Platform that brings together Advertiser and Publisher and takes over tracking, reporting, billing and payout of commissions.
Also called: Affiliate Network, Partner Network
An affiliate network is a marketplace for partner programs. On the one hand there are advertisers who want to sell their products through partners, on the other publishers who earn money with recommendations. The network ensures that both sides can find each other and rely on the numbers.
What are the tasks of an affiliate network?
- Tracking: Clicks, sales and leads are reliably recorded and assigned to the right partner.
- Partner marketplace: Advertisers find suitable publishers, publishers find suitable programs.
- Test: New partners and transactions are checked for fraud and rule violations.
- Invoicing: The network charges advertisers the commissions and pays them collected to publishers.
- Reporting: Both sides see in real time which partners, links and products bring revenue.
Affiliate network or own partner program?
Advertisers can also run a partner program with their own software. But then they have to win partners themselves, look after them and pay out individually. A network, on the other hand, offers immediate access to a large number of active publishers and takes over the administrative burden. For publishers, a network has the advantage that they use many programs via one account and receive payouts bundled.
How much does an affiliate network cost?
For publishers, participation is usually free of charge. In addition to the partner commissions, advertisers usually pay a setup or platform fee and a network commission, which is based on the partner commissions paid out.