[Affiliate Case Study] Clickbank direct linking success

by 85 replies
93
Hey Guys!

I wanted to share a case study on one of the ways I've been successfully making affiliate sales on Clickbank.

This case study involves paid advertising so if you're looking to make money with free methods this is not for you.

*** UPDATE OCTOBER 22: New video with all my case studies in one video. It's a long one, but shows 5 different ways of successfully promoting Clickbank offers:
https://youtu.be/kLcdLqiSYec

ORIGINAL BING ADS CASE STUDY VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/TQMZzAMTrEo

*** UPDATE OCTOBER 14: New video showing how Bing Ads direct linking can work with any affiliate network (not just Clickbank):
https://youtu.be/Se3jwG0wx5A

*** UPDATE OCTOBER 9: New Bing Ads/Clickbank case study video. The video includes campaign setup, and results:
https://youtu.be/gtswraV6DJ4

*** UPDATE OCTOBER 1: New Clickbank & Native Ads case study video. Although this thread is about direct linking a lot of people have asked me to do a native case study as well. The video includes product selection, campaign setup, and results:
https://youtu.be/EPLrGmEW3zs

*** UPDATE SEPTEMBER 25: New Bing Ads/Clickbank case study video. This time using a landing page with broad match keywords. The video includes results:
https://youtu.be/UsPG__2Dy_c

*** UPDATE SEPTEMBER 15: New Bing Ads/Clickbank case study video. This time using a landing page. The video includes results:
https://youtu.be/ZcgGIidcZuQ

*** UPDATE AUGUST 21, NEW CASE STUDY VIDEO USING GOOGLE (MORE TRAFFIC, FASTER RESULTS):
https://youtu.be/XTUJI0f6TV0

TESTIMONIALS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE METHOD IN MY VIDEO:

What you need:
  • Clickbank account
  • Bing Ads account
Summary:
  • Find a product in the Clickbank marketplace that converts but doesn't have crazy competition
  • Set up a direct linking campaign using Bing Ads (no tracking software like Clickmagick required)
  • Prove your campaign's stability by making commissions over a few days and then repeat with a different product to build up a suite of money-making Bing Ads campaigns
In the rest of this post is a description of exactly what to do. I have made a video with a case study showing the exact steps below being put into action from choosing a product and launching a Bing campaign to the results.

Process:

1. Find a product

Head over to the Clickbank marketplace and hit the search button to list all marketplace products. At this point the products will be listed in popularity order.

Go to the filters bar on the left and filter on the following:

Gravity: Filter to a gravity of between 20 and 70. This filter will give you a list of products that are seeing success with affiliate promotions but haven't been overrun with affiliates yet (ie. 600+ gravity products)

Date added to marketplace: Filter to the last 2 months. This filter (combined with the above gravity filter) will give us popular products that are new.

Check out the products that remain and decide which one you want to promote. One of the criteria I use to decide what *not* to promote is that I avoid promoting MMO products on Clickbank. That's because most people interested in MMO already know about Clickbank and are likely to buy a product they like through their own affiliate link, or refund, or both

2. Setup a direct linking campaign

Now that you've got a product to promote, head over to Bing Ads and set up a campaign.

We're going to create a campaign to get clicks for people searching on the product name- so make sure you check the vendor's affiliate terms to ensure they allow (or don't specifically disallow) brand bidding.

The campaign should target the product name on exact match (product name in square brackets). That way, when someone searching Bing types in the product name your ad is going to show up. It's important we target these people because they are warm leads.

When you set up your ad you don't need to make any crazy promises, the traffic is warm afterall.

The most important part of your ad setup is the urls you use. The final url (which is the url displayed in the ad should be the url of the sales page, ie. not your hoplink). Your hoplink goes in the tracking template field (under "Ad URL options").

The tracking template is traditionally used by tracking software and Bing sends the traffic through this link rather than the final url (provided that the visitor eventually lands on the final url). You can test that this all functions correctly using the Test button.

3. Prove your campaign

Let your campaign run for a few days and prove that it can be profitable. Traditionally, you should not make a decision on the profitability of a product until you have spent 3 times the payout commission on ads. So, if the product pays $24 in commission you let the campaign run until you've spent $72 and then decide whether to junk it or not. Because you're running to warm traffic you can junk a campaign earlier if it's not making sales.

That's it!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Cheers,
Dave
#main internet marketing discussion forum #affiliate #bing #case #clickbank #direct #direct linking #linking #study #success
  • Good post, although it is not really a case study, it is more a tutorial

    what are you usually looking at for cost per click and what conversion rate are you shooting for?

    Also, what is your reasoning for choosing newer products over seasoned, even popular products?

    Thanks

    al
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Good point and questions, Al.

      It was originally going to be a case study post and I forgot to post the video that goes along with it. The video is below with the actual case study and results.

      Note: There is no ulterior motive in the video. I'm not selling any courses, not directing to my site or affiliate links, and not asking for anyone's email address.

      https://youtu.be/TQMZzAMTrEo

      Regarding your questions:

      what are you usually looking at for cost per click and what conversion rate are you shooting for?

      It's relative to the average payout, but I generally start campaigns with a ceiling of $2 - $3 and then decide if I continue based on whether I get a sale by the time I have spent the average commission amount. If that is $24 and I've spent $24 and seen no conversions I junk the campaign.

      Also, what is your reasoning for choosing newer products over seasoned, even popular products?

      The primary reason is the lack of competition. If I promote the top product on Clickbank I'll see more traffic but my CPC will be much higher (potentially up to $10 for position 1).

      Cheers,
      Dave
      • [ 5 ] Thanks
      • [2] replies
  • Thanks I may try this method out for my affiliate links
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Cheers, Tobi! If you try it I'd love it if you reported back and let us know how you go!

      Cheers,
      Dave
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hi Dave

    Very interesting concept and I will explore. I take it you are staying away from high CPC niches like forex etc?

    Thanks again

    Dominic
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hi Dominic,

      Because I bid on the product name, if I can find a low-competition Forex product with potential then the CPC will probably be okay.

      I tend to stay away from Forex for a different reason - I promoted Forex programs back in 2010-11 and I found the refund rates to be insane... So the bragging rights were good on the chart on my Clickbank dashboard, but it was mayhem in the actual transactions where you could see the refunds!

      Cheers,
      Dave
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • [DELETED]
  • Hey Guys,

    I've added another video explaining how to get more clicks on your Bing Ads.

    The video runs through how to use site extensions to increase the noticeability and clickability of your ads.

    https://youtu.be/MqqR3AGheL0

    Please let me know if you have any questions!

    Cheers,
    Dave
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • brand bidding keyword allows fromm clickbank offers?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Good question! It depends on the vendor. You need to check the individual vendor's affiliate terms. Some don't permit it, others have no such restrictions.

      Cheers,
      Dave
      • [1] reply
  • Thanks Dave for sharing.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thanks for sharing Dave. This is SUPER useful.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • [DELETED]
  • Here's another video going into more detail about direct linking with Bing Ads:

    https://youtu.be/Z7Pc89n5cgI

    Cheers,
    Dave
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thank you for sharing Dave.

    Haven't thought about doing this!
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thanks for sharing Dave. Very nice tutorial, especially for someone new like me. You are mainly demonstrating the connection between Bing Ads and Clickbank. What about Google Ads and Clickbank?
    Cheers,
    Thomas
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • Cheers, Thomas!

      You're right, this is Bing Ads and Clickbank.

      It's unfortunate, but we can't do this kind of thing with Google Ads. We need to have a landing page in between the ad and the offer. Having a landing still works but if we could direct link from Google Ads it would be super-profitable.

      Dave
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
    • I don't think Google ads allow this. You might get away with it for a day or two but they will catch you and deactivate your account.
  • Let me just add some ideas based on some discussions I've been having away from this thread.

    If you are seeing a lot of impressions but your click through rate is under 10%, consider what can be changed about your ad to increase click throughs (eg. increase bid to get a better position, or change ad text). Remember that the more clicks you get will benefit you in two ways: 1. The likelihood of more sales and 2. a lower CPC because of an improved quality score.

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • [DELETED]
  • Here are some results a subscriber of mine got after watching my video (the original one posted in this thread) and then copying what I did using a different product.

    https://youtu.be/6_t8cMNh_so

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE August 21

    New Cast Study using Google Ads.

    I've just completed a similar case study using Google Ads. With more traffic on Google the results are much faster!

    Check out the new case study video here:
    https://youtu.be/XTUJI0f6TV0

    Please let me know if you have any questions.

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • [DELETED]
  • Thanks, Dave, for your inside into this case study. I am very new to the affiliate market but thought that I will give it a try.
    Due to Corona, I had some extra time to read and try out the affiliate stuff. I tried your case study last weekend and it hit me like a rocket.
    I tested three different products. Since then with one product I made sales.

    15th Aug $245.16
    16th Aug $203.96
    17th Aug $102.21

    On 17th I thought I will try some more products, different niche, but since then I had no sale at all. I did increase the price per klick. I read in other posts, that sometimes for days users dont have Clickbank sales at all, even though many hops.

    Anyway, thanks again for this great study. It really helped me as being a newbie.
    Cheers

    Thomas
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • Wow! Thanks so much, Thomas! Really appreciate the feedback.

      Your experience with suddenly getting no sales is quite typical with Bing because their traffic lower and more sporadic in comparison to Google. Here is my case study using Google with much faster results:

      https://youtu.be/XTUJI0f6TV0

      Cheers,
      Dave
    • Hi were you able to scale it up or does it still bring you sales?
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Really important thing to remember, especially if you're direct linking.

    If you want to edit your ads, don't edit them. Create a new ad.

    You need to do this because editing your ad will likely put it into moderation/review. If you're direct linking and your ad suddenly goes into review you could lose your place to another affiliate.

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • [DELETED]
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • If you end up trying this method out I'd love to get your feedback on how it goes!

      Cheers,
      Dave
  • *** UPDATE

    I've had some people using this method comment that they can't find their ad after it seems to be approved and go live of Bing or Google.

    Once your ad is live, if you're not getting any impressions, check "Ad Preview & Diagnosis".

    Go to your keywords tab. Go to the keywords tab.

    There is a "Delivery" column there. The delivery column will have the keyword status and a "..." button. Hover over the "..." and it should tell you whether the ad is active or not and on the tab which pops up you'll see the "Ad Preview and Diagnosis" link. Use this to check your position in the serps and how your ad looks.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Nice job Dave keep at it!


    Is it true that Bing ads is majority US traffic or what?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • In my experience it is mainly US traffic, yes. Japan uses Bing (Yahoo) to a high degree but you can't advertise on Japan Yahoo through the regular Bing advertising engine as you can with other countries.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [2] replies
  • This may be a useful resource when promoting Clickbank products. This is the process I have been following for 13 years to find "golden ticket" Clickbank products to promote:

    https://youtu.be/_U6VuTrcARQ

    Love to know what you think.

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • [DELETED]
  • [DELETED]
  • Before actually getting into affiliate marketing, this is a good reality setting video to watch:

    https://youtu.be/gFycmWvc15M

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • [DELETED]
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • *** Update: Microsoft are making changes to their tracking system. As such, direct linking campaigns may report errors during the setup process when adding hoplinks into the tracking template field.

    You can get around these errors by adding the following code to the end of your hoplink in the tracking template field:

    Here's a video explaining how:

    https://youtu.be/KIT4m_T02tE

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • [DELETED]
  • The 3 things you need to consider when setting up your Bing campaigns are:

    1. Look for low competition products
    2. Go for low-hanging fruit
    3. Remove any friction

    Here's a new video that explains each of these 3 points:
    https://youtu.be/pb7vxZ9g3mY

    Cheers,
    Dave
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • *** Update: I've just added a new Bing Ads/Clickbank case study video. This time using a landing page. The video includes results:

    https://youtu.be/ZcgGIidcZuQ

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Both Bing ads methods combined into one video with an introduction and explanation of the differences:

    https://youtu.be/Bb7IguKUEjU

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Just got some news from a Youtube follower who has implemented this method:
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Loved your videos Dave.. Subscribed to the channel
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • I think that the biggest hurdle for most of us is taking the risk in paying for the ads. I believe that you would need to make a significant outlay in order to tweak your ad campaigns so that they bring a positive return.
    • [1] reply
    • True. One of the benefits of this method, however, is that it is very direct, so there are less moving parts to have to test and tweak.
      • [1] reply
  • Banned
    Great post, David. But here's something you may want to consider: you might be successful right now directly linking to products from Bing to CB or any other affiliate network. But in the long run, the person with a great sales funnel, who builds a list first and then send them to their offer will be more successful.

    Here's why: you can make one-off sales profitably now, but what if Bing or any other ad network kicks you out tomorrow? What if something happens to the entire system? But when you build a list along the way, you can promote as many related offers as possible to them in the future.

    I've had people buy from me who've been a part of my list for 7 years. Just recently, someone who's been on my list for about 6-7 years bought a $3000 offer from me. That's because I have them on my list in the first place. They may not buy immediately, but the benefits of a list is endless if you treat this like a business and nurture them with good content.
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks for your feedback.

      You're right. I agree having a great funnel set up and building a list is something important for a stable business.

      The point of this post, though, was to give a bit of hope to people who had tried affiliate marketing before and had no luck. I remember being a newbie. Staring endlessly at an empty CB account.

      Once I finally started making some affiliate money, I felt like an imposter because I wasn't building a list (on every forum I visited, that's all that member's were talking about). This eventually made me doubt myself so much (ie. "I haven't got a list so I mustn't be running a real business") that I gave up for a while. It was only once I found stm forum and saw that there were wildly successful affiliate marketers, both with and without lists, that I was confident enough to resume where I left off.

      Having said all that, I'm not sure that a funnel and list is the only way. Yes Bing could cancel an ad account and you're left with nothing. But a similar theory could be applied to any level of a funnel. Aweber/Gestresponse/(Insert autoresponder here) could cancel your account and leave you without a list. Paypal could limit and take away your account and leave you penniless for the month scratching around for a new payment method.

      I appreciate your feedback and agree with your point, but I also don't want to discourage others from giving affiliate marketing a go.

      Cheers,
      Dave
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Years ago I tried being a Clickbank affiliate. I picked an item to promote but I gave up after a few months. About 6 months I logged in and saw I had made a $40 in commission. I never saw a penny of it as the fees they charge affiliates who do not meet the payout limit. Left a very bad taste in my mouth.
    • [1] reply
    • Yeah, they have some restrictions on the first payment. You need sales from a number of cards before they will pay out which means the first sale can disappear through fees.

      I think recently they changed the restriction to be only 3 cards (it used to be 5).
  • I've just loaded a new video that shows how to increase the amount of qualified traffic you get from your Bing Ads campaigns:

    https://youtu.be/MMamBGc-5U8

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Dear David,

    Hope you are doing good, in these troubled times..
    Can you please tell me, instead of clickbank products, can other products be used, i. e, supplements, vpn offers etc..
    Thanks,
    Kenneth.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hi Kenneth,

      I'm doing well, thanks. I hope you are too.

      This should work for any offer on any network. Provided the final destination for your affiliate link is the same domain as that displayed in your ad you should have no problems. But if you do encounter any errors when you test your affiliate link in the tracking template field please give a shout out here and we can try to resolve.

      Cheers,
      Dave
  • How to setup a hybrid campaign on Bing Ads (ie. not direct linking, not a traditional landing page)

    https://youtu.be/iSPgO2TE69I

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE SEPTEMBER 25: New Bing Ads/Clickbank case study video. This time using a landing page with broad match keywords. The video includes results:
    https://youtu.be/UsPG__2Dy_c

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Just added a new video running through some key methods to use when running Clickbank campaigns.

    https://youtu.be/T-iP90N-uNk

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE OCTOBER 1: New Clickbank & Native Ads case study video. Although this thread is about direct linking a lot of people have asked me to do a native case study as well. The video includes product selection, campaign setup, and results:

    https://youtu.be/EPLrGmEW3zs

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE 10/4: Watch this video to see how a change in the Bing Ads system could affect your ads:

    https://youtu.be/RWEB2rZ-IhQ

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE OCTOBER 9:

    Here's a new Bing Ads/Clickbank case study video.

    In this video I give a high level overview of how I'm promoting and then I run through the campaign setup. I then show the results of the campaign.

    https://youtu.be/gtswraV6DJ4

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Hi there how come this method works with bing ads and not facebook ads? I tried the very same thing with facebook ads and got my account banned.
    • [1] reply
    • Different platforms. Different policies. I haven't done much Facebook advertising but my understanding, from reading posts on reputable marketing forums, is that Facebook is not particularly affiliate friendly and don't like direct linking. I think they take a position similar to Google which is: if an affiliate is not adding any value then we don't want them on our platform.

      I did think that Facebook tended to ban but say if you're willing to do some advertising computer based training they consider letting you back in. What was the ban like?
      • [1] reply
  • Dave,
    Thank you so much. Years ago, I made a little money from Clickbank but your step by step guide is invaluable. I will be checking it out. All The Best
    Bernie
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
  • [DELETED]
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
  • Here's a little known way to promote Clickbank products without worrying about refunds:

    https://youtu.be/95T5REXZ-Cw

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** Update October 13: Case studies showing the fastest way to get to $100 a day on Clickbank:

    https://youtu.be/0YNfRuZxbZU

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • *** UPDATE October 13: This one's not about direct linking, but it might be a good resource for people for their overall campaigns.

    https://youtu.be/dahItw0te2Q

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • [DELETED]
  • *** UPDATE OCTOBER 14: New video showing how Bing Ads direct linking can work with any affiliate network (not just Clickbank):

    https://youtu.be/Se3jwG0wx5A

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE OCTOBER 15: Here's the type of direct linking you shouldn't do in your Clickbank campaigns to make sure you're not wasting money.

    https://youtu.be/-MdxvLUGhxE

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • I have been watching your videos and must say they are very informative and the instruction is clear and consice.

    I was wondering. Most of your videos show decent success. but was wondering what your success rate is. meaning how many flops compared to winners do you usually see

    Also, I have read that newer people to Bing and Google Ads have a tougher time getting ads shown even if bid is higher than an established advertiser, is this true and is there a way to overcome this obstacle.

    Thanks and keep the videos coming

    al
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Cheers!

      Regarding flops to winners, Over the years I've developed a good eye for products/campaigns which are likely to be winners, but still have more flops than wins. I don't keep records, but I would say that at least 75 - 80% of the campaigns I've tried over the years have been flops.

      Yes. The feedback I hear on my channel would indicate about half of new users struggle somewhat. From private messaging with some of them I've learned that some of the problems could be they are going after too many keywords in the same campaign and setting too low a daily budget.

      Cheers,
      Dave
  • *** UPDATE October 16: Here's a fast way to make Clickbank sales and build your list at the same time.

    https://youtu.be/zz9xYbc9vlU

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE October 19: Here are some of the rules I follow when promoting Clickbank, and other networks', products:

    https://youtu.be/sYBnLm4lhEY

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE October 21: Here are 5 strategies to start now to make 2021 an affiliate marketing success.

    https://youtu.be/6rFWP4MYPVw

    Cheers,
    Dave
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • *** UPDATE OCTOBER 22: New video with all my case studies in one video. It's a long one, but shows 5 different ways of successfully promoting Clickbank offers:

    https://youtu.be/kLcdLqiSYec

    Cheers,
    Dave
    • [DELETED]
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • *** UPDATE October 24: Here's a video walkthrough about how you can copy any landing page (or create a new landing page) using Thrive Architect:

    https://youtu.be/LCpvtiBw64I

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • *** UPDATE October 26: A video detailing what to watch out for when taking advice on your affiliate marketing business:

    https://youtu.be/qgbC4MYhMv8

    Cheers,
    Dave
Join the discussion

Next Topics on Trending Feed