Formats & Verticals: Find Your Perfect Match
All is fair in love and… affiliate marketing. On a quest for a perfect format/vertical combination, affiliates spend thousands of dollars for optimization and testing.
Since St.Valentine’s Day is coming, we wanted to show our dear clients how much we love them! We thought: what would make them truly happy? And it hit us: eliminate the guesswork! So, we decided to give you a list — a cheatsheet, if I may — of all the verticals and ad formats that work best together.
Oh, and we also played the fun card and made it in the form of a compatibility horoscope. Because
a) we can, and
b) why the heck not?
Please note that the Native ad format is no longer available
* – This list is based on the statistics from our platform, so it’s really no joke.
| Vertical / Format | Push Notifications | Native | OnClick |
| Sweepstakes | ❤️❤️❤️ | ? | ❤️ |
| Finance | ❤️❤️❤️ | ❤️❤️ | ? |
| Betting | ❤️ | ❤️ | ❤️❤️❤️ |
| Dating | ❤️❤️❤️ | ❤️ | ? |
| Ecommerce | ? | ? | ❤️❤️❤️ |
| Nutra | ❤️ | ❤️ | ? |
| Utilities | ? | ? | ❤️❤️ |
| Extensions | ❤️ | ? | ❤️❤️❤️ |
| Pin Submit | ❤️ | ? | ❤️❤️ |
| Games | ? | ❤️❤️❤️ | ❤️❤️ |
Sweepstakes
Meet Sweepstakes. Active and energetic, she applies to people’s gambling side. Her most common promises are free money and iPhones. But be careful! She won’t let you get off that easy! Sweepstakes: How To Profit From People’s Love For Free Stuff
Push
The best partner for Sweepstakes is Push. Together, they form an unbreakable union that results in many-many successful campaigns full of passion and conversions. And for you, it will result in solid profits. So, we say it’s a go-go.
OnClick
With OnClick, the relationship won’t be as intense, yet this pair still deserves a chance. To let the light-hearted Sweepstakes fully open up, OnClick must release its creativity and come up with exciting, super-engaging, but also clear and very well-structured pre-landers and landing pages.
Native
The only shot at survival for this couple is if the Native only shows his Interstitial side (there were a few successful launches for Sweepstakes on Interstitials). You’ll have to work hard to make this relationship work and there’s no guarantee that it will pay off.
Finance
Look at Finance. She might seem uptight at first glance, but trust me, she’ll surprise you when you least expect it. After all, the financial market has seen more dramatic ups and downs than any other area of business.
Push
Here we have another case of a surprisingly successful union. Even though Finance seems fierce on the outside, she has an entrepreneurial je-ne-sais-quoi in her, which makes her shine in this relationship. We say, go for it! 4 Don’ts When Promoting Trading Offers with Push Notifications
Native
Such a couple can work quite well together. However, this relationship needs constant infusions of hot content and creatives. But in your romantic pursuit, don’t forget about our Policy!
OnClick
With OnClick, you need to be careful. This format is extremely hard to please. Very few affiliates made it work for Finance. If you want this relationship to work, pay attention to your leads and don’t let the converted users slip away. Pre-lead Generation | Advanced Retargeting Strategy for Onclick Popunder + [Real Cases]
Betting
Betting is the girl you see on screens during a big football match. A perfect groupie, she follows all the sports events around the world. Always there, she’s capitalizing on people’s desire to test their luck.
OnClick
If a bad boy OnClick can be good for someone, this someone is Betting. These two are just made for each other. Together, they’ll have the craziest sports bar fights, long night drives on the highway and many, many profitable conversions.
Native
A true storyteller, Native will find a venturous Betting too superficial. And Betting might take a sophisticated Native for a nerd. This couple isn’t likely to go on a second date after a disappointing first campaign. So, we say, it’s a no-no.
Push
The success of this relationship very much depends on the character of your Push (aka the brand you’re promoting). Many affiliates complain that Push doesn’t work on Betting. Others, on the other hand, only use Push and are quite happy with their results. Since there are very few of the latter, we suggest that you be very careful when working with such a vertical/format combination.
Dating
Dating is the affiliate world’s sweetheart. Her offers tempted more than one generation of affiliates. To give this vertical her “happily ever after”, you need to work-work-work and find the right combination of format, creative and targeting. [FREE PDF] An Advertiser’s Guide to Dating Campaigns
Push
This union has been written in the stars as these two are made for each other. No other couple looks as great together in prom pictures as Dating and Push. To keep the fire burning, you need to keep spicing their union up with hot creatives and new GEOs.
But be careful and don’t cross the line with the Adult category. If Push brings Dating back home from such a date, our Policy will be waiting at the porch with a baseball bat. Summer Rush: Choosing a Perfect Dating Offer
Native
Nothing compares to the passion that Dating and Push share for each other, but with Native, this vertical has a chance for a happy life in the suburbs. Work on your creatives and make sure to use compelling story-telling in your landing pages. After all, Native is famous for it.
OnClick
OnClick might try, but he will never win the prom queen’s heart. Only a super hot pre-landing page can give him a chance for a first date, but yet again, don’t cross any lines. Mind our standards, people! This is a respectable house!
Make sure OnClick behaves like a true gentleman and keeps the landing pages clean of any Adult. The Policy is still standing on that porch.
E-commerce
E-commerce is an experienced dater. Over the years, she has seen it all — Push, Native, Video content — you name it. All their pick-up tricks don’t work on her, so you’ll need to go the extra mile to succeed with such offers.
OnClick
E-commerce is tired of all the attempts of other formats to bribe her with their empty promises. She wants a new dress and a hot chocolate, so a straight-up OnClick is the only one who can melt her heart. We say: go-go.
Push and Native
Thank you, next!
Nutra
Not for one-night stands only, but the relationship with Nutra implies zero obligations. No hard feelings and no strings attached — that’s her motto. She gets bored easily, so the GEOs that work for you today, won’t impress her tomorrow. [Webinar] How to Run Nutra Campaigns with Native Ads?
Push and Native
A match with Push and Native is possible, but only if the affiliate in charge finds the right creatives and targeting settings. A vertical like E-commerce is easily seduced by the good looks, so your creatives need to be pretty.
And let’s not forget that in certain countries such offers are considered illegal, so be careful with where you channel your efforts and pick your GEOs consciously.
OnClick
If there’s one thing to be certain about it’s that E-commerce and OnClick will hate each other. Possibly, at first sight. It will be a perfect storm and your worst campaign ever, so just spare yourself the trouble.
Utilities
Utilities is a working girl. She’s used to making her own way in the affiliate world, so, don’t expect to win this vertical easily.
OnClick
OnClick and Utilities are great together. They are one of those couples that you see screaming at each other, breaking dishes and throwing clothes out of the window (here I refer to all the scary landing pages and texts in capital red). Yet, somehow they stay together and make good profits for the dary affiliate who decides to run such offers.
Native
Surprising as it may be, Utilities work just fine with Native, too. To her, it’s a friendly IT guy next door with whom she can watch horror movies and play video games. However, all the entertainment eventually comes to an end, and this is when the relationship can run dry.
One could think that it happens due to the doubtful offers, but that’s not necessarily true. Sooner or later Utilities’ most profitable zones will leave for more prosperous affiliates, so you need to constantly prove that you deserve it (with high CR, for example).
Push
Standing on her own feet, Utilities considers Push to be too futile for her. Definitely not a relationship material.
Extensions
Extensions is Utilities’ twin sister, so it’s no wonder their taste in partners is similar.
OnClick
Before, it was believed that the only match for Extensions is OnClick. But then Push came along and stole the day.
Push
At first, affiliates were suspicious of Push and not convinced that it can be a good match for Extensions. But then, little by little, it became a real competition to the old alfa. Right now, the wall of fame is shared 50/50 by OnClick and Push. Both compete for Extensions’ heart and none seems to be getting ahead.
If the relationship gets dry, try something new, like In-Page Push. Extensions adores Mac, and In-Page Push can help her embrace it.
Native
This relationship is as cold as the shoulder that our Policy gives to cheaters. Hard no.
You can still try, though. Here’s why.
Remember that even our statistics-based horoscopes can be proved wrong with reality. And in such a venturous business as affiliate marketing, even the most incompatible partners can form a strong union.
PinSubmit (kinda shady)
PinSubmit has never been a good girl, but she deserves happiness (and conversions!) just like any other vertical. Look at that face! With the right format as a partner, she’ll be able to turn all the odds in her favor!
OnClick
OnClick is not the guy you bring home to introduce to your parents. But for Pin Submit it doesn’t matter — she’s used to being a disappointment with sisters like Betting and Dating. For her, OnClick is the one.
Push
For a long time, there’ve been rumors in the affiliate community, that the only chance to make profits from Pin Submit was OnClick. But many can’t do that due to operator restrictions. So one day, a brave unknown affiliate — forever be blessed his heart — ran a Push campaign and it worked! Now, we know that this duo can make wonders together.
Native
Come on, guys.
Like…
Seriously?
Games
Games is the girl who you call to have a great time. She likes elvish ears, cosplay, and classic shooters, so as long as you give her what she wants, your days and nights will sparkle with conversions.
Native
This relationship will be truly explosive. You’re guaranteed to make good profits with this combination as long as your creatives are dynamite.
OnClick
The union with OnClick may result in conversions, but they will be empty as his promises.
Push
If you want fireworks with Push, you need to be Dating or at least Sweepstakes.
Otherwise, try your luck elsewhere.
Wrapping this party up
As you see, the world of affiliate marketing is full of controversial relationships and drama. But ain’t it exciting? We hope, this list made you feel like a real Cupid, the master of hearts, whose arrows make people — and verticals — fall in love. So, with this new (or maybe old?) knowledge we encourage you to take your best shot at the next campaign!
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