Thousands of stores are marketing their products online, so customers have to do a little research whenever they want to buy a product. In fact, reports show that 81% of buyers undergo online research before making a purchase.
It turns out that comparison sites are the initial landing point for buyers looking for the best deals on the market.
Services provided by comparison sites
- Comparing prices charged by different stores on the same product;
- Comparing prices of financial products like loans, insurance, credit cards, or tariffs by utility companies;
- Assisting consumers in making informed purchase decisions quickly and cheaply;
A consumer compares prices online, saving the time he would have wasted by visiting these stores physically or calling their offices to ask for prices.
With millions of people visiting these comparison websites daily, many wonder how they make money. This is what we are going to analyze in today’s article.
Affiliate commissions
Comparison sites earn referral commissions from affiliate suppliers featured on these websites. In this arrangement, the website owner signs up with suppliers with an affiliate partnership program and becomes their affiliate marketer.
The supplier gives the comparison website owner tracking links to add to their website. The tracking link records referrals or sales redirected from the website. However, the site only earns a commission when the buyer makes a purchase, not just by visitors accessing the referral links. This option is called Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).
It is relevant to note that a comparison site must provide all the information a consumer requires before purchasing to make money through the CPA option.
The CPA-based deals and partnerships make up 60% of the online gaming business, as stated by Tudor Turiceanu, the CEO of casinoalpha, a UK-based online comparison service.
CPC
The Cost Per Click (CPC) system is an alternative option where websites earn a commission every time a visitor accesses the referral link provided by the supplier. By opting for the CPC alternative, the website owners can generate money by making customers interested in the product, and it’s up to the supplier to close the deal afterwards.
Advertising
Advertising is among the most widely used methods of making money when owning comparison websites.
The comparison sites rent advertising spaces to suppliers for text adverts, banners, and displays. Brands in the comparison site niche market advertise themselves to reach more possible customers.
Advertising guarantees steady revenue to the comparison site, but only if it attracts enough traffic.
Another way of earning money by advertising is setting up a Google AdSense account on your comparison site. You can state the type of advert that will appear on your website and where it will be placed.
Advertisers bid on Google in real-time to place their ads in your available space. Be sure to keep in mind that this option minimizes your control over who will be advertised on your comparison site.
Subscriptions by suppliers
You can also invite third-party suppliers to get featured on your websites in exchange for a fee. The suppliers can pay monthly annual subscriptions or pay according to the number of products that will be featured on the comparison website.
In addition, you can offer paid posts or sponsored listings where brands have to pay more for their products to rank higher on Google search results.
Charging the users
Comparison sites can charge membership fees to users who want access to their services. In this case, your market must be a very particular niche to have members pay to access your content. Hence, you must demonstrate a real added value to your content.
Additionally, your comparison site can be a learning platform for visitors. You can host webinars by inviting industry experts directly related to the products featured on your site. Such a measure will encourage people to subscribe to your site.
Top comparison sites in the world
Some popular sites for comparing prices include Google Shopping, Yahoo Shopping, BizRate, NexTag, CamelCamelCamel, Shopping.com, Pronto, Became, Shopzilla, and PriceGrabber. However, there are many other sites you can use.
Additionally, some platforms don’t function as comparison websites by default, but they still list product adverts related to the informational content they provide.
Such platform types are highly popular within the tech and iGaming markets, especially since these have some of the broadest ranges of providers in the world.
In the case of casinos, for instance, you may find listings filtered by leading game distributors, whether it is about NetE rankings or Playtech titles. Additionally, when it comes to tech products, you may find listings including top features and developments of some types of products.
Ending thoughts
Owning a comparison site can be a valuable source of revenue if you have an ongoing strategy to help you monetize it.
Make sure you choose a niche with low competition in the market but is currently in high demand. Additionally, carefully study your competition and deliver the best content available on the market to have people return to your platform.
