A full guide to FREE traffic for affiliate marketing

Free sources of traffic are an exhilarating topic for anyone in CPA affiliate marketing, so get excited: in today’s article, we present the essential things you must know about them!

What is free traffic?

As the name suggests, this is traffic you don’t have to pay for, or at least not much. You still need to pay for social media accounts, or for fees related to your website (domain, system admin, etc.). Even so, these sources are much cheaper than paid ones, which is why they matter so much in CPA affiliate marketing for beginners and pros alike.

There are disadvantages, however: you need to spend a lot of effort, energy and, most importantly, time.

What verticals can you profit from with free traffic sources?

You can work with almost every vertical: dating, sweepstakes, e-commerce, gambling, HR offers, Nutra, and others. That flexibility is one reason free traffic has such a strong place in CPA affiliate marketing.

Let’s talk about sources

Below is a brief overview of the relevant free traffic sources. The topic is enormous, and we could talk about it for hours, so today we’ll focus on specific features for your convenience. If you have any questions, remember that we’re always here to answer them!

1. YouTube

Starting off strong: YouTube is always at the top for free traffic. Restrictions on the platform can be bypassed, allowing you to work with every vertical.

Want us to share our secret of success on the platform? No problem! Integrating links and tools will help you on the road to success.

First, create your account and fill it with content (don’t forget to edit it with various effects or background music to avoid being suspended). YouTube Shorts (check our Shorts guide, too!) are also an effective way to insert links and expand your audience. They work very effectively right now, because YouTube’s algorithm is actively pushing Shorts into Trends to make the format more popular. Your content should depend on your product and the vertical you’re working with.

One last tip: you can bypass certain restrictions if you’re careful. With that in mind, we strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with the current restrictions so you don’t lose all your hard work.

2. Crowd marketing

Don’t mistake it for spam! Crowd marketing can be an art form: it takes skill to write comments that look real and make users want to engage. You need to be active, spend time and effort, and join all sorts of discussions.

Crowd marketing is mostly used on question services, review websites and forums. It may seem time-consuming, but in return you’ll be rewarded with conversions for a substantial amount of time. Done well, it’s one of the cheapest entry points into CPA affiliate marketing.

3. Instagram & Facebook

If you want free traffic from Facebook and Instagram, the first thing you’ll need is a well-promoted group or page. Always remember that Meta is strict and consistent with its algorithms.

Build “real” accounts and take time to cultivate trustworthy ones. Set a profile picture, add several photos, fill out your profile, add some friends, and join groups in your interest (if you’re working with the Dating vertical, join groups focused on relationships). Customize it for your targeted segment, too. Another option is to find a trusted seller of these accounts, which saves time and gives you quality accounts to work with.

After these steps, use a link-shortening service and create creatives. There are hundreds of thousands of examples, but one thing is certain: the more creative you are, the more effective your campaign will be.

4. TikTok

The platform offers heavily promoted paid ads, but free sources are alive and blooming too. There are several options:

• Live streams are a great way to engage with your audience and boost your profile. Statistics and data can be harder to monitor, though. To hold a stream, you need at least 1,000 followers.
• Comments: remember that you can’t add a link in comments.
• Videos on your account: if you manage to get For You placement, amazing! Two-step moderation (by a bot and by a live person) is always in place, so follow the guidelines to avoid getting blocked.

As with Facebook, create and customize your account. Make sure to set up a business page so you can monitor statistics, learn about your audience and view demographics. Most importantly, only business pages can add a link to your profile.

After that, it’s mainly down to creativity and time. Come up with a variety of videos that gain attention and motivate people to visit your profile and click your link. P.S. Hashtags are very useful 😉 Another great tip is to upload 3 videos at once, which multiplies your chance of landing on the For You Page.

Also check out our article about TikTok lifehacks on our blog, and our step-by-step guide to creating multiple accounts.

5. Telegram

Telegram is breaking the roof with its daily active users. With a well-advertised account, you can send traffic to almost anything, as long as your offer’s conditions suit Telegram traffic.

The disadvantage is that your channel may take a long time to gain popularity. You have two options: simply put in more work, or promote your channel in other groups and channels. You can also add bots for moderation and leisure activities. Be unique, active, and creative, and you’ll earn here with ease.

Trafee’s tip: Find groups and channels where your target audience is. Engage with active members and invite them to your channel with offer links. We recommend using our Smartlink, since it’s optimized to automatically choose the most suitable offer for each user, which is why a dating smartlink for affiliates works so well with Telegram audiences.

Now you know the basics of free traffic, and we hope this article helped you understand CPA affiliate marketing a little better. Free traffic won’t replace paid campaigns, but it gives every newcomer to CPA affiliate marketing a realistic way to start earning before spending a big budget.