad account to setups with KING accounts and Business Manager.
Setting Up and Launching an Ad Campaign in Facebook Ads
We covered the interface, tools, and steps for setting up Facebook Ads step by step, using a lead-generation campaign as an example. It is suitable for working with verticals such as nutra, e-commerce, crypto, and others.
Ad Campaign Optimization
After launching an ad campaign, it is important to regularly monitor its metrics and make manual adjustments: change the budget, disable ineffective ads, test new creatives, and reallocate funds between successful funnels. You should pay special attention to comments under ad posts, as they affect how users perceive the ad and may influence campaign results.
Working With Automated Rules in Facebook Ads
Automated rules in Facebook Ads are automated actions that you can configure to manage your ad campaigns.
- 5 Basic Automated Rules for Media Buyers
- A Script for Automatically Creating 4 Basic Automated Rules in Facebook Ads.
Testing a Funnel
Before scaling an ad campaign, you need to test the combination of landing page, offer, and ad creatives. This helps identify the most effective combinations, compare their performance, and find elements that need improvement.
Scaling Facebook Ads Campaigns
Once you find an effective funnel, you can scale it to increase the volume of target traffic. This involves increasing the budget, expanding the audience, and launching ads for an already successful post while preserving accumulated reactions, comments, and social proof.
Export/Import of Facebook Ads Campaigns
To save time, you can transfer ad campaigns from one Facebook account to another, for example after a ban or for scaling. To transfer them, use this step-by-step guide:
Facebook Auto-Launch
To reduce routine work and conveniently scale profitable funnels, you can use automation tools:
- Auto-launch services – https://cpa.rip/services/auto-facebook/
Getting an EAAB Access token from a Facebook Ads account and an EAAG Business Manager token:
No Ad Delivery
Sometimes a Facebook Ads campaign does not receive delivery after launch. The cause may be issues with moderation, audience settings, budget, bid, payment data, or advertising account restrictions. Before making changes, it is important to check the ad status, campaign settings, and any notifications in Ads Manager.
Types and Reasons for Bans
When working with Facebook Ads, you may encounter various restrictions: ad rejection due to Policy, payment issues Risk Payment, Rejected status, or an account ban through Checkpoint. To reduce risks, it is important to follow advertising rules, check the creatives and landing pages you use, and file an appeal correctly if a restriction is imposed in error.
- Reasons and Risk Minimization When Working With Facebook Ads: Policy, Risk Payment, Rejected, and Checkpoint
- Reasons for “Policy” Ad Rejections in Facebook Ads. Category Table
- How to Properly Appeal Facebook Policy Decisions?
Working Setup in Facebook Ads
For stable ad operations, it is important to organize your setup correctly: determine the structure of ad assets, configure access for team members, and protect accounts, pages, and ad accounts.
Google as a Traffic Source for Affiliate Marketing
Google Ads gives media buyers access to a massive audience through search and display networks. Here are several materials on working with this source:
- Affiliate Marketing With Google Ads. A Practical Guide and Recommendations
- Registering Google Ads Accounts for Launching Ads, Self-Registered Accounts
- Farming Accounts for GOOGLE ADS in 2022.
- Installing Google Tag and Setting Up Google Ads Events for a “Thank You” Page.
TikTok as a Traffic Source for Affiliate Marketing
The platform lets you configure targeted ads that effectively attract users through short, dynamic videos. Here are several materials on working with this source:
- How to Promote Nutra on TikTok: Free and Paid Methods
- Guide: Driving Traffic to Nutra From TikTok
- Driving Traffic From TikTok: Account Warm-Up and Bypassing Moderation
- How to Drive Gambling Traffic on TikTok?
Affiliate Marketing Training
Affiliate marketing training, whether a paid or free course, is the shortest path to understanding the subject. It is important to choose reputable courses with real reviews so you do not fall for a scam or simply low-quality training.
Networking as Part of Affiliate Marketing Training
Networking is an important part of a media buyer’s development. Attending conferences and being active in affiliate marketing chats help broaden your horizons, gain valuable advice, and find new partners.
Conferences
Our calendar of affiliate marketing conferences, events, and meetups:
Affiliate Marketing Chats
A large database of affiliate marketing chats and channels:
Working in Affiliate Teams
Working in affiliate teams lets you gain experience faster. It is an excellent option for beginners who want to enter the industry more quickly. Directory of affiliate teams with descriptions and contacts:
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