An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between companies (merchants) that want to sell their products or services and individuals or companies (affiliates) that promote these products or services. The primary purpose of an affiliate network is to facilitate the management of affiliate programs for a range of different merchants, including handling tasks like tracking traffic and sales, reporting, and payment processing.
Here's a breakdown of how it works:
Merchants and Products/Services: Businesses that want to sell products or services and are looking to expand their sales channels through affiliate marketing.
Affiliates or Publishers: Individuals or companies that promote the products or services. They might use various channels such as blogs, social media, email marketing, or websites to reach potential customers.
Affiliate Network: This is the platform that connects merchants and affiliates. The network provides the tools needed for tracking, reporting, and payment processing. It ensures that affiliates are compensated for the traffic or sales they generate.
Tracking and Reporting: The affiliate network uses technology to track the sales or leads generated by each affiliate. This is typically done using unique tracking codes or cookies.
Commission and Payment: Affiliates earn commissions based on the sales or leads they generate. The affiliate network is responsible for calculating these commissions and distributing payments.
Support and Management: The network often provides support to both merchants and affiliates, helping with technical issues, optimizing performance, and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Affiliate networks are popular because they provide a win-win scenario for both merchants and affiliates. Merchants get more sales or leads through a performance-based marketing channel, while affiliates have the opportunity to earn money by promoting products or services they believe in.
Affiliate Marketing has become one of the go-to ways to make money online. This is due to more brands and manufacturers embracing digital marketing as a major way of getting their products to consumers. The concept is surprisingly simple: a blogger (the affiliate), for instance, puts up a link to a product on a blog post. If a consumer purchases the product through that link, the blogger gets paid by the manufacturer (the merchant).
Affiliate networks act as a middleman between brands and affiliates. It is a platform that allows interested persons to find affiliate programs that will suit them best. Affiliate networking is based on a system that allows an affiliate of a network to share links to products of other affiliates. Affiliates are also responsible for coming up with advertisement content. This makes it different from other online ads where brands have to create their own content.
To find success in affiliate marketing, it is crucial that one joins a good affiliate network. A good affiliate network should be able to provide you with the kind of products you want to promote. This means that it must have a wide range of affiliate offers which should be easy to find. It should also enable you to take part in multiple affiliate programs. A good affiliate network should also be reliable in its payment methods and provision of analytics.
There are lots of affiliate networks and finding the right one for you can be challenging. That said, if you are an SEO expert or enthusiast, knowing the best paying affiliate networks for SEO increases your chances of earning more money. You can also prefer effective solutions relating to affiliate marketing to your audience. To assist you in your search, this article is all you need to find the most rewarding affiliate networks.
How Do Affiliate Networks Work?
Affiliate networks function through a coordinated system that involves merchants, affiliates, and the network platform itself. Here's a detailed breakdown of how they operate:
Joining the Network:
Merchants sign up with the affiliate network to promote their products or services. They provide details about their affiliate program, including the commission structure, the type of products or services they offer, and any promotional material.
Affiliates (also known as publishers) also join the network. They are individuals or companies that have websites, blogs, or other platforms through which they can promote products.
Program Selection and Promotion:
Once part of the network, affiliates can browse through different affiliate programs and select those they want to promote.
They use the promotional materials provided by the merchants (like banners, links, or product feeds) on their platforms to attract potential customers.
Tracking and Attribution:
When an affiliate promotes a product, they use a unique tracking link provided by the affiliate network.
If a customer clicks on this link and makes a purchase or completes a desired action (like filling out a form), the transaction is tracked back to the respective affiliate through cookies or other tracking mechanisms.
Reporting and Analytics:
The affiliate network provides both merchants and affiliates with access to a dashboard or reporting tools.
These tools show real-time data about clicks, sales, commissions, and other relevant metrics.
Commission and Payment:
Affiliates earn a commission for each sale or qualified action that was a result of their marketing efforts. The commission structure varies and can be based on a percentage of the sale, a fixed amount per transaction, or other criteria set by the merchant.
The affiliate network is responsible for processing payments. They collect the funds from the merchants and distribute them to the affiliates, typically on a monthly basis or when a minimum payout threshold is reached.
Compliance and Support:
Affiliate networks also ensure that both parties comply with the agreed terms and conditions, including adherence to legal requirements like disclosure of affiliate links.
They provide support to both merchants and affiliates, assisting with technical issues, offering advice on best practices, and optimizing performance.
affiliate networks streamline the process of affiliate marketing by providing a central platform where merchants and affiliates can connect, track performance, and manage payments. This model allows for effective scaling of marketing efforts for merchants, while offering a diverse range of products and earning opportunities for affiliates.
Why Should Publishers Join an Affiliate Network?
Publishers, or affiliates, have several compelling reasons to join an affiliate network. Here are some key benefits:
Access to Multiple Programs: Affiliate networks provide publishers with access to a wide range of affiliate programs from various merchants in one place. This variety allows publishers to easily find products or services that align with their audience's interests and their content niche.
Simplified Management: Managing multiple affiliate relationships individually can be cumbersome. Networks centralize the management process, providing a single platform for tracking performance, accessing promotional materials, and managing payouts.
Reliable Tracking and Reporting: Affiliate networks offer advanced tracking technology to accurately track clicks, sales, and commissions. This reliable tracking ensures that publishers are fairly credited for the traffic and conversions they generate.
Timely and Consolidated Payments: Networks handle the payment process, ensuring that publishers receive their earnings on time. This is often more efficient than dealing with multiple merchants who might have varying payment schedules and terms.
Support and Tools: Many networks provide support and resources to help publishers maximize their affiliate marketing efforts. This may include access to analytics tools, marketing tips, and dedicated account managers.
Credibility and Trust: Well-established affiliate networks are trusted by both merchants and publishers. Being part of a reputable network can enhance a publisher's credibility in the eyes of potential partners and their audience.
Opportunity for Growth: Networks often provide insights and data that can help publishers optimize their strategies, identify new opportunities, and grow their affiliate marketing business.
Reduced Administrative Burden: Publishers don’t have to worry about negotiating terms or handling administrative tasks like invoicing and follow-ups. The network manages these aspects, allowing publishers to focus more on content creation and promotion.
Market Insights: Networks have a broad view of market trends and performance data across various sectors. This information can be invaluable for publishers in understanding what works and adapting their strategies accordingly.
Compliance and Risk Management: Networks often ensure that marketing practices comply with legal requirements, reducing the risk for publishers who might not be fully versed in the relevant laws and regulations.
joining an affiliate network can provide publishers with a more streamlined, efficient, and potentially more profitable way to engage in affiliate marketing. It allows them to focus on content creation and audience engagement while leveraging the network's infrastructure for the business aspects of affiliate marketing.
11 Best Affiliate Networks to Join in 2024
1. Rakuten Affiliate Network
Rakuten affiliate network is one of the best and oldest affiliate networks around. They deal mainly with retail goods and are known for their use of premium technology to deliver results. Rakuten has been voted as the industry's number one affiliate marketing network for the past 9 years. They take great care in maintaining good relationships with all their partners. The over 150,000 publishers they boast worldwide shows what a great job they are doing.
To optimize sales, Rakuten makes use of dynamic technology like flexible linking options and rotating ads. Some of the brands represented by them include JanSport, New Balance, Dennis Kirk, Pacsun, and Virgin Holidays.
Features
Deals mainly in retail goods
Allows check payment, PayPal, and direct deposits
Approves a minimum payment of $50
Rakuten payment models: CPS (Cost Per Sale), CPA (Cost Per Action), CPC (Cost Per Click), and CPL (Cost Per Lead)
2. AffiliaXe
AffiliaXe sees itself as the leading affiliate network worldwide. The company strives to live up to that description. It implements an approval process that is based only on invitation. This is done to maintain its exclusive image.
AffiliaXe has a large collection of premium affiliate offers in different categories. Once selected, you are paired with an affiliate manager. These managers are there to help you with offer selection and traffic optimization, amongst other things. AffiliaXe makes use of monetizing tools such as cross-device retargeting and XML-Product feeds. A bonus of $1000 is given to new affiliates and the company delivers payment every 2 weeks. With over 26,000 active publishers, AffiliaXe is an exclusive and quality-driven affiliate network.
Features
A large collection of specialized offers
Approves a minimum payment of $100
Allows check, PayPal, Payoneer or Wire transfer
Provides excellent customer service via affiliate managers
AffiliaXe payment model includes CPS, CPL, CPA
3. Clickbank
Founded in 1998, Clickbank has been around for quite some time. It stands out from other affiliate networks by dealing mainly with information products produced by digital entrepreneurs. They have over 200 million customers worldwide and have built an impressive catalog of quality digital products.
Clickbank has built a reputation for reliability with on-time payment of commissions. They are among the highest payers in the market with commissions reaching up to 75%. Clickbank makes use of its HOPLINK tracking system to ensure that affiliates get paid. If a customer makes a purchase within 60 days after using the product link, the HOPLINK tracking system ensures that the affiliate who provided that link receives the commission.
Features
Offers products on digital information and encourages self-improvement
Allows Payoneer, wire transfer, check
Approves minimum payment of $10
Has a good referral program
Clickbank payment models: CPM (Cost Per thousand Impression)
4. MaxBounty
MaxBounty is a CPA affiliate marketing network specializing in providing maximum ROI to all its users. Although mentioned earlier, CPA means cost per action. This entails that affiliate commissions are paid based on customer action. Actions could be anything from a sale to a download. The advertisers pay the commissions generated by these actions. MaxBounty has built a reputation for reliability and it is widely considered among the best CPA affiliate networks.
Features
Has multiple offers in fields such as real estate and dieting.
Enables Payoneer, Checks, PayPal, Wire transfer, and Bitcoin.
Approves minimum payment of $100
MaxBounty payment models: CPA, CPL
5. ShareASale
ShareASale is one of the biggest affiliate marketing networks in the US and has been in operation for about 20 years. It has built a well-known reputation for fairness and honesty. With over 3,900 merchants on the network, ShareASale offers personalized guidance to help in obtaining maximum results. The merchant programs cover a wide range of categories including clothing, jewelry, and other accessories, as well as music reviews and auction services. Some of the technology ShareASale uses include real-time tracking, clickstream attribution, segmentation, merchant, and affiliate API. These are used to ensure that everyone gets the best deal from using the network.
In a bid to provide more opportunities globally to local publishers, Awin, a global affiliate network, purchased ShareASale in 2017.
Features
Offers a variety of merchant programs in fashion, business, gardening as well as art.
Allows check and direct deposits
Approves a minimum payment of $50
ShareASale payment models: CPA, CPL, CPC, and CPS.
6. MoreNiche
Founded in 2002, MoreNiche offers a range of products limited to the health, fitness, and well-being categories. Despite not having a wide range of products, they are primarily focused on quality. Their products are of high quality. MoreNiche affiliates are also some of the top earners in the industry with commissions reaching up to 40% on average. They also offer good customer relations and provide training for inexperienced affiliates. Their affiliate manages to give practical support on SEO optimization. Another special feature that separates MoreNiche from other networks is their guaranteed payments. Affiliates are paid by MoreNiche, and not by advertisers. This means that their affiliates can rest-assured of payment, even though the advertisers do not pay.
Features
Offers programs in specialized niches such as health, weight loss, and fitness.
Allows Payoneer, direct deposits, Bitcoin, and Skrill
Approves a minimum payment of $100
MoreNiche payment models: CPS
11. Market Health
Market Health is an industry leader in health and beauty products. The affiliate network services over 100 countries globally. Over 200 products of which they offer are manufactured by them. Price bumps can easily be negotiated with Market Health, provided over 20 sales can be achieved per day. This is due to their willingness to give better rates to excellent partners.
Their global offers come with localized languages and methods of processing payment. Market Health makes use of real-time tracking, in partnership with Has Offers, to provide affiliates with a reliable tracking system. They offer one of the highest commissions in the industry and give experienced affiliates custom offers.
Features
Offers a wide variety of products in health and beauty categories
Allows Payoneer, Skrill, Checks, and Wire transfer
Approves minimum payment of $20
Market Health payment models: CPA, profit sharing
Best Affiliate Programs
Amazon Affiliate Program (Amazon Associates)
Amazon is the largest and most popular US retailer. That popularity also extends to their affiliate program called Amazon Associates. Affiliates are given the chance to choose what to advertise from over a million products.
Amazon's affiliate program stands out from others because it is easy to use. They also have a wide range of goods offered by different brands. A lot of their associates even get 5-6 figure salaries even though Amazon commissions are low compared to others in the industry. This just shows that Amazon links generate plenty of traffic.
Amazon makes sure that members do not violate their Terms of Service which are strictly enforced. Any infringement of their rules could result in a permanent ban regardless of personal loss to affiliates.
Features
Has one of the largest collection of retail products
Allows check, direct deposits, and Amazon gift cards
Approves minimum payment of $10
Payments are held for 60 days
eBay Partner Network
eBay, just like Amazon, has an affiliate marketing program called eBay Partner Network. They have a global reach with about 183 million active buyers in 190 markets worldwide. Its 1.4 billion listings show the diversity of the platform. They also offer a wide range of retail goods, although not as much as Amazon. However, they do offer good commission rates ranging from 50% - 70%. Commissions are even doubled for new buyers or buyers who have been absent for up to 12 months.
eBay partner network provides tools such as smart links, smart placement, bookmarklet tool, and link generator to improve traffic and increase revenue. Some of eBay's partners include Adidas, Reebok, Crocs, Asus, and Philips.
Features
Offers a large collection of retail goods
Allows PayPal and direct deposits
Approves a minimum payment of $10
Choosing the Best Affiliate Network for You
It has been established that there are a lot of affiliate networks in the market. However, there are certain factors that you should consider to find the one that is just right for you.
1.) The Affiliate Network's Payment Model
There are different payment models and the large affiliate networks make use of multiple models. Smaller networks, on the other hand, might choose to focus on one or two models. This makes them committed and helps provide expert service based on the model(s) of choice.
Payment models used by affiliate networks include
CPA - CPA refers to Cost Per Action or Cost Per Acquisition. It basically involves an advertiser who makes payment only when an action has been taken by a user. This action could be anything from a sale, a lead generation, a subscription, or even a download.
CPC - CPC means Cost Per Click. This involves an affiliate getting paid by an advertiser when ad links are clicked.
CPM - CPM means Cost Per Mille or Cost Per 1000 Impressions. This involves advertisers paying when a particular advertisement is viewed 1000 times.
CPS - CPS means Cost Per Sale. This is a very common payment model where affiliates receive commissions per product sale.
CPL - CPL means Cost Per Lead. This model is used by advertisers to determine how much lead an advert has generated. It usually involves redirecting a user to a site to perform an action. This action then generates the lead.
2.) Merchants
It is very important to know the type of merchants that are drawn to a network. Is an affiliate network populated by large brands or smaller, local brands? What types of products are these brands selling? Do they offer digital services or mainly physical retail goods? Are other people making money selling these items? These questions must be addressed. This is because you want to choose a network that is active and profitable. A network that is designed in a way that optimizes your strengths and makes your life easier.
3.) Safety
Safety is a topic that mainly concerns the merchant. It is the merchant whose money is at risk. However, as an affiliate, you want to choose a network that offers you transparency with the merchant. It is in your best interest for the merchant to be protected against fraud because you need to receive your commission. If a security issue comes up, a merchant might stop payment or even leave the affiliate network.
As an affiliate, it is also important that your affiliate links are protected from fraud. There are dubious persons online who might be looking to steal your sales data so they can copy your work. Insecurity is counter-productive to all your good work and can render all your effort as a waste.
4.) Involvement of Affiliate Managers
An important part of a good affiliate network is the affiliate manager. These people are there to help both brands and affiliates. It is important that you choose a network known for having good managers who are ready to help. This is increasingly important as some networks have managers who double as salespeople. These managers direct affiliates toward products that offer no value to your audience but benefit the network. Good affiliate managers do their best to find the best offers for your audience. They are also approachable and offer valuable support and assistance to any problem you might encounter.
5.) Payment Policies and Methods
It is important to understand the payment policies of the affiliate network you intend to join. How frequently do you want to be paid? Some affiliate networks may try to withhold your commissions due to any number of factors. Having large amounts in your account might make it difficult to determine how much you are owed or how much you have received. This potential issue also depends on the type of payment model the network uses. Therefore, it is important that you familiarise yourself with the different payment models to know where you stand.
Another important factor to consider is the payment method. You need to know how a network pays its affiliates before you sign up. Making money is your aim so you should also be able to receive it after working for it. For example, if a network pays by check, make sure your country permits you to cash checks received from another country.
Lastly, you should choose an affiliate network that has a well laid out platform. You need to know how well you are performing so that you can collect your commissions. A platform that provides easy access to offers and data that you need will only make your life easier.
Final thoughts
There are a lot of affiliate networks in the market and choosing one can be challenging. You must be familiar with their different features, payment structures, and the products they offer. You also need to take into account the size, experience, and reputation of any affiliate network you plan to join. Having this information will help you choose one that focuses on your strengths, your web audience, and optimize SEO. After all, you are in the business to make money.