Q: Should you include the price of affiliate products you feature on your site?
A: In my entirely unscientific findings from my own affiliate sites, where I’ve tested the inclusion of pricing, as well as without pricing, I saw better clickthroughs when the pricing was there.
There was a lot more activity on the affiliate links for the same volume of visitors when I ran A/B tests with and without the prices.
Conversion rates were fairly consistent with each way, so including the price was more profitable.
And when I’m shopping and see a site without pricing, I don’t bother to click. I feel like they’re playing games with me and I don’t want to waste my time.
I’ve tested this out on about a half dozen different verticals and the results were similar each time – better clicks and more earnings when prices were included.
Above all, it’s essential to test on your own sites, because the experiences of others might not always be the same for you, since there are many variables.
{ 5 comments }
I agree that having pricing is better, and shows that the affiliate is adding value by providing relevant information. Good to hear that clickthroughs improve because obviously the click-to-conversion rates will definitely improve when there are less suprises for the consumer.
There is a maintenance issue however, adding the pricing to your content means that it can get out of date quickly if the price fluctuates. Would be good if you could have a live pricing lookup – is there a widget that does it nicely inline?
I think it best to put up prices everyone is looking for the best deal these day
Hey Shawn,
Thanks for sharing this information. You would think listing the price is just common sense, but good sense is not common. I too wonder what is going on when I don’t see a price. I not only have questions about the product, but I get suspicious about the whole site.
Stew
I completely agree, include the pricing. I have not ran any tests but I know as a consumer if I don’t see prices I get suspicious. I walk away wondering what is the catch. I am glad you have done the research though, it helps justify what I have ‘assumed’ all along.
Cheers
I think that showing price is a good thing, not only because of better clickthrough rates like you said but also because I think that it makes your readers trust you more and they get more confident on offers that they see onn your site afterwards
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 6 trackbacks }