Research Question 1 Rnt

How do content providers perceive advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing compared to other forms of online advertising?

The following table summarizes advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing described in the literature and content provider's perception of them.

Table 12 - Case 3: Advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing

The following table summarizes advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing described in the literature and content provider's perception of them.

Table 12 - Case 3: Advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing

From the advantages described in the literature, the content provider considers as an evident advantage only new possibilities of revenue and access to new merchants. Because he offers both direct advertising and affiliate marketing at his websites, the merchants have more options to choose from and can easily find the solution that suits their needs.

Targetability is perceived as both advantage and disadvantage, because thanks to it, affiliate marketing can generate higher income than other forms of online advertising, however, it requires devoting time to find out the best way how to present the programs to the right audience.

Tracking is not viewed as advantage or disadvantage, the content provider only sees it as a tool to decrease the risk of deception from the merchant's side. Deliverability is not considered as different for affiliate marketing and other forms of online advertising.

Interactivity is seen as a minor disadvantage, because the content provider does not have control over the visitors' action after leaving his websites. Therefore, his income is affected by the merchants' performance. If the merchant cannot utilize the interactivity, the content provider will lose his money as well.

Added value to the website is not taken into consideration, when assessing the benefits of affiliate marketing and it is not perceived as advantage or disadvantage.

The interviewee mentioned two advantages of affiliate marketing that have not been described in the literature - possibility to earn higher income through affiliate marketing than through other forms of online advertising and little overhead costs.

Problems with conversion rate are perceived as the most important disadvantage of affiliate marketing. As mentioned above, the content provider cannot influence visitors' behavior during the whole process and his revenues can decrease because of mistakes on the merchants' side. Therefore, affiliate marketing can be seen as more risky than other forms of online advertising.

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