Top Affiliate Marketing 2023 Trends Picking Up Right Now: Formats, GEOs, Workflows
Affiliate marketing is a tricky business: new trends come and change the whole deal before you know it.
Together with Konstantinos Kafkalias, the Senior Account Strategist at PropellerAds, we created a trends overview in the four most profitable and evergreen niches:
- eCommerce
- Finance
- iGaming
- Utilities
So, you can kinda relax for at least the next half of the year: these trends will most likely last for quite a time.
But hurry up while it’s hot!
iGaming: OnClick, Brazil, Sports
Online iGaming seems to be the hottest vertical of 2022, and will most likely remain so for at least one more year. Experts say the industry will get $114.4 billion in overall profits by 2028, and, of course, affiliate marketers also get their share.
For example, here are PropellerAds iGaming campaigns stats for the last two weeks:
Impressions: 10 332 223 807
The market of iGaming is very saturated, so it’s hard to separate the only one main trend. But we tried, and here is what we got:
The biggest iGaming trend is the Popunder ads format which seems to work best with the BR GEO. Besides Brazil, it’s very profitable to target ZA, NG, CI, UA, MX, and GH. Also mind the hottest brands offering the best conditions: Betano, BetFair, 22bet, Betway.
Overall, Onclick ads can help you engage millions of users. You can choose from multiple strategies of how to work with this flexible format — and strive for a great reach in the end.
Tip from Konstantinos Kafkalias: while using the trendiest workflows, don’t forget about the buzz around popular sporting events. Such tournaments as FIFA 2022, Champions League, or Europa League will create a short but very significant boost around the iGaming vertical, so keep your finger on the pulse of the sports calendar, too. Even a local national football tournament can increase traffic and feed during weekends.
Bonus: Trending Creatives Examples
The main trends in creatives have not changed much, and you can always go with the never-dying classics. Bright pictures, vivid CTAs, and mentions of large bonuses will never fade away.
Utilities: VPNs and Anti-Viruses
Utilities remain the 2nd top popular and profitable niche to promote at PropellerAds — at least, this is what our stats say:
Impressions: 18 675 069 899
The largest trend in Utilities right now are VPNs, Android Cleaners, and Desktop Anti-Viruses.
You will find plenty of offers related to devices protection or accessibility — usually with one of the three top trending workflows:
| Vertical | Top Flows | Top Formats |
| VPN iOS | Onclick | CPI (Cost per Install), Free Trial, CPS (Cost per Sale) |
| VPN Android | Onclick, Push ads | CPI (Cost per Install), Free Trial, CPS (Cost per Sale) |
| Cleaners | Push Notifications and In-Page Push ads, Onclick | CPI (Cost per Install), Free-trial |
| Antiviruses | Push Notifications | CPS (Cost per Sale) |
Pro Tip: Utilities are also perfect for extra monetization. For example, you can add a ProPush Smart Tag to your pre-lander, collect push subscribers, and monetize them — and this approach can also be called a trend you shouldn’t miss!
Bonus: Trending Creatives Examples
Avoid super-scary ones: they are against the policies, so don’t threaten users with something like ‘Your PC is full of viruses’. Be less harsh on them, and follow the examples from the best-performing campaigns:
eCommerce: Marketplaces, Gadgets, OnClick
eCommerce is the third vertical revenue-wise at PropellerAds — and it’s probably the vertical with the widest variety of offers to promote. Here are the latest results of our advertisers:
Impressions: 5 171 280 089
So what do they do to keep the money flowing?
The most popular eCommerce trend is again the Onclick format mixed with the offers from the biggest industry players like Aliexpress or BliBli. The top GEOs, for now, are US, ID, PH, TH, MY, and VN.
While some of our big partners send traffic to eCommerce Smartlinks and make quite a fortune with this flow, the hottest and the most proven format for today is still Onclick and its opportunities.
By the way, if you were curious about what eCommerce goods are the best for promoting right now, things haven’t changed much here since last year. The top ranking looks the following:
- Smartphones
- Laptops
- Tablets
- Clothing
Tip from Konstantinos Kafkalias: It is pretty simple to register on the affiliate program of any big or small eCommerce platform and start looking for appropriate traffic. It is best to focus on Onclick or try narrowing your targeting with Push. For example, you can target only men or only women or use PropellerAds eCommerce audiences for Push, ready to shop.
Bonus: Trending Creatives Examples
Minimalism seems to be the new black — so keep it simple!
Finance: Trading is Great Again
Let’s start with the stats again: Finance is the fourth-best vertical among PropellerAds advertisers, after all!
Impressions: 12 712 370 914
Finance offers targeting iOS or Android with Popunder or Push traffic are still a great proven solution for Arab and African countries.
But what’s new here, and what are the biggest trends that will stay live for at least half of 2023?
If you thought they were cryptocurrencies and NFTs, you were wrong — it’s almost over and done with, at least for now. New regulations worldwide have made the crypto niche much smaller: less traffic and smaller revenues overall.
There are two main Finance vertical trends. The first one includes trading, with OnClick and Push for TH, BR, JP, IN, DE, IT, MX, and SA. The second is Bank Card Offers, with 90% of top-quality traffic coming from Brazil via Push Notifications.
In fact, this is a ready recipe for success, isn’t it? You either promote Forex offers with the FTD (First-Time Deposit) conversion or suggest users open free credit card accounts with big banks.
The only issue is to find a nice offer — and here is what Konstantinos Kafkalias suggests to consider when looking for one:
Bonus: Trending Creatives Examples
Your creatives for Finance offers must look elegant (you are a serious person, and you offer a serious deal!) At the same time, they should clearly say:
Hey, we are ready to give you money!
Here is an example:
So, did we make life easier for you? We hope so!
And if you want to add or discuss something — welcome to our Telegram Chat!
But, we are pretty sure you are ready to start getting your profits — and…
