Listicles are a powerful tool for affiliate marketers.
They’re engaging, easy to read, and can be used to promote multiple offers at once.
This guide will define listicles, show you examples, and explain how to use them in your affiliate marketing campaigns.
What is a Listicle?
A listicle is an article presented in the form of a list. This format is highly effective because it’s visually appealing and easy to digest. Listicles are a great way to present information in a concise and engaging manner, making them perfect for online marketing.
Why Use Listicles in Affiliate Marketing?
- Increased Engagement: Listicles are more engaging than traditional articles, keeping readers on the page longer.
- Higher Click-Through Rates: The list format encourages clicks, leading to more conversions.
- Multiple Offer Promotion: You can promote a variety of affiliate products within a single listicle.
Examples of Listicles
A simple Google search for a certain keyword will yield numerous listicles. These often feature a consumer guide-style layout, with ratings, brief descriptions, and “visit site” links leading directly to affiliate offers.
Example 1. “Best Productivity Apps for Entrepreneurs”

This listicle targets entrepreneurs and provides a curated list of productivity apps. Each item on the list would include a brief description of the app, its key features, and a link to download or learn more. This could be published on a blog, a tech review website, or even within a productivity app itself.
Example 2. “7 Healthy Breakfast Recipes for Busy Mornings”
This listicle caters to health-conscious individuals with busy schedules.
Each item would feature:
- a delicious and healthy breakfast recipe
- a short description,
- ingredients list
- a link to the full recipe on a food blog or website.
This type of listicle could be found on health and wellness blogs, recipe websites, or even social media platforms like Pinterest.
Example 3. “5 Tips for Creating Engaging Social Media Content”
This listicle aims to help businesses and marketers improve their social media presence.
Each tip would offer actionable advice and strategies for creating engaging content. This could be published on a marketing blog, a social media platform’s resource page, or as part of an online course.
Example 4. “Top 10 Travel Destinations for Budget Travelers”
This listicle appeals to travelers seeking affordable adventures. Each destination would be accompanied by a brief description, highlights, and budget-friendly travel tips. This could be featured on a travel blog, a booking website, or a travel agency’s website.
Example 5. “3 Must-Have Gadgets for Tech Lovers”
This listicle focuses on tech enthusiasts and recommends a selection of gadgets. Each item would include a description of the gadget, its features, and a link to purchase it online.
This could be published on a tech review website, a gadget store’s blog, or a YouTube channel dedicated to tech reviews.
These are just a few examples of the diverse range of listicles you can find online. They can cover any topic, cater to any audience, and be published on various platforms. The key is to provide valuable information in an easily digestible format that encourages clicks and engagement.
How to Plan a Listicle Campaign
1. Keyword Research
- Why it’s crucial: Keyword research forms the foundation of your listicle campaign. It helps you understand what your target audience is searching for and how to tailor your content to their needs.
- Tools to use: Semrush is a popular SEO tool that offers a suite of features for keyword research. Other useful tools include Ahrefs, Moz Keyword Explorer, and Google Keyword Planner.
2. Identifying relevant keywords:
- Brainstorm seed keywords: Start with broad terms related to your niche (e.g., “weight loss,” “digital marketing,” “travel”).
- Use keyword research tools: Enter your seed keywords into the tools to generate a list of related keywords.
- Analyze keyword metrics: Pay attention to search volume (how many people are searching for the keyword), keyword difficulty (how hard it is to rank for the keyword), and search intent (what people are looking for when they use the keyword).
3. Focus on informational and commercial intent:
- Informational keywords: These indicate that people are looking for information (e.g., “how to lose weight,” “what is SEO”). Use these keywords to create informative and helpful listicles.
- Commercial keywords: These suggest that people are ready to buy (e.g., “best weight loss programs,” “SEO services”). Use these keywords to promote your affiliate offers.
4. Find Affiliate Offers
Choose the right affiliate networks:
- ClickBank: A large affiliate network with a wide range of products in various niches.
- CJ Affiliate: Another popular network with a focus on larger brands and established companies.
- ShareASale: A well-respected network with a diverse selection of merchants and products.
- MyLead: it is a great affiliate network with offers in all kind of areas.
Select relevant and high-quality offers:
- Relevance: Choose products that are relevant to your listicle topic and target audience.
- Quality: Promote products that you believe in and that offer genuine value to your audience.
- Commission rates: Compare commission rates from different merchants to ensure you’re getting a good deal.
- Cookie duration: Consider the cookie duration offered by each merchant. A longer cookie duration gives you more time to earn a commission after a user clicks your affiliate link.
5. Tracking
- Why track your campaigns?
- Tracking is essential for understanding how your listicles are performing and identifying areas for improvement.
- Using CPV Lab: CPV Lab is a powerful tracking tool that allows you to monitor various metrics, including:
- Clicks: Track clicks on each affiliate link in your listicle.
- Conversions: Monitor how many clicks lead to actual sales or other desired actions (sales, lead generation, calls, etc)
- Revenue: Track the amount of revenue generated by your listicle (everything is done with postback tracking via server to server integrations)
- ROI: Calculate your return on investment for each campaign.
- Benefits of tracking:
- Identify top-performing offers: See which products are generating the most conversions and revenue.
- Test and compare different traffic sources to identify the best performing ones
- Optimize your listicles: Easy A/B test different versions of your listicles to see what works best.
- Improve your ROI: Make data-driven decisions to improve the profitability of your campaigns.
Here’s a table summarizing good metrics and values to track for CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) on listicle landing pages, specifically for affiliate media buyers:
Metric/Value to Track | Ideal Range/Value | What It Tells You |
---|---|---|
Click-Through Rate (CTR) on Ads | 2%–5%+ (industry average, varies by niche) | Measures how well your ad grabs attention and drives traffic to your listicle. |
CTR on Landing Page CTA | 15%–30%+ (of visitors clicking CTA) | Tracks how engaging your content is and how well it directs users to the desired action. |
Engagement Time on Page | 1–3 minutes (depending on list length and content depth) | Indicates if users find your listicle engaging and are spending enough time consuming it. |
Scroll Depth | 70%–100% (most users reaching the end of the page) | Shows whether users are scrolling through the entire listicle or losing interest midway. |
Bounce Rate | Below 50% (lower is better) | Reveals how many users leave the page without interacting, indicating relevance and usability. |
Conversion Rate | 2%–10%+ (depends on offer and traffic quality) | Tracks the percentage of users completing the desired action, like clicking through to an offer. |
Ad-to-Landing Page Profit (ROI) | Positive ROI (e.g., $1.50 earned per $1 spent) | Indicates if the combination of your ads and listicle is profitable overall. |
A/B Test Performance Lift | 5%–15%+ improvement in winning version | Measures how much better one variation performs compared to the original or control version. |
By following these steps and paying attention to each component, you can create a well-planned and effective listicle campaign that drives traffic, engagement, and conversions.
Optimizing Your Listicle Campaign
1. A/B Testing
The Core Concept: A/B testing involves creating two or more versions of your listicle with variations in specific elements.
- You then split your traffic between these versions and track which one performs better in terms of clicks, conversions, or other desired metrics.
- It is important to track and compare the CTR on the ads and the CTR on your landing page, engagement and of course Profit.
Elements to Test:
- Headlines: The headline is the first thing people see. Experiment with different wording, lengths, and styles (e.g., questions, how-to’s, numbers) to capture attention.
- Offer Arrangement: Does the order of your listed items impact clicks? Try different arrangements to see if leading with a particular product or category influences results.
- Call to Action (CTA) Buttons: The wording, color, size, and placement of your CTA buttons can significantly affect click-through rates. Test variations to find what encourages the most clicks.
- Images and Visuals: Use different images, videos, or graphics to see what resonates best with your audience.
- Listicle Length: Experiment with the number of items in your list. A shorter list might be more concise, while a longer list might offer more comprehensive options.
- Layout and Design: Test different layouts, fonts, colors, and overall design elements to optimize for readability and visual appeal.
Tools for A/B Testing:
- CPV Lab: Advanced platform with a wider range of features
- MV Lab: a multivariate tool integrated with CPV Lab will allow to track all the different elements of a landing page without creating copies for it.
Analyzing Results: Use your tracking data to determine which version of your listicle performs best. Look for statistically significant differences in clicks, conversions, and revenue.
Examples of Tests and Their Impact:
Element to Test | Metric to Track | Potential Impact |
---|---|---|
Headlines | CTR on Ads & CTR on Landing Page | A stronger headline can increase clicks and set the tone for higher engagement. |
Offer Arrangement | Engagement Time & Conversion Rate | Reordering offers can focus user attention and lead to more conversions. |
CTA Button Design | CTR on Landing Page & Conversion Rate | A more compelling CTA button can significantly boost action rates. |
Images/Visuals | Scroll Depth & Engagement Time | High-quality visuals can improve user interest and encourage them to read more. |
Listicle Length | Bounce Rate & Engagement Time | The right length keeps users interested without overwhelming or boring them. |
Layout and Design | Bounce Rate & Scroll Depth | Clean, appealing designs improve readability and keep users on the page longer. |
2. Mobile Optimization
- Why it Matters: A significant portion of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If your listicle isn’t optimized for mobile, you risk losing a large segment of your audience.
- Key Considerations:
- Responsive Design: Ensure your listicle adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and orientations.
- Page Speed: Optimize images and other elements to ensure fast loading times on mobile connections.
- Readability: Use a font size and style that’s easy to read on smaller screens.
- Navigation: Make it easy for users to navigate your listicle and click on links using their fingers.
- Mobile-Friendly Testing: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check if your listicle is optimized for mobile.
Here are also examples of the metrics to check:
Element to Test | Metric to Track | Potential Impact |
---|---|---|
Responsive Design | Bounce Rate & Engagement Time | Ensures users stay on the page longer, improving engagement and reducing exits. |
Page Speed | Page Load Time & Conversion Rate | Faster loading boosts user retention and increases the likelihood of conversions. |
Font Size and Style | Readability Score & Scroll Depth | Makes the content easy to read, keeping users engaged and improving overall experience. |
Navigation Usability | Click-Through Rate (CTR) & Bounce Rate | Easier navigation encourages more clicks and lowers bounce rates on mobile devices. |
Mobile-Friendly Test Adjustments | Mobile Traffic Conversion Rate | Optimizing based on mobile test results improves the experience and drives more mobile conversions. |
3. Offer Diversification
- Broaden Your Appeal: By including a variety of products with different price points, you can cater to a wider range of users and increase your chances of conversions.
- High-Ticket Items: These can generate higher commissions per sale but might appeal to a smaller segment of your audience.
- Low-Ticket Items: These are more accessible to a broader audience and can drive a higher volume of sales.
- Finding the Right Balance: Experiment with different combinations of high-ticket and low-ticket items to find the optimal mix for your target audience and niche.
- Consider Upsells and Cross-sells: Once a user has shown interest in one product, consider recommending related products or upgrades to increase your average order value.
By implementing these optimization strategies, you can create a listicle campaign that is not only informative and engaging but also highly effective in driving conversions and maximizing your affiliate revenue.
Understanding Listicle Setups
In a typical listicle campaign, traffic flows through multiple levels:

- Main Landing Page (Lander): This is the entry point of the campaign and features details about various products or offers.
- Extra Landing Page (Sublander): Each product or offer on the main page has its own dedicated sublander providing more specific information.
- Offer Page: Finally, each product has its own offer page where the conversion (purchase, sign-up, etc.) takes place.
- This is usually the affiliate link received from the affiliate network.
- But it can also be the offer page from an ecommerce site or own site.
Advantages of Listicle Campaigns
- Promote Unlimited Products: You can showcase as many products as you want on the main landing page.
- Unlimited Sublanders: Each product can have its own dedicated sublander for targeted messaging.
- Multiple Offer Pages: You can rotate different offer pages for each product to test and optimize conversions.
- Comprehensive Tracking: CPV Lab tracks clicks to all sublanders and offer pages, as well as conversions from each offer page.
- Direct Traffic Compatibility: Listicles work even when visitors bypass the campaign URL and land directly on the page, making them suitable for Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and organic traffic.
Setting Up a Listicle Campaign
Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up a basic listicle campaign with two products and one offer page per product.
We will use CPV Lab ad tracker to setup the campaign effieciently and to make sure it is easy to track, test and optimize.
Create a Campaign:
Create a “Landing Page Sequence campaign” in CPV Lab (or CPV One).

Fill the required information for General settings (like campaign name or domain) , tracking settings and traffic source to be used.
Then you will get to the section where you define the landing pages from your campaign and the levels for each.
Set Main Page as Level 1:
Set up your main landing page as the single Level 1 landing page.
The “Main Level” from our example will be the entry point to our campaign. This is the main lander.
If we want to test multiple landing pages and see which one works best as a “main” lander, all you have to do is add them inside Level 1 section in the tracker.
Based on the values for “Share%” defined for each landing page, the tracker will know to split the traffic between the multiple landing pages.
For example, if you have 3 landing pages you want to test and have the shares like this:
Step | Details |
---|---|
Example of Traffic Split | |
Landing Pages | Share% |
Landing Page 1 | 25% |
Landing Page 2 | 25% |
Landing Page 3 | 50% |
Result | Out of 100 visitors: |
Visitors to Landing Page 1 | 25 |
Visitors to Landing Page 2 | 25 |
Visitors to Landing Page 3 | 50 |

Levels for Sublanders:
Add a new level for sublanders and set up your extra landing pages each with the same % share (usually but you can have different shares as well).

Setup Offers in Option Groups:
Now we get to the section for Offers.
Here the offers can be grouped also, based on the type of the offers you have.
For example:
- a group with supplements for skin care
- another group with weight lose products
- another group with sport products or programs
Create separate option groups for each offer type.

Tracking Links:
This is the section that most people that have never done tracking before are finding challenging.
In your landing pages you need to make sure all your links are using tracking links provided by CPV Lab.
Why?
Because you want to track which links are clicked! And to track further the conversion once it is happening.
So, change the afiliate links from your landing pages (main and extra landing pages) to the CPV Lab tracking links.
The ad tracker will provide the exact links you need. You need to check the section “Step1: Edit Links from Landing Page” where you will have the following options:
- Next Level – it will go to next level. You will use this link on the main level page. And when the visitor will click it, a page from Level 2.
- if you have 3 levels, then moving from level 2 to level 3 will be done with this link also.
- Level 2 – this link will go directly to a specific level, in this case to Level 2.
- This is used when you use multiple levels or you want to go back to a specific level in your funnel
- Rotate offers – this is a link that you will place to redirect to the offers in all offer groups.
- this is the tracking link redirecting to the offers
- it will rotate the offers based on the shares
- Offer name – this is a link that will go directly to that offer page
- Option group name – this link will rotate the offers from a specific option group

Save your campaign and test it using the provided Campaign URL.

Multi-Offer Pages and Multi-Level Listicles
You can expand this basic setup to include multiple offer pages per product or even add more levels for sub-sublanders.
The process is similar, with adjustments to the number of option groups and tracking link parameters.
Analyzing Listicle Data
CPV Lab provides detailed reports on landing page performance, including metrics for each level of your campaign.
You can analyze click-through rates, conversion rates, and other key data to optimize your listicle for maximum effectiveness.
See this video where analysis is explained in depth by Joey Babineau
Key Takeaways
Listicles are a valuable asset for affiliate marketers. By understanding how to create and optimize them, you can significantly increase your click-through rates and conversions.
Remember to track your results and continuously test different elements to find the winning combination for your campaigns.
Ready to Win with Listicles?
CPV Lab is the tracker you need. Sign up for a free trial and start optimizing your campaigns today!