As remote working became the norm, a growing number of internet users started using VPN and Antivirus software. With the pandemic forcing people indoors, people relied heavily on the internet for everyday activities like work, education, shopping, entertainment, etc. VPN and antivirus software played an essential role in facilitating these processes while ensuring security and easy accessibility.

Push advertising platform Pushground analyses the recent trends to show how Antivirus and VPN providers can leverage push ads to drive market outreach and improve sales.

Decoding the VPN and Antivirus Software Vertical in 2022

VPN and Antivirus software optimise your browsing experience by providing easy access and security during your internet sessions. Although these verticals aren’t new, their demand steadily rose during the lockdown as people started spending more time indoors.

As internet users get familiar with the benefits of Antivirus and VPN, they’re never going back. Most people end up subscribing to security solutions at the end of the trial period. And advertisers can end up earning upwards of $100 per download, recovering their initial investments in record time.

Why You Should Advertise VPN and Antivirus with Push Traffic

As the world spends more time on personal computers, affiliate networks and traffic sources have found that VPN and antivirus are the two highest-grossing verticals of 2020/21. And the trend is likely to continue well into 2022.

As people get used to the remote working culture, new concerns about data protection, security, and privacy will surface. VPN and antivirus sales are at an all-time high, and experts believe the trend won’t die down anytime soon.

Why Do People Need Antivirus Software?

• These are the top reasons people need antivirus software in 2022.
• Computer viruses like ransomware, adware, spyware, malware and phishing software are commonplace.
• You don’t always have to download malicious software. They can leech onto your device when you accidentally click on an ad, e-mail or link.
• Freeware poses a significant threat to unprotected devices unless they’re downloaded from official sources.
• Potent virus infections can cause permanent damage to the hardware.
• If you access your bank account and other confidential details from an unprotected PC on public networks, you risk getting your information stolen.

Why Do People Need a VPN?

Some of the major benefits of using a VPN are:

•  Hide personally identifiable information like IP address, location, etc.
• VPNs encrypt the data sent from your PC, making it difficult for hackers to snoop around.
• Prevent data and bandwidth throttling by avoiding caps set by the ISP.
• Get access to geo-blocked websites and services.

Why Push Ads are the Best Format for Promoting VPN and Antivirus

There are several reasons why push ads are the best way of promoting VPN and antivirus, especially when targeting PC users. CPA offers targeting desktop traffic have the highest returns when promoting antivirus and VPN. At the same time, mobile users are more prone to downloading games and apps.

With the help of push notifications, you can display ads in a non-invasive manner. Push ads appear when people browse the internet, look for free files, and access stuff they desperately want. You can simply send a reminder about the need for online security, and chances are people will respond to the ad. Thus, getting you a lead.

Among the several benefits of running push ads, the following stand out.

High CTR

Push campaigns have the highest Click-through Rate and perform well in terms of traffic cost and conversion rate.

Greater Visibility

Push ads are difficult to miss since they appear in the notification window on both the PC and mobile. And unlike standard banner ads, push notifications aren’t intrusive. Advanced formats allow advertisers to create in-page advertisements that can be viewed on smartwatches too.

Low Traffic Cost

Push ads are a cheaper form of advertising compared to social media campaigns. Advertisers simply pick the target geo, set the minimum cost per click and traffic volume based on their budget, and the campaign is ready to go live.

How to Pick the Best Offers to Promote?

Choosing the best offers is as important as picking the best traffic type. These are some of the crucial points to remember.

Pick an Offer with a Clear USP

The landing page is the most crucial page on the website. And it’s paramount that this page reiterates everything you claim on your creative push campaign. One of the most effective strategies is to narrate the story of somebody who lost sensitive information to phishing attacks.

Choose GEOs That Are Relevant to Your Budget and Target

The CPC varies extensively based on geolocation. For instance, the cost per click in Brazil is $0.03008, while in the USA, the prices can be as high as $0.21856. So, if you’re targeting a specific market, make sure the ROI is worth it.

Pick Offers for the Mass Market

Keep track of the most popular antivirus or VPN in your target GEO. And make sure you promote the latest version of the software to avoid wasting money running multiple campaigns simultaneously.

Check Offer Validity

If you’re an affiliate, don’t pick the latest offers, as they don’t have the necessary statistics to evaluate performance. Avoid selecting old offers as several webmasters will have used them. Choose an offer based on relevance, recent trends, and ones that promise to solve users’ problems.

How to Run Push Campaigns Successfully

Before beginning, remember that every campaign is different, every traffic source has a unique audience, and every customer has different expectations and needs. However, it’s not impossible to run a successful campaign with a high conversion rate. So, unless you have prior experience running push ads for VPN or antivirus software, we recommend starting with a whitelist.

Whitelist Data

Whitelist data gives you direct access to tried and tested targeting options, which is an excellent head start if you’re new.

Landing Page

The best affiliate campaigns lead directly to a landing page. Include a quiz or questionnaire to help the audience arrive independently at the conclusion that they need a VPN or antivirus for additional online safety. Just don’t get too aggressive, or your campaigns can be banned.

Highlight the Selling Points

If you want to sell online protection tools, you must promote the product in a way that appeals to the target audience. Successful campaigns focus on the user and position the product in a way that solves a problem.

How to Optimise Your Campaigns

Once you hit positive ROI for a few consecutive days, it’s time to optimise your campaign. It’s a four-step process.

Track Your Conversions

Pushground lets you track your performance and optimise the campaign automatically.

Optimise the Landing Page

All creative elements tend to burn out after a while. Hence, you must update them periodically according to split testing results. Take at least three combinations and implement the one showing the best results.

Target by Devices

Test mobile and desktop campaigns separately to check which campaigns work for which device. We recommend testing on the latest versions of Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

Optimise Traffic Sources

To ensure you’re getting the highest ROI, turn off non-converting campaigns or ones that are too expensive. Pushground’s advanced auto-optimisation feature helps optimise campaigns with AI, saving time and effort.

Most Popular Affiliate Programs and Ad Networks

Before promoting an offer, ensure that it’s worth the time. We recommend spending time researching and comparing several offers before planning a campaign. We’ve shortlisted the best VPN and antivirus offers to help you start.

Best VPN Affiliate Programs

• NordVPN
• PrivateVPN
• PureVPN
• Surfshark
• ExpressVPN
• Norton VPN
• Cyber Ghost
• TunnelBear VPN
• Fastest VPN
• VPNCity

Best Antivirus Affiliate Programs

• McAfee
• Norton
• Panda Security
• Kaspersky
• Avast
•  Bitdefender
• Trend Micro
• Eset
•  BullGuard
• Heimdal Security

Best Affiliate Networks

•  MyLead
• GuruMedia
• Lemonads
• Adgatemedia
• Zeydoo
• Natifico

Scale Your Marketing Efforts with Pushground

Pushground’s leading ad network boosts your marketing performance with provable results. Here’s how we do it.

Global Volumes to Scale

Tap into our massive push traffic inventory with over 1 billion daily impressions across 180 countries. Our campaigns help scale your business and improve conversion and deliver results.

Launch Campaigns Instantly

Your days of waiting for the campaign to go live are over. Pushground’s self-service campaigns are instantly approved so that you can focus on creating ads and analysing the results for future campaigns.

Optimisation Made Easy

You can now auto-optimise your campaigns and save precious time. Using our automatic rules, you can successfully create and manage multiple push ads simultaneously for quicker results.

Summary

When creating push ads for VPN and antivirus software, structure them, keeping the device type in mind. Unlike other verticals, campaigns promoting online security tools perform better on PCs than mobile devices.

These evergreen verticals don’t burn out as quickly as other push campaigns. And depending on the payout, marketers can place competitive bids above the GEO average. We highly recommend promoting this vertical with push campaigns and calendar ads.

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