Best Affiliate Marketing Traffic Sources (USA & Canada)

what is traffic in affiliate marketing

Wondering “what is traffic in affiliate marketing”? In affiliate marketing, web traffic is the oxygen or the lifeblood of your business. This means without it, you won’t make any money. It’s your greatest asset that needs to be taken seriously.

Traffic in affiliate marketing basically means the amount or number of people that are viewing your website, landing page, sales funnel, social media post, etc.

What Is Traffic In Affiliate Marketing?

Online, the term “traffic” usually means the people who are landing on a webpage.

In other words, traffic simply means the number of people that get exposure to a specific product you’re promoting at a given time.

The traffic source may be ads, search engines, or other places that those people will come from.

Obviously, in affiliate marketing, it’s important to have people see your offers in order to make money.

How Does Traffic Work In Affiliate Marketing?

Let me break it down for you. 

Traffic is what turns into prospects and customers, it’s like people walking into a supermarket shop.

And look around to see if there’s something they like.

As they walk into the shop, look around, and ask for the price of an item, immediately they become a prospect.

When they purchase the item, they become customers.

That said…

Traffic comes in many forms but it’s most separated into two categories. Paid and free traffic.

You can do paid traffic or free traffic. 

Paid traffic is simply you paying someone to send traffic to your website.

Most of the time paid traffic is a quick and instant method to generate affiliate sales.

But it does cost money. And there is no guarantee that you’ll get a return on your investment.

That said… The cheapest way to drive traffic to your affiliate offers is through FREE organic traffic sources.

You can leverage platforms like YouTube or blogs to drive organic traffic to your site.

[bctt tweet=”More traffic mean more advertising dollars.”]

What Is Affiliate Marketing? 

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affiliate marketing traffic source

Affiliate marketing is a way of making money (commission) by promoting, marketing, or selling other people’s (company or individual) products or services.

As an affiliate, you can get compensated differently depending on the affiliate program.

You can get paid a percentage of the sale or you can also get pay per click or view.

It all depends on the affiliate program model.

That said…

In affiliate marketing, the more successful sales you refer to the merchant’s website, the more money you’re likely to make.

Can You Make Money With Affiliate Marketing Without Traffic?

Affiliate marketing is all about traffic.

Unfortunately, there is no way that you can make money with affiliate marketing without traffic.

By definition, affiliate marketing is a process of promoting a product to others for a piece of a commission.

And that essentially comes down to traffic.

So… If people (traffic) don’t see your offer, you can’t make money online.

Primarily, traffic is what makes you money.

Why Traffic Is Important For Your Affiliate Marketing?

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Why traffic is important for your affiliate marketing business or site.

When we talk of affiliate marketing – traffic is that which helps you to meet your goal.

I mean… It’s traffic that helps you to make money in your business. If you don’t get the traffic you won’t make money.

In addition!

Traffic can be a valuable thing for your affiliate site’s search engine rankings.

Visitors are more likely to share your site content, which can help you get new readers and customers.

That said…

When you put in the time and the work and have done things right in the first place.

Overtime…

You can start to drive tons and tons of traffic to your affiliate links which will result in more sales and revenue for you.

[bctt tweet=”It is much easier to double your business by doubling your conversion rate than by double your traffic.”]

How To Get Traffic In Affiliate Marketing

Getting targeted and high-quality traffic to your affiliate marketing can be done by following a proven, simple, good, and effective marketing method.

One of the best ways that most top marketers get traffic to their businesses is through content marketing.

By the way, what then is content marketing?

Content marketing is simply providing a valuable piece of information that helps solve another person’s problem, pain, or challenge.

You can learn more here on that.

That said…

There are many mediums through which you can create content and attract targeted traffic to your business.

What I recommend is a Blog and YouTube

Why?

Well, these two platforms have the potential to deliver very good and targeted traffic to your site. 

Traffic from these sites are qualified and targeted traffic that can easily be converted into potential buyers over time.

That said…

The strategy to use on these platforms is to try to be helpful and provide your audience with relevant and valuable content.

Try optimizing your content for SEO.

NB: This is a long-term strategy and it requires patience.

How Much Traffic Is Needed For Affiliate Marketing?

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Well, there is no specific number of traffic designs for affiliate marketing, what really matters is the quality of the traffic.

When it comes down to affiliate marketing, good conversion is what really matters.

The thing is… 

You can have 50k to 75k visitors a day and still earn no money or very little money.

A site with 100 to 500 quality and targeted visitors per day can earn more money than a site with many visitors.

So again… It all comes down to the quality of the traffic.

How much traffic you’re generating on your business is not the issue.

The quality of the traffic is what makes the difference.

[bctt tweet=”Life is learning how to deal with traffic. It requires patience, a good sense of timing, and sometimes not giving in to the traffic but reshaping your life.”]

What Are The Different Types of Traffic In Affiliate Marketing?

traffic in affiliate marketing

There are two main types of traffic out there: Paid and free traffic.

Paid Traffic (Paid Ads)

Paid traffic is also called paid ads, this is a visitor that lands on your website when you decide to pay someone or a website to send traffic to your site or product in a short period of time.

That said…

With paid ads, most often, you’re not allowed to promote affiliate links (but not all companies do that). 

But you can create content to grab people’s attention.

And then get them to your email list then you can take it from there.

One benefit of paid marketing is that.

You have the chance to make sales more easily in a short period of time.

Free Traffic (Organic Traffic)

Organic traffic is the opposite of paid traffic.

Organic traffic is the visitors that land on your website or content as a result of a search. 

They’re not sent to your site by you paying any third-party website.

It’s free traffic.

So, how do I drive organic traffic to my site?

Well, you can achieve organic traffic by creating quality content, and when someone searches, search engines like Google or Bin.

Your website shows up.

Also… You can get organic traffic through social media platforms such as:

  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Forums

NB: Organic traffic takes time (a very long time) so, you need to be patient.

What Is The Best Traffic Source For Affiliate Marketing?

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There are a handful of traffic sources out there but in my opinion, the best traffic is always from Google.

Why?

Well, just imagine, if you have any problem or are looking for an answer to a specific question.

What do you do?

You usually visit Google and search for the solution or the answer to that problem.

In the search engine industry.

Google is the largest search engine in the world and there’s no doubt about that.

So… The best way to drive quality, targeted, and potential buyers to your affiliate business is always Google.

Day in, and day out, millions of searches are done on Google.

And…

If you can get in the first position on Google, you can get your business displayed to potential buyers which over time will result in great sales.

So… What you need to do to get traffic from Google is to follow a simple strategy: 

Research and figure out what terms, questions, or phrases people are looking for that are related to your niche. 

And then crack QUALITY content answering those terms.

And overtime… You’ll start to generate tons and tons of traffic to your website.

What Is The Best FREE Traffic Source In Affiliate Marketing?

how to get traffic to youtube affiliate marketing

The best free traffic source for your affiliate links is YouTube and Blog. These two platforms are search engines and traffic sent from search is very quality and targeted traffic.

People who land on your site from search are always looking for a solution to their problem.

And if you can help them with that, they’ll definitely come back for more. 

And over time, they can become potential customers.

IMPORTANT: Getting traffic from this platform takes time and work.

But if you put in the necessary work, over time, you can start to generate tons and tons of traffic from these platforms.

NB: The goal is to know and master one platform first before moving to another one.

Additional Methods For Driving Free Targeted Traffic To Your Affiliate Link

  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook 
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Medium
  • Linkedin
  • Blogger
  • Quora
  • Reddit

YouTube

YouTube is a search engine, it works like Google and it’s the second largest search engine in the world apart from Google.

YouTube is a video-sharing platform.

You can create video content and upload it on this platform.

Ps. I wrote another article where I share with you how to drive traffic to an affiliate link using YouTube. Check it up

Facebook

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. 

You can join groups related to your niche and participate in discussions by answering people’s questions. 

And when they start to know, like, and trust you, you can share your opportunity with them.

is affiliate marketing on facebook worth it

Twitter

Twitter is also another effective way to promote your affiliate product. 

This ignores traffic; when searching for tweets, simply select ‘Advanced Search Options.

Reddit

It is the fourth most popular website in the United States. 

It is also a social news aggregation, web content rating, and debate website based in the United States. 

Registered Reddit users can upload content such as a written post or a straight link.

Pinterest

Pinterest is an image-based social network known as a “catalog of ideas.” 

You can easily market your affiliate products by establishing your own Pinterest board based on your niche by utilizing some of Pinterest’s capabilities.

WhatsApp

You can join WhatsApp groups and share your affiliate links with your group’s members. 

I’d recommend not to spam your family and friends, or even your colleagues.

Find people that are interested in what you have in stock and market to them only.

That said…

WhatsApp is also another good free traffic source to send people to your affiliate link.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a classified advertising website where you can sell your affiliate products to a targeted audience in the United Kingdom.

If you’re an affiliate marketer, who wants to make as many sales as possible, there’s no better way to do that than with free, high-quality traffic and Craiglist can be a best option for that.

Build Your Email List

Building an email list is the lifeblood of affiliate business models. 

Building an email list is one of the best ways to actually make money from your affiliate product.

You don’t necessarily need a big size list to make a commission from your affiliate product.

With targeted traffic opting into your list, even a small list can reap great returns.

Create a Blog

In my opinion, a blog should be the main free traffic source for your affiliate marketing.

A blog has the potential to drive 90% of traffic to your business when done correctly. 

Search engines will send traffic to your site when you regularly update your site with relevant information. 

Why?

Well, the more frequently search engine spiders visit your site, the more affiliate marketing traffic you will receive.

OVERVIEW!

Most social media and forum platforms can be great traffic sources for your affiliate offer. 

Just a warning if you are an affiliate. 

You’ll want to make sure you follow the platform rules and regulations so you don’t get banned.

What Is The Best Paid Traffic Source For Affiliate Marketing?

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There are so many paid traffic sources out there. I recommend you find a good site that provides targeted and high-quality traffic.

That said…

I think one of the best-paid advertising networks currently is ELeavers.

With this site, you’ll get high-quality and targeted traffic and a high conversion rate for your affiliate links.

And you can notice a jump in traffic and sales effectively.

That said…

Creating advertising campaigns on ELeaver is very cheap and low compared to other advertising platforms.

Also…

The site allows you to promote your affiliate link directly; you don’t need to create any landing page.

They have an active technical team that’s ready 24 hours a day 7 days a week to help you with any problem or question.

Paid Traffic vs. Free Traffic Which Is Better For Affiliate Marketing?

which is better for affiliate marketing paid ads or free traffic

Well, this can be a little bit difficult to decide, however, it all comes down to what you want in your business.

That said…

In a case where you want to scale your business way faster, I think paid traffic is much better than free ones.

Why?

Well, with paid traffic you can make a GOOD income in a short period of time.

But the thing is, it requires an upfront investment and good knowledge in order to succeed at it.

And you’re not guaranteed that you’ll get a return on your investment.

That said… 

With a free one, it takes a very long time before you’ll start to see results in your business.

But once you’ve put in the work overtime you’ll enjoy the reward in the long term.

That said…

If you ask for my advice, I recommend…

You start with a free traffic source first and if you start making enough income from your business.

Then you can switch to paid traffic to scale your business that way.

That’s It Folks!

In conclusion on, what is traffic in affiliate marketing? And what are the best traffic sources for affiliate marketing? Traffic is simply people that visit your website or landing page depending on the affiliate strategy you’re utilizing.

When it comes down to making money online, especially with affiliate marketing, traffic is very crucial for your success.

No matter how appealing your website or landing page is if you don’t get eyeballs (traffic) on it.

It doesn’t exist.

The best possible way for you to succeed with affiliate marketing is when you’re driving traffic to your site or landing page.

That said…

There are many methods to bring traffic to your business. 

However… 

I truly believe one of the best ways to accomplish this is by providing useful and valuable content.

Taking this approach, you’ll be able to attract high-quality and targeted traffic to your affiliate internet business.

Also, you want to learn marketing.

Why?

Well, the thing is, traffic without proper marketing strategies is just as good as dead traffic.

I mean if you don’t know how to convert those visitors into customers or buyers.

You’re just wasting your time.

So…

Learning how to convert these visitors into email subscribers and following up with them to build TRUST and relationships with them is essential for your success.

Traffic In Affiliate Marketing FAQs!

What Is The Best Cheapest Traffic Source In Affiliate Marketing?

There are some really good advertising sites out there that allow you to create paid advertising campaigns at a very low and cheap budget and still get good and targeted traffic.

Among them, one of the best which I highly recommend is  Eleavers.

The advertising budget on EleaverS is relatively low and cheap compared to many other advertising platforms out there.

You can get high-quality, relevant, and targeted traffic in a short period of time.

One amazing thing is that… 

You can promote your affiliate links directly on the site without the need to create a landing page.

And also the site has high credibility and there are many top marketers who use this site.

They also have an amazing customer support team that’s ready to help you anytime.

What Is The Most Popular Traffic Source In Affiliate Marketing?

Social media platforms are the most popular traffic source out there as creating an account is free and at the same time using these platforms in terms of marketing, postings, etc, is free. 

However, you need time to learn how to market on these platforms effectively other than that, you’ll get banned.

Also… 

You want to make sure you choose a platform that’s based on your niche, product, or service and where your potential customers spend most of their time.

And then try to provide the right content for them, don’t try to spam them with your affiliate links.

Which Is The Easiest Traffic Source For An Affiliate Marketing Beginner?

One of the easiest ways to get free traffic is to offer bonuses. Offering bonuses to people is the best way to really attract free traffic and sales without paying for ads. 

This is very effective especially when you’re selling high-ticket products.

The thing is online people often like free things. Providing them with free items is the only way to convince them to view and eventually purchase your affiliate offer.

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