Every affiliate gets crush traffic. It lights up the dashboard. Spikes hard. Feels like “this is it.” Then… silence. No drama, just gone.
Keeper traffic is quieter. Fewer day-one screenshots. More of the steady kind you can scale without waking up to surprises.
The difference is in your stats, once you stop reading them like vanity metrics.
Crush signals (shallow, but shiny)
Crush traffic isn’t “bad.” It’s just light intent that doesn’t hold.
You’ll usually see some mix of:
- high clicks, low depth (quick exits, low scroll, short time)
- starts everywhere, completions nowhere
- peaks early, fades fast
- hype-fueled performance (big claims, heavy urgency, wide nets)
Crushes flirt. They don’t always follow through.
Keeper signals (quiet value)
Keeper traffic rarely announces itself. It behaves like people deciding.
More often it looks like:
- lower CTR, stronger engagement (time, depth, meaningful actions)
- steps that flow without extra pushing
- second interactions (they come back and do more)
- smoother scaling (fewer spikes, fewer collapses)
Boring, in the best way.
What your funnel is really telling you
This usually isn’t “traffic quality.” It’s misalignment.
Clicks high, depth low
The promise and the page don’t match, or the first screen feels like a puzzle before the user understands what’s on offer.
Starts are strong, completions drop
The path is unclear, the value arrives late, or friction shows up before confidence does.
Completions happen, but follow-up engagement dies
The first interaction worked once, but didn’t earn a second step.
Quick intent audit
No fancy tools. Just a habit.
1) Sort sources into three buckets
- Crush: spike + fade
- Mixed: inconsistent
- Keeper: steadier, improves with scale
2) Check three signals across buckets
- meaningful actions (beyond landing)
- starts vs completions (intent vs follow-through)
- follow-up engagement (do they come back for a second interaction)
3) Fix one thing on one mixed source
Pick one:
- sharpen the promise (specific beats broad)
- sync page to message (same story, same expectations)
- make the next move obvious (one clear path, less clutter)
4) Re-check after a clean window
If it shifts toward keeper behavior, scale carefully. If it stays crush, stop feeding it attention.
Fast hits
- Crushes flatter CTR. Keepers build follow-through.
- Meaningful actions and follow-up engagement reveal intent faster than headlines.
- Segment sources and route differently, or you’ll keep having “great weeks” that don’t repeat.
If your numbers keep surprising you, it’s usually intent talking. Split crushes from keepers, route smarter, and the whole account gets calmer.
If you build for keepers, Strong Affiliates is worth keeping close.