We're currently working on an experiment which will examine DealTime.com, one of the leaders in comparison shopping. A major part of the experiment will focus on answering this question:
- What is the most effective way to set up a DealTime campaign?
Thus far, we have discovered a few points to help optimize your listings on DealTime.com:
1. Have a point of difference – either a lower price, niche products that few merchants are selling, free shipping, strong service which will come through in user reviews, or a recognized brand.
2. Optimize your DealTime program by deleting products with poor margins and/or conversions. Focus on higher converting products to improve traffic, conversion, and profitability.
3. Start your bids low and increase them over time. This will allow you to measure conversions at different pricing levels to maximize your profit margins.
4. Track conversions from click to sale that occur following the initial user session. Some merchants have dramatically increased their profits from DealTime once they began to cookie users to take into account sales resulting from DealTime clicks that occurred outside the first user session. This enabled them to improve their placement on DealTime – and therefore their traffic – at a slightly lower margin.
5. Continue to optimize your bid listings over time. The DealTime user base is constantly changing (and growing) over time, so don't expect what works one month to bring you the best profits in the next.
For more information on DealTime's Merchant Program, see https://www.dealtime.net/welcome.html. Stay tuned for the full report, which will feature our comprehensive data and analysis of DealTime campaigns.