Whether you are a solar or insurance affiliate marketer, your major priority is generating traffic that converts. You might already be using content marketing and social media, but you still feel there’s a long way to go before you get the numbers you want.
If so, you might benefit greatly from this complete guide on free and paid traffic sources for affiliate marketing. Down the page, you will find a well-structured list of traffic channels and detailed explanations of how to get unlimited free traffic to affiliate links from these channels.
Without any further ado, let’s dig into the best free and paid affiliate traffic sources.
Free Affiliate Marketing Traffic Sources
Generating affiliate marketing traffic for free is possible if you can invest time and effort into creating compelling content and growing your online presence over time. Running a blog, social media marketing, SEO, and referral marketing can generate a lot of traffic as long as you know your target audience and unique selling points and have the right marketing automation tools.
Free Traffic Source #1 – Content Marketing
Regardless of where you promote your content – blog, email, social media, etc. – it can only be effective if you know your target audience, have a unique selling proposition, and can create engaging content that drives sales. All three goals are quite achievable.
➤Read also: Content Marketing Tools To Grow Insurance and Solar Affiliate Income
How To Unlock Your Target Audience
You can convert your audience only if you know who they are, how they interact across touchpoints, and why they convert and bounce. Affiliate software, whether your own or provided by your affiliate network, can unlock all these details.
Here’s some essential data to understand your target audience:
| Demographics | Knowing your audience’s location, age, gender, marital status, income, and other demographic details, you can segment them into target groups with unique acquisition strategies. |
| Psychographics | Lifestyle, motivations, and pain points can help you use marketing psychology, from FOMO to reciprocity to loss aversion. Your customers’ psychological portrait will surely help acquire free traffic for affiliate links. |
| History of Interactions | Knowing whether a particular customer is new or how the previous interactions went helps engage and reengage the customer without over- or under-nurturing them. |
How To Get Traffic To Your Affiliate Links with Content Marketing – Example
The better you know your demographics – and the better your audience fits the advertiser’s audience – the easier it is for you to create resonating content.
Imagine you’re promoting life insurance and have the following buyer profile:
| Interest | Location | Age | Gender | Marital Status | Health Status | Insurance Status |
| Life Insurance | United States | 25-30 | Male | Married | Generally Healthy | Uninsured |
This buyer profile is superficial, but you already have some data to work with. Your customers are young, married, and likely never owned a life insurance policy. Now, you need to think about what content they might like.
Since they are healthy and have many years ahead, it might be reasonable to focus on the long-term peace of mind that a life insurance policy can provide or the discount they get if they get life insurance at a young age.
How To Come up with a Unique Selling Proposition
Having collected your customers’ details, you proceed to develop a unique selling proposition (USP)—an explanation of WHY the customer should buy the product you promote.
When developing a USP, play to your strengths. If what you are good at is the others’ weakness, you’re on the right track. Try to fill the market gaps.
For example, if you’re generating solar panel leads, research what the market lacks in covered locations. Maybe the installation price is too high, there are no qualified installers, or the panels are not effective enough for their price—do your research, and you will likely find a few things to build your USP around.
How To Create Engaging Content that Drives Sales
The most important thing to realize is that you can’t just copy someone else’s success—chances are it won’t work for you. Every brand is different, so it’s better to try to find your unique style based on the customer data, the creative materials and information you’ve received from your advertiser, and your own perception of great content.
Here are the three forms of content to create:
| Evergreen Content | Evergreen content is informational and educational content that remains relevant over time, generating leads for months and years. You may have to update this content occasionally. |
| Promotional Content | Promotional content might account for around 25% of your content, and it’s essential not to overdo it. Such content must be created by an in-house team that knows the product inside out. Timing-wise, introducing promotional content makes sense after some nurturing, when customers have an idea of your brand and offering. |
| Content Around Trends | Situational content can generate tons of leads if unrolled at the right time. However, it fades quickly and may not bring you leads once the event is over or the trend is gone. |
Creating content is about solving customers’ problems, so try to accurately identify their problems and solve them effectively. Update essential posts when new information appears to retain engagement.
Likewise, try to accustom readers to a posting schedule. Identify engagement peaks and post content regularly so your readers can instantly engage and send signals to search engines. Use a content calendar and coordinate your releases.
How To Generate Free SEO Traffic with Featured Snippets
Featured Snippets have come a long way to display for almost any search query, even a short one. Even though you cannot predict when parts of your content will appear as a featured snippet, great content that contains definitions, lists, tables, and steps and is optimized for long queries has a great chance of being featured.
The power of featured snippets is that they appear at the top of search results—on their own, in the “People also ask” block, or Google’s Knowledge Graph—getting the most attention and, therefore, the biggest share of traffic.
Free Traffic Source #2 – SEO
SEO is the best way to create content that search engines love, especially if you can wait a few months for the new content to rank. With properly chosen keywords and posting frequency, almost every business has a chance to gain organic traffic for affiliate marketing.
➤Read also: The Best SEO Tools for Solar and Insurance Marketers
At the same time, SEO is much more than just using appropriate keywords:
Source: Statista
Let’s review the top SEO strategies and see how they can help you generate traffic:
| Overall Content Strategy | Creating a comprehensive SEO strategy is crucial to driving free affiliate traffic. A symphony of on-page and off-page SEO yields the best results. |
| Topic Clustering | Organized and structured content is the best way to get traffic for affiliate marketing. Users should always understand where they are and have a convenient continuation of their journey at hand. |
| Link Building | Creating backlinks via guest blogging and other strategies is vital to climbing the top of SERPs. The top websites have millions of backlinks. |
| Long-Tail Keywords | Long-tail keywords are an excellent way to get high-intent traffic while avoiding excessive competition. These keywords usually don’t have a large search volume, but the leads they drive are of a high quality. |
| Competitor Replication | Sometimes it does make sense to replicate competitors to some degree. Competitor research is a must to understand the market and identify your spot there. |
| Speed, Performance, Core Web Vitals | With a user attention span of only around 8 seconds, website loading speed is critical for engagement. The average website loading time is 2.5 seconds for desktop and 8.6 seconds for mobile websites. |
| Site Structure Adjustments | When ranking content, search engines follow the website structure, so it’s important to lead them through via a structured sitemap. |
In terms of content creation, SEO is about identifying the keywords for which you can hit the top positions in SERPs. The first search result page gets around 90% of all clicks, with the first result receiving around 45%.
How To Generate Affiliate Traffic for Free Using Ahrefs
To get free affiliate marketing traffic, you can use Ahrefs, an all-encompassing SEO tool that allows you to research the market and specific keywords across multiple parameters: keyword difficulty, volume, traffic potential, and more.
But then again, you want to avoid excessive competition while getting enough traffic to generate clicks and conversions. For this, you need to research low-competition keywords and choose one that resonates with your goals and has a decent volume.
Example: Imagine you’re selling life insurance for veterans. You can use anything from high-competition keywords like “life insurance” to long-tail keywords with a few hundred clicks per month. What you need, however, is to hit the top of SERPs.
Here’s the biggest keyword in the game:
“Life insurance” has an insane search volume, but it’s hardly a good fit because
- It’s too generic. You’re selling life insurance to veterans, but the keyword doesn’t indicate this. Traffic won’t convert into clicks and sales.
- It’s too competitive. Hitting the top with “life insurance” is almost impossible unless you’re one of the biggest affiliates. The traffic is crazy high, but the second and further search result pages only get a tiny drop of it.
Ahrefs is a great SEO tool, though. You can filter queries by difficulty, volume, traffic potential, and other parameters to get the keywords you need.
Here’s what we’ve got when limiting the keyword difficulty to 15:
“Veteran life insurance” isn’t a branded keyword—it’s not connected to a company—and it has a good volume, much like “life insurance veterans.” You can use these two for your most powerful content pieces and the other three for your less impactful content.
How To Generate Affiliate Traffic for Free Using Google Search Console
While Ahrefs shows the projected keyword traffic volume, Google Search Console shows how users find your website across countries and devices, displaying clicks, impressions, click-through rates, and position for your keywords.
There are many strategies to generate free affiliate traffic using data from GSC. For example, you can analyze your top queries and double down on one with the higher click-through rates. Or analyze the queries with lots of impressions and a low CTR to find what prevents users from clicking (for example, there may be a well-known brand next to you in search).
Overall, SEO is a great tool for understanding what your target buyers search for. Around 60% of marketers can get good or very good results from SEO.
➤Pro Tip: From the SEO perspective, you should only have one article for one target keyword. When different webpages are optimized for the same keywords—keyword cannibalization— search engines may get confused and rank none of these articles. Therefore, merge similar articles for a better SEO and user experience.
How To Get Free Affiliate Traffic with the Skyscraper Technique
One of the cheapest techniques for generating free affiliate traffic is the skyscraper technique: finding relevant content with lots of backlinks, creating a better version of this content, and asking those linking to the original piece to link to your improved version.
The only disadvantage is that in competitive niches like finance, banking, or insurance, you may have to constantly update your content to stay on top.
Free Traffic Source #3 – Email Marketing
Email marketing is surely among the best traffic sources for affiliate marketing, especially if you target millennials, who are most responsive to emails. But then again, emails can help you acquire almost any type of customer if you follow the best email marketing practices.
Here’s how to how to get free traffic for affiliate marketing with emails:
| Step 1 – Coordinate Emails with You Other Marketing Channels | The first step is to fit your email marketing campaigns into the bigger picture. For example, loyal and new customers need different emails. |
| Step 2 – Double Opt-In Your Email Subscribers and Let them Unsubscribe Easily | Double opt-in your subscribers so only motivated users can join your newsletter. Remember, you need clicks and conversions rather than just traffic. |
| Step 3 – Develop Custom Email Sequences for Each Target Group | Develop custom emails that depend on how your subscribers engage with previous messages or interact across other marketing channels. Likewise, set triggered emails when a subscriber creates an account, adds a product to a cart, makes a purchase, etc. |
| Step 4 – Personalize Your Emails as Much as You Can | With only 65% of marketers personalizing email subject lines, using extensive customer data can give you an edge. Go beyond the subject line – personalize your messages based on the user’s history, location, gender, age, family status, and other details. |
| Step 5 – Use AMP Emails if Possible | One way to increase email conversions is to enable purchases in your emails. The technology is called AMP; ask your advertiser whether they support it. |
Email marketing is where you can find your best traffic for affiliate marketing, but it’s unlikely to produce results overnight. At the same time, it excels at nurturing potential customers and maximizing their lifetime value.
Here’s an example of email sequences for life insurance leads:
| Contact 1 – Welcome Email | Subject line: Welcome to InsureSafely, the Place to Secure Your Future Hi Jane, Welcome to InsureSafely. We are thrilled to secure your family’s future with the right life insurance policy. To get started, schedule a free consultation [link] or download our free guide on life insurance [link]. |
| Contact 2 – Educational Email | Subject line: How to Choose the Right Life Insurance Policy Hi Jane, We know choosing a life insurance policy can be overwhelming, if not daunting, but we’re here to help you make an informed decision:
For more details, download this free life insurance guide [link] |
| Contact 3 – Success Story Email | Subject line: Honoring a Fallen Hero Hi Jane, We want to share a story that is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. One of our clients, John Smith, a firefighter, bravely lost his life while helping rescue trapped residents from a burning house. The unexpected death, however, hasn’t affected his family’s lifestyle, and they were able to meet essential expenses without financial strain. Story link: [link] |
| Contact 4 – Sales Email | Subject line: 7 Days Left to Save 15% on Your Life Insurance Premium Hi Jane, This is your chance to save 15% on your life insurance premium. Every applicant from 10 August 00:00 a.m. to 17 August 00:00 a.m. will get a 15% reduction on the life insurance premium for the next 12 months. Application link: [affiliate link] |
| Contact 5 – Reminder Email | Subject line: 24 Hours Left Until the 20% Discount Expires Hurry up – the 20% discount on life insurance is about to expire. Application link: [affiliate link] |
Use email templates to create emails faster without having to start from scratch every time. The web is abundant with paid and free email editors with templates.
Free Traffic Source #4 – Social Media Marketing
Around 25% of customers come to e-commerce websites from social media, but not all platforms fit all affiliate niches. For example, LinkedIn is much more effective for B2B campaigns than TikTok, whereas the latter is better for promoting beauty and fashion products.
Without a doubt, social media is all about emotions; the greater the emotional impact you can make, the bigger the chance they convert. The emotions that sell include happiness, trust, safety, fear, anxiety, surprise, and a sense of belonging, and you evoke them in so many ways.
Here’s an example of sharing valuable insights with subscribers:
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
Here’s an example of a contrarian view:
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
Here’s how you can leverage social proof:
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
Free Traffic Source #5 – Referral Marketing
Running a referral program is one of the best strategies for growing your customer base and affiliate sales, but only if you have your own product.
Here’s how to get traffic for affiliate marketing for free with a referral program:
- Two-way incentives: Incentivizing both the referrer and the referral maximizes the impact of your program. New customers must have a reason to use the referral link instead of just making a purchase on their own.
- Referral tiers: Progressive rewards—the more referrals you bring, the more you earn— motivate referrers to commit to your referral program and not to stop even if new programs appear in the market.
Here’s an example of a referral program for an affiliate selling medical equipment and promoting the advertiser’s health insurance policies:
| HealthEquip Referral Program: $100 per referral and health insurance discounts |
| For every successful referral, you earn $100 in-store credits and a 10% discount on health insurance with our partners SafelyInsured. For every 5 successful referrals, you earn an additional $150 in-store credit and a 1% discount on health insurance. Referral program details: [link] |
In terms and conditions, specify all the details: eligibility, referral process, payment options, cookie duration, etc. Make sure the program is clear and straightforward.
Less Common Ways To Get Free Traffic for Affiliate Marketing
It goes without saying that you can leave your affiliate links on any website or platform that allows affiliate links and is accepted by your advertiser. Online communities and forums are among the best free traffic sites for affiliate marketing.
Here are some free traffic websites for affiliate marketing:
| Quora | Quora doesn’t allow affiliate links or commercial links, but you can promote your blogs that contain affiliate links. If you do place affiliate links on Quora, the system will automatically detect them and collapse your post. Upon manual checking, your links will be removed, and you may get banned. |
| Reddit allows affiliate links that contribute to the discussion’s value. To succeed on Reddit, post in relevant subreddits, earn karma, and disclose the usage of affiliate links. | |
| Medium | Medium allows affiliate links that add value to the discussion and aren’t purely promotional. Affiliate links must be disclosed with the abbreviation “aff” or a disclaimer like “I’ll earn a small commission when you click the link and buy/sign up for [service]” |
| Product Hunt | Product Hunt is one of the best free traffic websites for affiliate marketing of new products. Here, you promote by writing honest, unbiased reviews on the latest products. |
| Tumblr | Tumblr is a microblogging platform where you can create posts of up to 4,096 characters and use affiliate links that add value. Likewise, you can allow Tumblr to use their own affiliate links in your posts, earning passive income from the sales from these links. |
Paid Traffic Sources for Affiliate Marketing
With paid search accounting for around 30% of search traffic, paid advertising can be a sustainable affiliate traffic source if your affiliate income exceeds your advertising cost. Besides, paid advertising allows you to acquire customers faster and minimizes your marketing involvement, albeit not excluding it altogether.
➤Read also: Top 5 Ad Intelligence Tools for Insurance and Solar Affiliates
Here are your three major paid traffic sources for affiliate marketing:
- Social media advertising
- Native advertising
- Influencer marketing
Let’s review each of them in detail.
Paid Traffic Source #1 – Social Media Advertising
One of the best things about paid advertising is that you don’t have to start from scratch but can use the data you’ve collected when unrolling your organic marketing campaigns. For example, if you’ve found success with visual social networks – Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube – you can double down on them with paid advertising.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel – just capitalize on your strengths, create your best content, and display it to relevant users. Speaking of relevancy, all social media allow you to choose the time, demographics, and budget for your ads.
Source: Statista
Paid Traffic Source #2 – Native Advertising
With around 42% of affiliates using native advertising, it’s one of the best approaches to gaining affiliate traffic. Native ads can be contextualized so well that users perceive them as organic recommendations rather than a sales offer.
Here are some ways to drive the best paid traffic for affiliate marketing:
- Sponsored podcasts, YouTube videos, etc.
- Branded chatbots on messengers
- Social media in-feed ads
- Native ads in mobile apps
- Sponsored listings
- Quizzes ending with a personal recommendation
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
Paid Traffic Source #3 – Influencer Marketing
Collaborations and influencer marketing are excellent strategies for getting affiliate traffic. Depending on your size, niche, and budget, you can try to find businesses willing to create content with you, such as interviews, podcasts, master classes, etc.
Here’s an example of educational content that you can create to acquire affiliate traffic:
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
You don’t necessarily have to promote when collaborating—a more important goal is to present yourself to a new audience, showing them that you have value. Guests who come to podcasts and shows with a hard sell are generally not perceived well, so it’s better to focus on growing brand awareness.
How To Get Paid Traffic for Affiliate Marketing Immediately
Last but not least, you can simply buy the leads you want, especially if you don’t want to unroll marketing campaigns or need sales immediately. In this case, you only need to ensure your affiliate profits exceed your expenses.
Here are the main types of paid traffic for affiliate marketing:
| Live Transfer Leads | Life transfer leads are customers (usually callers) who connect to a sales representative right after expressing interest in the product. They are expensive, but they are as close as it gets to making a purchase. |
| Exclusive Leads | Exclusive leads are contacts sold exclusively to one buyer. This means you face no competition and are likely the only company that contacts these leads. |
| Shared Leads | Shared leads are contacts sold to several buyers at the same time. They are cheaper than exclusive leads – around $20 per lead instead of up to $200 – and may be a great affiliate strategy if you can win the competition. |
But then again, traffic arbitrage is quite difficult, so most affiliates are known for selling leads, not buying them. If you’re new to the game, it’s best to focus on organic and paid lead acquisition and enroll in a reliable affiliate network to sell your traffic.
Sell Insurance and Solar Leads at Profitise
The Profitise affiliate network might become your best place to monetize insurance and solar traffic.
Here’s what Profitise offers:
- Selling insurance and solar leads at the best price
- Connecting to the biggest pool of insurance and solar advertisers
- Customizable lead generation forms
- Around-the-clock support from an affiliate manager
Sign up as an affiliate to sell leads with Profitise. For questions, contact us at info@profitise.com or call 888-400-4868.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best free traffic sources for affiliate marketing?
You can acquire free traffic for affiliate marketing through content marketing, SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, and referral marketing. The best idea is to ensure omnichannel customer experiences across touchpoints.
What are the best paid traffic sources for affiliate marketing?
Paid advertising, lead generators, and affiliate networks are the best paid traffic sources for affiliate marketing. If you’re an affiliate, ensure your sales profits exceed your advertising costs. If you’re an advertiser, make sure the leads you buy pay off.
How do I get traffic to my affiliate links?
The best way to generate clicks on affiliate links is to wrap them up in valuable, relevant content. If you struggle to generate link clicks, consult with your advertiser or affiliate network.
