What data should be tracked? | ClickBank Affiliate Edition

As you start to scale as a ClickBank Affiliate, not only will your profits increase, the amount of numbers you need to understand increases as well. We’ve put together this guide to help you figure out what data should be tracked.

The Best Data to Track for ClickBank Affiliates 

Keeping an eye on your numbers is critical for monitoring the health of your digital marketing career. However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with just how many numbers there are to keep track of.

According to Moz.com, trying to optimize without data is pointless:

“If you don’t gather data, then you’re left making changes based on gut feelings alone. Guts are awesome! But making decisions on just gut feelings instead of rooting assumptions in data can be a waste of time and money.”

Below, we’ve listed the top metrics to monitor so you can supplement your gut feelings with actual evidence and stop wondering what data should be tracked.

Conversion Rate or CR 

The conversion rate is calculated by dividing the total number of conversions by the total number of visitors to a particular website or landing page. “Conversions” can refer to any action that you wish to take place as indicated by the call to action on the page. For example, a conversion can be a sale, a click, a download, or an email submission. 

Tracking your conversion rate is important because it provides insight into how well a page is performing. Of course, knowing how many visitors your site has or how many conversions occur is also important. But it’s the conversion rate that can be monitored and used as a “goal-setting” number. 

If you want to improve your conversion rate and reach a certain percentage, one of the first things you can do is to hypothesize reasons your traffic may not be converting. This is known as CRO–conversion rate optimization. Conversion rate optimization utilizes A/B testing to pinpoint elements of a landing page that are either improving or harming conversions. One of the best things you can do to improve your conversion rate is to test, test, and test some more.

How to read the numbers: A higher conversion rate is better.

This metric typically applies to affiliates who promote with a website. If you want to learn how to promote without a website, check out this blog post.

Earnings Per Click or EPC 

Earnings per click is calculated by taking the total earnings you generated over a specific period and then dividing that number by the total number of clicks you generated for the same period. This number provides insight into what you can expect each individual click you are generating to produce in earnings. 

This number is particularly important in a cost per click environment or cost per impression environment. If you determine the cost per click for every click that you drive to paid ads for your promotions, then you can compare your EPC to your CPC. If your EPC is higher, then you’re making money. 

What’s great about this metric is how straightforward it is. While we don’t recommend that it’s the only metric in your data toolset, it’s a good one to have for quick insight. 

How to read the numbers: A higher EPC is better.

Return on Investment or ROI

Return on investment (or ROI) is a commonly tracked metric across all industries. For affiliate marketers, this means comparing all costs of promotion to net profit.

According to Investopedia, this is the the best way to calculate ROI:

“ROI is calculated by subtracting the initial value of the investment from the final value of the investment (which equals the net return), then dividing this new number (the net return) by the cost of the investment, and, finally, multiplying it by 100.”

So, for an affiliate marketer, calculating their ROI starts with subtracting all ad costs from their final profit and then diving that number by the ad costs value. That number would then be multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. If this number is positive, it means that there is a true profit from the investment. If the number is negative, it means that the costs it took to invest have not been recouped–or, to put it simply, you’re in the hole.

To get the purest version of your ROI, make sure you consider all costs that it takes to return a profit ad factor them into the calculation.

How to read the numbers: A higher ROI is better.

Affiliate Link Clicks

Monitoring your affiliate link clicks will allow you to see which links are performing well and which aren’t. This metrics is measured in number of clicks, therefore the higher the number, the more times people have clicked on the link. However, a higher number does not indicate a higher conversion rate. If you have a lot of clicks and very few conversions, you should evaluate the landing page and perform some CRO-related tasks. If your affiliate link clicks are high and the conversion rate is low, you may also want to consider if you want to continue to promote this offer. There could be a number of reasons that conversions aren’t happening and if the vendor isn’t working to improve their offer, there’s no point in continuing promotion.

How to read the numbers: A lot of clicks is good, but does not indicate growth in sales or profits.

Link and Advertisement Impressions

Tracking how many people actually see your advertisements and links is a helpful metric to determine your conversion rate. If your conversions are low and your impressions are high, you may want to consider your marketing strategy or review your copy.

How to read the numbers: A higher number of impressions is good, but does not indicate growth in sales or profits.

The main reason to keep track of your data is to see what is working. Then, you can replicate that tactic and grow your profit. At the end of the day, the best metric and measure for success is profit, so understanding the numbers related to that can empower you as an affiliate. If you want to lighten your load, you can invest in software like Voluum, a data-tracking platform specifically tailored for affiliate marketers

Do you want to get started as a ClickBank affiliate? The first step to your ClickBank paycheck is signing up!