As always, going to the Affiliate Summit, the largest global affiliate conference of its kind, is something everyone in the field should experience. For Avangate, it’s a way for us to share our digital goods expertise, discover the latest market trends, learn what the top players are doing, and meet and connect with clients and prospects.
It’s official; we’re #1 again — Thank you!
Yes, it’s confirmed: Once again, for the second year in a row, we were named as the #1 CPS affiliate network for digital goods (and #4 overall). It’s a great achievement, and we thank all of our supporters for voting for us and our awesome team. Following on the heals of the AffStat 2015 survey, which ranked Avangate as the 5th most popular affiliate network, this is yet another affirmation of our status as a premier affiliate network.
While getting here was hard, staying here was even harder. Thank you for your vote of trust!
Who do you think is our biggest competitor in terms of an affiliate network?
Conversion Rate Optimization bonanza
Representing Avangate at the Summit was conversion guru Shannon Macleod, who gave a presentation on Sunday about conversion rate optimization (CRO). Shannon’s presentation included some great examples and drove home the points that you need to test everything and optimization is critical to growth. Tweet
Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about our CRO services.
RevShare Roundup debut
Avangate also participated in a Sunday session aimed at bringing affiliates together with merchants/agencies and networks. Teodora Dobjanschi was there to represent two of Avangate’s top customers, and to help them in their quest to find new high-performing affiliates. Both clients were kind enough to offer complimentary test licenses for their software titles, which led to the addition of some new affiliates that we are looking forward to working with.
If you’d like to become an affiliate and promote security / utilities or audio-video tools, please leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you.
Meet Market vibe
On Sunday, we participated in the Meet Market from 12 to 6 PM. Here you were able to meet some very cool companies that are active in the affiliate world. It’s a mandatory event for any exhibitor, and hosting a table left us little time to post an update on Twitter or Facebook. It’s definitely a must do in terms of exposure at the Affiliate Summit, even if you’re getting a booth on Monday and Tuesday.
Avangate Networking Dinner: creating new opportunities
Capping the Summit and Sunday’s event was a client dinner hosted by Avangate, where we got the chance to wine and dine current customers (and prospects) and partners and connect them with new affiliates. The night featured some great conversation and even better food and beverages, and we thank everyone who was able to attend – and the staff and facilities that provided the master chef level food and beverages.
Trends
Apart from the usual “I need traffic” / “I sell traffic” / “Can you supply traffic” etc., there were a couple of notable trends to note:
- The number of advertisers are now running services companies – from various online collaboration or recruitment tools to accounting software or online tech support. Digital goods are clearly on the rise and we’re riding that wave;
- Affiliates are willing to try new lucrative niche markets. We met with a number of potential publishers that weren’t currently promoting digital goods but were clearly excited by the opportunities offered by Avangate. Now, we’re just waiting for confirmation;
- CPA networks are consolidating – remember a couple of years ago when CPA networks were expanding? Well, only the “fittest” seem to have survived, and they’re getting stronger on their niches. That’s a good thing, as it will impact the quality of traffic and offers as well.
So…
Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise looking to leverage performance marketing, Affiliate Summit is something you need to experience – at least once. The next one is in New York, July 31st – August 2nd, 2016 – Meet us there.
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