What are verticals and which ones do we work with?

While the dust settles from another record-breaking Black Friday and Cyber Monday season, one question lingers – so which business verticals had the most consumer demand? Was homewares, the long-standing top performer, dethroned by the booming health and wellness industry? How did the gaming industry fare with the further integration of AI this year? Before we break that down (spoiler alert: BFCM recap blog coming soon), let’s discuss what verticals are in the first place and how the affiliate marketing industry utilizes them.

The affiliate marketing dictionary is full of terms that you will learn as you begin or grow your program. A common one that you will hear when starting out and continue to pay attention to is “vertical.” In this instance, vertical isn’t referring to the growth you’ll see on the charts after just a few months, but to the industry your product or service benefits. 

Verticals are how niches that share similar characteristics or target audiences are organized. This categorizing helps streamline the process of connecting brands with publishers who have relevant audiences. Ensuring that promotional efforts reach an interested consumer base is key to a successful affiliate marketing program. You don’t want all of your hard work to be shown off to people who won’t feel a sense of enthusiasm from what they’re seeing.

As a tech-enabled agency, our use of verticals goes beyond categorization. It also serves as the foundation for the way we monitor, analyze, and use data. This strategic approach allows us to derive valuable insights from the relationships between brands and publishers, and make data-driven decisions to optimize future collaborations. 

Affiliate marketing is versatile and can be used in a wide variety of industries. Advertise Purple works with 23 verticals, each with unique opportunities to establish and expand their digital presence. The verticals we currently work with are:

1. Accessories & Jewelry
2. Apparel & Fashion
3. Art/Photo/Music
4. Automotive
5. Beauty
6. Children & Baby Products
7. Computer/Electronics/Software
8. Consumer Goods
9. Education
10. Entertainment
11. Eyewear
12. Financial Services
13. Food & Beverages
14. Games & Toys
15. Gifts & Flowers
16. Health & Wellness
17. Home & Living
18. Mature & Adult
19. Pet & Animal Care
20. Services
21. Sleep
22. Sports & Outdoors
23. Travel & Hospitality 

Our data-informed approach is able to give daily and monthly insights into how each vertical is performing. Whether your brand fits neatly into one of these categories or straddles boundaries, the affiliate marketing space is dynamic and constantly growing. If you are eager to learn more about how affiliate marketing can elevate your brand, contact our team to learn more.