Affiliate marketing basics – We take a quick look at what affiliate marketing is, what networks exist and how you join.
Table of contents
Why do you need an affiliate network?
What revenue can you generate?
How does it work?
Google Affiliate Network
Affiliate Window
Tradedoubler
Share your experience
Useful resources
Affiliate marketing has been around for a long time, you can either use it to increase the value from your web traffic or you can use it as a way of extending your business’s marketing. In this article we’ll just be looking at how you add value
Why do you need a network?
Many websites already create extra revenue by using their web traffic to advertise other products and services using things like Google’s AdSense to put up advertising. It’s simple and quick to do, but the reality is very few sites make any real money from Google. If your traffic isn’t measured in the millions then a web site with a few Google adverts will make just a few pounds a month. Additionally you’re also not in command of the adverts that appear, so in theory an advert for a competing business could appear, and because the majority of the adverts that appear are text-based, they won’t exactly enhance your site.
But if you do have a reasonable amount of web traffic – in the tens of thousands of pages a month – and you want to capitalise on your web traffic, then there is an alternative to adverts and that’s an affiliate partnership.
Online shopping has been predicted to account for 40% of all UK retail sales by 2020 and affiliate marketing is set to play a big part in that growth. Affiliate marketing in the UK accounted for online sales of over £3 billion in 2007 and conservative estimates of commissions and fees paid out to affiliate networks amounted to around £186 million, an increase of 40% on 2006.
Affiliate networks allow you to put adverts and links to products on your site that you choose, and that generate revenue for your business whenever a user clicks through from your site and makes a purchase.
What revenue can you generate?
Revenues generated via affiliate partnerships can also be much more substantial than the click-through rates normally associated with services like Google AdSense. Instead of a few pennies for each click you can receive tens of pounds per purchase, or percentages of revenues, and with some the affiliate will carry on paying the percentage for the life of the customer.
Unlike Google’s AdSense it’s a bit harder to join an affiliate network, as most networks will want to vet your website first, to make sure that your web site fits with their design and traffic criteria, that your site will add value to the network, and that you are a serious about your commitment.
Once you have decided that you want to run affiliate adverts the next thing to do is register with a network – there’s no limit to the number of networks you can join and many businesses join multiple networks.
How does it work?
Once you’re accepted with a network, you will be able to access a list of potential advertisers or individual products from advertisers, details of the revenue you can expect from each product or service sold, and the network will provide you with some sort of dashboard system that will help you see how the partnership is working. The systems track the number of times the advert has been shown, clicks from your site, and hopefully the purchases made.
Each network differs in how they work and there are tens of different networks in the UK, below we’ve chosen a small selection of the current networks to give you an idea of the market.
Google Affiliate Network
As you would expect Google has its own affiliate network, the Google Affiliate Network.
You must apply to get an account with Google Affiliate Network. Each application is reviewed by the Google Affiliate Network quality team, but getting accepted doesn’t guarantee an advert. Once you’ve been accepted you can then apply to advertiser programs, and advertisers may accept or decline partnerships at their discretion.
You’ll be paid on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis, typically as a revenue share or fixed bounty for a lead or other action, and Google Affiliate Network earnings are posted to your Google AdSense account approximately 30 days after the end of every month.
The network has plenty of affiliates in all sorts of areas, but there are few UK affiliates and earnings are all given in dollars.
For more information see the Google Affiliate Network help pages
Affiliate Window
Founded in 2000 Affiliate Window has grown fast and last year bought out competitor network buy.at. It is now the largest affiliate network in the UK, with over 75,000 registered affiliates in the UK, who can draw on products and services from over 750 merchants, ranging from blue-chip brands such as Dixons, Boots and Vodafone, to niche specialist retailers looking to grow their online presence.
You need to apply to join the Affiliate Window network and as with the other networks you also need to apply to each advertiser on the network.
Tradedoubler
Tradedoubler was founded in Sweden in 1999 and is both an advertising network and an affiliate marketing business. They handle over 1,900+ advertisers and have over 138,000 active sites, however not all of the advertisers are open to affiliate partnerships. Companies using Tradedoubler to advertise include Apple, American Express, Dell, Disney, Expedia, lastminute.com and Nokia.
Share your experience
Do you use an affiliate network? Tell us how it works for you?
Useful Resources
Other Affiliate Networks
