Affiliate Network

An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between publishers (affiliates) and (merchant) affiliate programs. It allows publishers to find affiliate programs, which are suitable for their website and it helps websites offering affiliate programs reach its target audience.

For merchants, services can include providing tracking technology, reporting tools, payment processing, and access to a large base of publishers. For affiliates, services can include providing one-click application to new merchants, reporting tools, and payment aggregation.

The networks are free to join for affiliates. The merchant on the other hand has to pay a fee. Traditional affiliate networks might charge an initial setup fees and/or a recurring maintenance fees. This differs from network to network. It is common for affiliate networks to charge merchants a percentage of the commission paid to the affiliates as fee for their services.

Traditional affiliate networks allow the merchant to offer its publishers revenue share or cost per action as compensation method. The majority of merchant programs prefer revenue share over cost per action.