There is no particular season for running antivirus campaigns. While sports betting sees a massive spike during the major sporting events (like UEFA), and e-commerce gets crazier than usual during Q4, the antivirus vertical sees a steady performance pretty much 365 days a year.

If you like cashing in on seasonal crazes, you probably haven’t paid much attention to antivirus affiliate programs. But if that’s the case, you might be missing out on some solid steady stream of income.

If you want to learn how to make money running antivirus affiliate programs with push traffic, read on and get an overview of the market… and some expert tips.

Why should you advertise antivirus offers with push traffic?

If you’re wondering what’s so special about antivirus software offers, then you might be missing some crucial information. For example, that PC sales rose 13% in 2020 and that was the highest number of sales since 2014, according to the data gathered by the International Data Corporation.

So many people decided to purchase a PC in Q4 2020 that manufacturers had trouble supplying enough parts to meet the demand. Another study conducted by the Harvard Business School found that at least 16% of home-workers will remain at home after the pandemic has subsided.

And what does that mean for affiliate marketing?

The world will be spending more time at home with their personal computers. Hence, traffic sources and affiliate networks have already noted antivirus and VPN offers among the best performing verticals in 2020 and 2021.

With a global switch towards remote work, there come new concerns for security, privacy, and data protection. And while VPN sales are also on the increase, it’s antivirus software that’s known to internet users of all ages and backgrounds. And whatever they’re up to in 2021, it’s their first line of defense against the unknown abyss also called the Internet.

Why do people need antivirus software?

Assuming that you, being an affiliate marketer, know your way around the world wide web, you already know why antivirus and VPN software is necessary. But since you might need some creatives ideas for promoting an antivirus program, here are the top reasons:

• Computer viruses (including malware, ransomware, spyware, adware, and phishing) are omnipresent nowadays.
• Malicious software doesn’t have to be downloaded, it can leech onto your computer after doing such a simple thing as accidentally clicking on an ad.
• Downloading any kind of freeware can put you at risk unless you keep to official program sites.
• Potential viruses can deal permanent damage to the hardware of your computer.
• If you’re using your PC for paying your bills, accessing your bank account, or logging into work, you are at risk of having your personal information stolen or leaked.

These are just a few of the worst dangers lurking in the depths of the Internet. And that’s also why antivirus software along with the utilities and VAS verticals, are rather easy to sell. With more people owning PCs and more people working from home, this kind of software started selling like hotcakes.

What’s the best ad format to advertise antivirus offers?

As you can probably guess from the title of this article, the best ad format for advertising antiviruses (as well as other downloads relating to the safety of your computer) are push ads. Additionally, the best device to advertise antiviruses, VPNs, and any other computer protection services are… (no surprises here) desktop devices!

If you intend to promote computer protection programs, your best choice would be to create a push campaign targeting desktop traffic. While mobile devices have high conversion rates for most download offers, it’s usually apps and games that appeal most to mobile users.

Using push notifications on desktop, however, allows you to display non-invasive ads to users while they browse the Internet, search for free files, and sometimes download the files in hopes of gaining access to something they desperately want… for free. All you need to do is send out a gentle reminder about online security and you’ve potentially got yourself a new lead.

Need ideas on how to do that? Look below for examples of push creatives.

Best antivirus affiliate programs

Almost everyone has heard about the most popular antivirus programs out there. They’re reputable, reliable, and often come with the purchase of a computer as a time-limited freebie. But did you know that they have their own affiliate programs?

If you have your own website, a social media following, or you double in affiliate marketing, you can promote your favorite security solution and earn a commission from every sale. So, here are the most popular programs in the industry.

Avast

Avast is one of the best and most popular security programs. It’s trusted by millions of users and the affiliate program makes it worth your while. You can earn a fixed 35% commission on a 60-day cookie for the first month. And after that, you earn between 15% and 30% based on revenue on a 60-day cookie.

Additionally, you get ready-made banners and text links to choose from so you don’t have to put any special effort into organizing a successful campaign.

You can join the Avast affiliate program through Commission Junction (CJ Affiliate).

McAfee

McAfee is another independent cybersecurity company. The brand is known all over the world and offers additional privacy protection services which make it appealing to a very broad audience. The affiliate program offers a 25% commission and 45 day cookie lifetime. 

In this case, you can find McAfee offers in various affiliate networks, such as FlexOffers, MaxBounty, or Lemonads.

Norton

Norton by Symantec has been around for over 25 years. Apart from their desktop version, they also provide protection for iOS and Android devices. Additionally, by applying to their affiliate program, you get access to creatives and reporting tools as well as various discounts and bonuses.

You join the Norton Program via various affiliate networks such as MaxBounty or Mobipium. The commission rate amounts to 20% and the cookie lifetime is 60 days. 

AVG

The AVG affiliate program offers a 25% commission on all sales and a 60-day referral period. It’s another one of the most popular, trusted as well as oldest antivirus companies. With over 200 million users worldwide, you really don’t have to worry about the credibility of your ad campaigns.

You can find AVG offers at Commission Junction (CJ Affiliate) and joining the programs will bring you additional benefits and performance-based bonuses.

Bullguard

Last but not least, BullGuard might not be the oldest or the most known antivirus software but it’s worth mentioning because of the vast capabilities and functionality of the problem. But this, obviously, isn’t the most important information for affiliates looking for a solid offer to promote.

The most important information here is the commission, and for promoting BullGuard it starts at 35%. Additionally, the cookie lifetime is 90-days which makes this program easily the best offer here.

You can find BullGuard offers at Commission Junction (CJ Affiliate) and if you need content and creatives the team behind the program is even willing to prepare custom solutions for you.

Where to find antivirus affiliate offers?

The affiliate programs mentioned above are all very easy to find – just click on a link and get to the page. But not all of them have just one link. Sometimes you can find the same antivirus program in a number of different affiliate networks and this section is meant to give you an example of where to find well-performing offers.

Here are some offer suggestions with high conversion rates:

• Zeydoo: Bullguard AV Premium – ID: 2362
• Zeydoo: Norton Antivirus – ID: 882
• MaxBounty: Norton Antivirus – ID: 13260
• MaxBounty: McAfee Antivirus – Per Sale (UK) – ID: 20839

Zeropark’s Offer Wall

But that’s not all. While you can surely make money with the offers mentioned above, Zeropark has a special place in the advertiser panel that can get you some sweet bonuses on top of your payout. If you want to find solid antivirus offers, you can check out the Deals & Offers tab, join one of the networks listed and enjoy the extra benefits.

Here are some examples of antivirus offers from our partners:

• Clickdealer: (91818) [WEB+MOB] Norton DeLuxe DTC
• Mobidea: 26994 – SA – [MOB] – Bullguard Security – STC – PIN

How to run antivirus push campaigns successfully?

Now that you know it’s best to run antivirus campaigns with push traffic and on desktop devices, and you’ve also picked an affiliate program/offer from an affiliate network, it’s time to learn more about running campaigns.

So, of course, every campaign is different, every traffic source has a different audience and every customer has a set of different needs. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to run a well-targeted campaign with a high conversion rate.

Also, unless you’ve got previous experience running antivirus/VPN/online security downloads, you might appreciate starting with a whitelist.

Whitelist data

If you want to get a head start in the form of tried and tested targeting options, you can take any (or all) of the sources below and set up your own source campaign. Here is some classic push data:

And here are the best performing sources (+GEOs) for in-page push:

Landing page examples

While most of these affiliate programs either suggest direct linking or have their own landing pages, it’s still important to follow some basic guidelines when expanding the funnel.

Things like a quiz or a questionnaire might be a good addition to the funnel. They let the user arrive independently at the conclusion that they might need additional protection online. Taking a survey related to their browsing habits might also be helpful in raising awareness of why antivirus programs and other privacy-protecting services should not be overlooked.

Although aggressive landing pages warning users against existing threats and urging them to install antivirus software are popular in spy tools, most affiliate networks and traffic sources advise against them. Actually, in some cases, such aggressive promotion can get you permanently banned so it’s best to stick to the ‘friendly advice’ kind of landers. Just like the one below.

In the case of landing pages that lead a user straight to the registration page, it’s recommended to use another pre-lander. You can increase the performance of such a campaign by adding a page with more details. Be it an advertorial or a quiz, you need to be informative and provide quality information on the danger of the online world.

Some antivirus programs will only allow their own landing pages to be used in the promotion of the product. But this is not a bad thing. Some pages might look just like the regular homepage… but with a special product discount.

After all, when using push traffic, you catch a user’s attention with a push ad notification, and sometimes that’s all you need to gain a customer. The antivirus industry is well known and needed so you don’t have to get out of your way to promote it. Unlike survival gadgets, for example.

Antivirus selling angles

If you want to make sales, you need to promote the product in a way that speaks to your potential audience. Successful campaigns have one thing in common. They focus on the user and offer something unique. Special deals + effective targeting is your key to success.

Here are some acceptable selling angles: 

✔︎ “Protect yourself. Download XYZ antivirus software today!”

✔︎ “Keep your device safe! XYZ guarantees protection.”

✔︎ “Clean your phone! Start your free antivirus trial today.”

✔︎ “Protect your devices at a discounted cost. Buy XYZ antivirus today.”

However, it’s quite important to avoid certain angles. As we’ve mentioned before, you should stay away from any scareware type language that is meant to scare the user. No threatening images are allowed either. These are false information that can get you banned in both an affiliate network and a traffic source.

Here’s what NOT to say on your ads:

✘ “Your device is unprotected. Follow instructions to fix device XYZ.”

✘ “You have 5 viruses. Urgent update is required.”

✘ “Your device is infected with a virus and immediate action is required.”

✘ “Your device has stopped working. Buy XYZ antivirus right now to restore device functionality.”

✘ “Protection has Expired! You will lose your data!”

✘ “System warning! Click here to fix the error!”

A step by step guide by Attila O’dree

Now that you know how to prepare yourself for running antivirus offers with push traffic, let’s get to the action points. Attila O’dree has prepared a step-by-step guide on how to get started. If you’re still at the beginning of your affiliate marketing career, the guide will help you through the following:

• Spying on your competition and picking the right creatives
• Setting up campaign tracking
• Setting up the campaign in Zeropark
• Tracking data
• Optimizing the campaign
• Scaling

Click here to check out the step-by-step guide to running antivirus campaigns with push traffic by Attila O’dree.

Conclusions

The antivirus industry has been created out of the need for privacy and security of all kinds of devices connected to the Internet. It’s still needed now, just as it was years ago. And with more people working from home, and more computers being purchased in a year, the antivirus (and VPN) vertical has risen in popularity.

In affiliate marketing, push traffic happens to be the best ad format to promote such offers. Also, desktop targeting has an advantage over mobile. It doesn’t take much to turn a profit, all you need to do is prepare some ads, follow the guidelines, and drive quality traffic to your campaigns.

Are you ready to start testing?

Take advantage of the antivirus boom!
Run campaigns with Zeropark now!

Magdalena Bober