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An advise to your former newbie self - which traffic source to run? (4)

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Hey guys,


Its only my first few days here on this forum and I'm already learning SO much.

I used to work for a network and therefore am not new to AM. Truth be told, I've seen my fair share of PPV failures during my network days. But like everything else, those who dominate the scene REALLY make big cash and its crazy how much volume they can bring in. For the "run of the mill" PPV affiliates that I have witnessed however, they spend $$$$$$ on 50 keywords/URLs per day with barely any conversions.

In the "getting started" subcategory, it is mentioned that :

@Despite what you may have heard, it's best to avoid media buying or PPV(LeadImpact or TrafficVance). PPV is simply too competitive right now. Media buying is far too expensive and too easy to get burned on when you're starting out. ;

I can definitely see where this is coming from, and also understand that these days - certain PPV niches (diabetes pills etc) are your best bet to succeed. The question is - is PPV still worth trying at this day and age?

I enjoy exploring different angles, targeting etc and since I am currently in the analytics field - I am not daunted by numbers. So far I have yet to launch a campaign, and when I do I am sure that I could learn so much more from the data. For now, I am unsure about venturing into PPV. But for sure, I will be on the road to run mobile campaigns. App installs and other mobile offers seem interesting.

Yes, I know that there isn't a definite answer as to which traffic source is the best to start with. But lets make this an interesting question If you could give your past-newbie-AM-self an advise on which traffic source to choose, what would it be, and why?


Any advise is greatly appreciated. I value all your input

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Hey Belle,

By "PPV" I'm going to assume you're talking about desktop PPV since you mentioned Leadimpact and TrafficVance. Technically, now mobile pops can also considered as PPV as they fit under that bidding model.

I believe the comment about PPV being "too competitive right now" was made in 2013 - probably during the peak of its popularity, when every affiliate and their dog were jumping onboard. It's an interesting question now as I would say the majority of affiliates have shifted their focus onto mobile. I know I haven't touched it in years - now could be the time to get back there and try it out - if it's something you're confident in I would say it could be worth a shot. Someone also asked a similar question here: http://stmforum.com/forum/showthread...-traffic-model

This discussion has some great points but I think is more focussed on mobile pops rather than desktop: http://stmforum.com/forum/showthread...th-pop-traffic

As for what traffic source I would start with... I'm happy to have started on POF as I felt it was a good way to learn the ropes, with many targeting options and optimisation to be done with banners and landing pages. Although that's no good to you as they no longer accept affiliates :P

Decisive is another source we have been pushing newbies toward for a while now. It's reasonably competitive now and not nearly as easy as it used to be to get profitable on.. But I think it's a great place to learn. You get a lot of live stats to look at and really to see the numbers and the effect they have on each other.

Best of luck with whatever you choose!

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Thanks! Yes I was kinda sad that POF no longer accepts new affiliates!

Thanks for the Decisive suggestion, I'll definitely try that

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If you're going to try decisive - I suggest you have a look through Carmen's mobile cookbook guides. You'll be a pro on there in no time

And from there, I think you learn the skills that are transferable to most other sources.

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