CJ EPC numbers accurate?

whats been your experience with their published numbers?

[codegreen]

I've been in AM for some time, but never used CJ before - I'm about to sign up as a publisher for a bunch of affiliates, and I'm wondering if their earnings per click (or per 100 clicks actually) estimates are even close to reality?

What has been your experience with those numbers? I know things vary wildly with traffic sources, but in general are those numbers an accurate way to judge the value of clicks to an affiliate?

Thanks!

[growingdigital]

I find the 7 day EPC to be pretty accurate, but the 3 month EPC is usually off a bit. I don't know why this is.

If you click on the advertiser's name, you will get a popup with advertiser details. Scroll down to the 7 day epc link and click on it. This will show you earnings over the last 30 days, which tend to be right on.

Keep in mind this is an average. Meaning top affiliates could easily be making 2-3 times more, and bottom affiliates may be making 1/2 as much. So if your a top affiliate you may be able to project a significantly higher epc.

[codegreen]

Okay, thanks... Thats good to hear.
There are some EPC numbers (both 7 day and 3 month) that just seem "too good to be true" so its good to hear validation.

To clarify: when CJ says for example that a 7 day average EPC is $100 - that means that for every 100 clicks sent to the affiliate the publisher earned a total of $100 in commissions? Am I understanding the stats right?

(I'm used to seeing EPC actually on a PER CLICK basis, not per 100 clicks.)

Thanks for the advice.

[growingdigital]

That's right. In CJ EPC is earnings per 100 clicks.

[veroxii]

Just remember that the super-affiliates might be generating 80% of the volume, meaning they might be on a higher commission percentage, thus skewing things a lot for the newbie.

You'll see the top programs are mostly finance related. Just consider that the guys getting a higher commission can outbid most of the "rabble" out there. And because it's so competitive, someone might have to *spend* a huge CPM on Adwords too.

But in general, yes you're more likely to make money with something that has a CPM of $42, than $2.81. ;-)

Also important to look at is the overall volume. 5 bars and you know there's going to be a LOT of competition. The "gems" to look for are the ones with good CPM potential and not really "discovered" yet, ie low volume.

Good luck with your ventures! :-D
-V

[codegreen]

Thanks guys. Interesting stuff... yeah some of the finance advertisers have really high EPC, but there must be very stiff competition for that kind of traffic.

Well, I'm gonna take a crack at it and see if I can validate their numbers. ;)

Cheers!