Creating a website, writing content and making money from it via CPA, CPM or PPM schemes. That's what its all about right, that’s why we are all in this game!?
I guess many of us also have day jobs or punt out our skills as seo professionals on a consultancy fee basis, but surely the reason, the key goal for most seo professionals who know what they are doing and have been doing it for some time is to create websites which generate revenue and more importantly profit! Lots of it!! 
Well maybe not everyone’s goal, but its certainly mine.
Well folks I’ll be honest, I am scared, I am very scared. Its CPA 2.0!! The Rise of the Cashback sites!!!! Just look at the staggering growth in brand name search volume of fairly recently establish cashback website, Quidco.
CPA Marketers, its time to die, or its time to stand up and fight!!
Currently the way that most people make money on the Internet is either:
- By being a reseller / affiliate / CPM media owner or
- By selling stuff, products or services.
Quidco, Topcashback, Cashback Kings, Giveortake and Wepromise are all examples of businesses which are now doing what is called cashback i.e. they give their customers any CPA fees they receive if the customer purchases products or services via their aff links. In exchange (bar Topcashback) the cashback sites take a tiny £5 per year in membership. It’s been around for a few years, but as the Google trends show, these cashback sites are really starting to gain a grip hold on the CPA market. Like I say, be scared.
As an affiliate marketer, the concern is quite clear. If cash back sites continue to grow at the rate they have been, surely other affiliate marketers are going to suffer. Sure deals can be struck with these cash back sites, but if you are a comparison website, a Moneysupermarket, an Oddschecker a UKHotDeals for example. Surely you just have to view these websites as competitors. Competitors however with a massive USP over your business model, they actually pay their customers lots of money to use their websites. With this level of competition, how are comparison sites, indeed other affiliate marketers going to survive.
How do we innovate and redefine our offerings? I personally beleive that this current trend affects a lot of the people in the seo market. Any ideas, I am sure would be welcome by all!
I found this article whilst looking for an Quidco affiliate programme. I am a member of Quidco and have just made a transaction there, and I am also an affiliate marketer for a living.
You are right, it is very scary! I am a one man band affiliate who makes mini comparison sites and there is no way my sites can really compare when pit against the likes of Quidco.