Affiliate marketing is dead because of Google’s recent search algorithm updates. These updates reduce organic visibility for many affiliate sites. AI summaries from tools like Google SGE and ChatGPT capture much search traffic. Meanwhile, AI-generated content floods the market. Paid ads are also becoming less profitable as advertising costs rise. Also, access to quality consumer data declines.
Most affiliate marketers rely on blogging for traffic. Authority Hacker reports that 79.1% of affiliates use blogging as their main source. In 2024, Google began favoring large sites like Forbes Advisor and forums like Reddit and Quora. This hurt smaller affiliate sites that once ranked well.
Artificial intelligence is reducing traffic to blogging affiliates. Affiliates used info queries to attract traffic and capture emails. But, AI now answers queries quickly. So, users don't need to click on articles. AI tools like Jasper.ai and Surfer SEO have made content creation cheaper. This has flooded the market and hurt blogs' search rankings.
It’s not just bloggers feeling the strain. Media buyer affiliates face challenges as access to third-party consumer data diminishes. This started with Apple’s iOS 14 update in 2021, which restricted app data collection. By 2024, Google will end third-party cookie data collection. This will limit targeting options in Google Ads. With rising ad costs, these changes hurt media buyers' campaigns.
In affiliate marketing, it often takes 12 months to five years to achieve success. Ahrefs says it takes 6 to 12 months to start earning. But, traditional methods are less effective now. Google is better at spotting black-hat tactics and spammy affiliate sites. The market is crowded with people seeking quick income.
To stay competitive, you should:
In 2024, many are turning to local lead generation instead of affiliate marketing. This model creates websites to generate leads for local businesses, which can be sold for $500 to $3,000 per month. Local lead generation focuses on local SEO. It competes with only a few local businesses, not a global market.
I have over seven years in digital marketing, including affiliate marketing. I've earned $3,000 per month from affiliate sites. But, local lead generation provides greater financial freedom. This article gives nine reasons why affiliate marketing is struggling. It also lists some reasons to still consider it.
1. Affiliate Marketers Have No Control Over Their Customer Experience
Affiliate marketing gives you no control over the customer experience. Your only job is to drive traffic to offers. You don't have brand loyalty because the customer belongs to the affiliate marketing program. Also, you need to get more clicks to make money. And you don't get many chances to generate a recurring income. But that means you're always looking for a new offer. Or a new audience and a different angle to drive people to your links. And it's this lack of control that has a direct impact on your affiliate income.
2. Driving Online Traffic to Affiliate Links Is Hard
Driving online traffic to your offers is hard because everybody is vying for the same consumer base. Also, it is harder to harness organic traffic. Old SEO tactics don't work anymore.
In fact, a poll by Matt Diggity reveals that 63% of 945 affiliate marketers were affected by Google algorithm changes. This competition drives affiliates to use unsavory sales tactics. They create unrealistic offers and make outlandish claims to sell their products. Some even create fake accounts on social media platforms.
3. Affiliate Marketing has Fierce Competition
Affiliate marketing is highly competitive. It has a global market where sites compete worldwide. Old tactics like banner ads or low CPC ad campaigns no longer work. Now, affiliates compete with national brands. They have big budgets, dedicated teams, and years of brand-building. Many have followed affiliate marketing best practices since the 1990s.
The market is saturated. There's more competition due to affiliate marketing's low entry barrier. The 2024 Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub shows that affiliate marketing firms raised $1.5 billion more in funding for 2024. This is a 15.38% increase from 2022. It will likely draw more marketers to the industry.
4. Increasing Ad Blocker Usage
Ad blocker usage is hurting affiliate marketing in two key ways. First, it's reducing ad visibility. Blockthrough's 2022 PageFair Adblock Report shows that 21% of users now block ads. This means over one-fifth of potential customers don't see affiliate links or banners. When these ads don't show up, marketers lose out on clicks and sales.
Second, ad blockers disrupt tracking. They often block the scripts used to monitor affiliate campaign performance. Without accurate data, marketers can't measure their success or improve their strategies. They also can't prove their value to partners. This lack of visibility makes it hard to justify investment in affiliate marketing. Many marketers now find affiliate programs less effective and profitable.
5. Shift Towards Affiliate-Based Influencer Marketing
The rise of affiliate-based influencer marketing is hurting traditional affiliate marketing. It's now harder for newcomers to succeed. Big influencers are taking over the space. It leaves little room for new affiliates. Here's why:
6. Challenges in Affiliate Marketing Niche Selection
Niche selection challenges affect affiliate marketing's decline. Many new affiliates struggle to find profitable, unsaturated niches.
A survey by Authority Hacker of 2,270 affiliate marketers shows that the top three niches are:
High demand in popular areas makes it hard for newcomers to earn a good income. Niche markets have a limited customer base. This restricts growth, as noted by Alex Jovy, Head of Business Development at Davies & Associates.
Many beginners make mistakes by trying too many trending niches at once. They fail to build expertise in any one area. Adam Wills of Adam Wills Consulting suggests "pursuit positioning." It means aligning marketing with personal interests. However, this approach can be challenging for those driven mainly by profit.
7. Shallow Research on Your Affiliate Marketing Offer
Shallow research leads to poor product promotion and low-quality content. When affiliates fail to research products, they often promote those that don't meet claims. This erodes trust with their audience. Richard DiPilla says that promoting too many, low-quality products confuses customers. It makes them less likely to buy. This lack of depth limits an affiliate's ability to drive sales and build a loyal following.
A survey by Demand Gen Report and The Mx Group shows millennial buyers have specific content preferences.
Insufficient research also results in content that misses the mark with audiences. Affiliates who ignore these preferences get less engagement and conversions. Without understanding consumer behavior, you tend to create poor content. It fails to guide customers through the buying process.
8. AI Contents Add Saturation to the Market
AI content creation floods the market with low-quality and generic content. Tools like Jasper.ai and Surfer SEO make it cheap and easy to produce a lot of content. This has led to an oversaturation of affiliate material online. A survey by EngageBay shows that 79.3% of affiliate marketers use AI for content creation.
This content saturation makes it hard for affiliate marketers to attract organic traffic. Google's updates now favor major sites over high-ranking affiliate ones. Many affiliates have lost traffic to platforms like Forbes Advisor, Reddit, and Quora. AI-generated summaries from ChatGPT provide direct answers to user queries in search results. This reduces clicks to affiliate content and makes traditional content marketing less effective.
9. Paid Ads Kill Affiliate Marketing
Paid ads increase affiliate marketing competition and costs. As more businesses invest in ads, prices rise, cutting into affiliate profits. Influencer Marketing Hub's 2024 Benchmark Report says that affiliate firms raised ad spending by 15.38%, or $1.5 billion.
The dominance of paid ads also reduces visibility for organic affiliate content. Paid ads often top search results and social media feeds. They push organic posts further down. This forces affiliates to pay for visibility. But, high ad saturation makes it hard to attract clicks. Many affiliates now struggle to profit.
10. Affiliate Marketers Are Losing Access to Good Consumer Data
Affiliate marketers lose access to quality consumer data. It includes information about customers’ interests, behaviors, and demographics. It helps you understand and reach your target audience. This data loss stems from new privacy laws and tech changes. Regulations like Europe’s GDPR and California’s CCPA restrict data collection. Also, Apple's 2021 iOS 14 update limits app tracking. Google will end third-party cookies by 2024.
These changes limit you to target and track customers. Without detailed data, creating personalized campaigns and measuring results becomes challenging. This lack of insight hinders audience identification, behavior understanding, and strategy optimization. Many affiliates now have lower conversion rates and earnings.
Is Affiliate Marketing Dead Per Quora?
No, affiliate marketing is not dead, per Quora. But, consumer preferences are changing. These changes could affect affiliate marketers. A top answer to a related question of “Is affiliate marketing dying in 2023?” and “Will affiliate marketing die in 2024?” explains that blogging will be a far less attractive way to do affiliate marketing.
The post from Rob Gall, last December 16, 2023, shares that one change is that more people will use AI to get answers. Rob says that by going directly to ChatGPT or Bard, websites will completely lose traffic. But he adds that people could still write and promote a blog using other channels.
Is Affiliate Marketing Dead Per Reddit?
No, affiliate marketing is not dead per Reddit, and there is still a great opportunity in it. A Redditor says there are many types of affiliate marketing. All can be profitable, but they can be a lot of work.
Another Redditor says there are great opportunities in affiliate marketing. However, you must join a proven system to succeed. It will make it easier. The user adds that an affiliate system and community can help you stay focused and motivated.
Is Affiliate Marketing Too Saturated?
Affiliate marketing is not too saturated, but it's pretty crowded. For example, Amazon Associates has over 900,000 affiliates. And ShareASale has more than 700,000. That's 1.6 million affiliate marketers from only two affiliate networks.
To succeed in this competitive arena, you must market yourself and become an authority in your niche. You need to add value to the content you publish. (Learn skills and not markets). Then, pick a style and become an expert in things like:
You can crush the competition. But only if you have the skills to get in front of your target audience. So you need to know how to drive traffic to your offers. Plus, you only make money as an affiliate if people click your links.
Why Affiliate Marketers Fail?
Affiliate marketers fail because they choose broad markets instead of specific niches. Many don't learn the rules of affiliate marketing, risking legal issues. Some use basic marketing strategies that don't work well online. Others rely on old-fashioned advertising methods that don't reach today's digital consumers. These errors lead to a high failure rate, with 95% of affiliate marketers not succeeding.
To avoid failure, pick a specific niche and learn it well. Understanding affiliate marketing laws is crucial to stay compliant. Developing strong, modern marketing strategies is essential for success. It's also important to use up-to-date digital marketing channels. With the right approach, affiliate marketers can earn significant income. However, this requires ongoing learning, skill development, and often guidance from experienced mentors.
Odi Productions identifies the top mistakes in affiliate marketing. It includes focusing on non-revenue activities, not building on owned platforms, and ignoring modern tools. He stresses the need to prioritize content creation, SEO, and email marketing. Balance affiliate and informational content. Odi advises against relying solely on social media. You need to build a website and an email list for sustainable growth.
Odi also highlights the need to set proper goals, be consistent, and choose niches. He warns against poor keyword research and neglecting content promotion. He recommends spending 20% of the time on promotion and backlink building. To maximize earnings, he suggests a mix of low- and high-ticket items. He notes that success usually takes 9 to 12 months of steady effort. So, understand realistic timelines.
What Is the Future of Affiliate Marketing?
The future of affiliate marketing is the increasing use of AI and machine learning. A survey by Authority Hacker of 2,270 affiliate marketers found that 79.3% use AI for content creation. For instance, Chad Bartlett released a video. It showed AI software could speed up video creation for affiliate marketers.
Forbes reports that global big data will hit $229.4 billion by 2025. There is a chance to profit in emerging markets for affiliate marketing, like:
Why Affiliate Marketing Is Still Alive?
Conclusion: Why Lead Generation Is More Alive and Profitable Than Affiliate Marketing in 2024?
Lead generation is more alive and profitable than affiliate marketing in 2024 because you get more control over the business. Also, with lead gen, the focus is on a local market, so it's less competitive. Like affiliate marketing, you don't need a physical product in local lead generation. Instead, you build and rank generic websites at the top of Google. Then, when your sites bring in leads, you sell them for a cut of the profits. Plus, you don't need a ton of cash to get started with lead generation.
Affiliate marketing is attractive to many people because you don't need to own physical products. Plus, you don't need to invest a ton of upfront capital. However, it's far from passive. Consider that you always need to publish new content or chase the next hot link. Plus, you're going up against national brands and global business owners.
I built a site in 2015 for a total cost of $500. But this site has been making me $2000/month for the last seven years. Now it's at the top of the SERPs. So it doesn't need much maintenance. I don't need to rely on paid ads or create an irresistible offer because I have the skills to leverage Google.
Plus, this website offers a service. One that people are actively searching for online. So I'm filling a market need and getting paid for my service. And now, I have a proven concept, so I rinse and repeat to achieve a passive income.
Affiliate marketing is a way to make money online. The business model isn't dead. But it's not easy either. You need to be prepared to invest the time and energy to build an audience. If you want a business where you get more control and a stable source of passive income, the local lead gen model is your best option.
