The Top 22 Affiliate and CPA Networks. By Evan Ernst
Affiliate Networks are a great way for website owners and content producers to monetize their work with related products and services.
With literally hundreds of affiliate networks in existence, it can be an arduous task to stay in the loop about the network options with their respective pros and cons.
We've picked our favorite 22 affiliate networks; included in this list is a little something for everyone.
From the beginner affiliate marketer to the Fortune 500 company, these affiliate networks have the tools, campaigns, and integrity that other networks continue to strive for. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
Affiliate.com
Affiliate.com is a Media Breakaway, LLC company who has been involved in the affiliate marketing arena since 2001. With value added services that include domain registration, email list management, and website hosting, Affiliate.com has proven they are one of the leading affiliate networks. Affiliates are paid on a net 15 basis, and advertisers can place offers on their network with no setup fees. Affiliate.com's blog is the place to check out their new offers and company announcements. Their website home page lists all of their social network profiles so potential affiliates and advertisers can follow them too.
Buy.at
Buy.at has been a pioneer in affiliate marketing since 2002 when it was launched by Perfiliate Technologies. They were then acquired by AOL in 2008 and have become part of the Platform-A department of AOL, and are a business unit of AOL's Advertising.com. Buy.at is the second largest affiliate in the UK, and has been aggressively expanding their offerings into the U.S. Buy.at has many well known advertisers including Ticketmaster, The New York Times Store, Discount Tire, Speedo, and TurboTax to name a few. Buy.at offers a customizable reporting dashboard to publishers, and pays affiliates monthly. Advertisers and affiliates alike enjoy the added level of transparency that Buy.at has become known for.
ClickBooth
ClickBooth is an industry award winning CPA network with many exclusive advertisers. With over 5 years experience in affiliate marketing, ClickBooth has become the premiere network for over 20,000 publishers and brands like Blockbuster, ADT, Dish Network, America Online, and VistaPrint. With a continuing effort to ensure the quality of affiliates and advertisers, ClickBooth has maintained a superior level of network compliance within their network. The ClickBooth Blog features even more info about the company, contests, and links to the major social sites so you can easily connect with them.
Commission Junction
Commission Junction is one of the largest affiliate networks in the world, and they work with some power-house companies like Yahoo, Home Depot, HP, Apple Store, Dell, Staples, Buy.com, E Harmony, and Expedia. CJ has a pioneered many affiliate resources which have been adopted by many other networks. Among those resources is CJU, an area of the CJ website dedicated to educating CJ publishers about affiliate marketing's best practices. CJ was also one of the first affiliate networks to make public internal performance metrics (like EPCs or Earnings per Click) for both publishers and advertisers, enabling both groups to make better decisions about their campaigns.
CrispAds
CrispAds is the affiliate network arm of Intela, a performance-based marketing company with offices in the U.S. and UK. They feature a "blog advertising network," which has allowed bloggers to sign up and earn revenue in a format that is designed for bloggers. Some of CrispAds advertiser brands include Visa, DirectBuy, Gerber, and Toyota. Their blog is the best way to stay current on new campaigns and special announcements.
CX Digital Media
CX Digital Media, formerly IncentaClick, is an affiliate network based out of Toronto, Canada. CX Digital Media works with advertisers like Netflix, DirectTV, U.S. Army, FreeCreditReport.com, and FlyCell. The blog has details about their current affiliate bonuses and promotions, as well as links to their social profile pages. CX Digital Media has an agency component designed to work with traditional advertising agencies for online media buys.
DirectAgents
DirectAgents is an interactive marketing agency from New York specializing in affiliate and search marketing, lead generation, and media buying. Some of their high profile advertising clients include Experian, Scholastic, SnapFish, Terminix, and TruGreen. DirectAgents has been presented with numerous awards, including the Inc 5000 for fastest growing companies. The DirectAgents Blog is a very active affiliate blog, with posting occurring almost daily, and is the best source for media mentions and company events.
FluxAds
FluxAds is a CPA network that takes a hands-on approach by matching up affiliates with offers that match the demographic of their audience. The FluxAds website even has a live web cam where visitors to the website gain a visual insight into the daily activities of the FluxAds team. Their blog is full of quick tips, conference reminders, and has the links to their company's social profiles. They have been actively posting content on their blog since January 2009.
Google Affiliate Network
The Google Affiliate Network is a relatively new player on the scene but has quickly become one of the primary destinations for both advertisers and affiliates.It is one of the more strict networks for allowing publishers to sign up without the proper verification; they take a close look at publisher websites and promotion methods prior to account approval. The Google Affiliate Network hosts their blog on Blogspot. They frequently blog about new laws that affect affiliates and system maintenance schedules, and they have a section for GAN frequently asked questions.
Hydra
Hydra Network is one of the most popular CPA networks and has won numerous awards including Inc 500 Fastest Growing (2007, 2008), and 2009 Internet Advertising Competition Award for Outstanding Achievement in Internet Advertising. Hydra features many exclusive campaigns that can only be found on their network, as well as offers that can be incentivized. Hydra's affiliate dashboard is very well laid out, making it easy to access reports, campaigns, and account settings.
LeadFlash
LeadFlash is a CPA network and is one of the largest players in the cash advance/payday loan vertical. More recently LeadFlash has moved into the home loan modification, debt, and automotive loan verticals as they continue to host some of the highest paying CPA offers on any network. The LeadFlash affiliate dashboard is one of the most simple and easy to use dashboards of any CPA network. Finding the category of offer to promote and integrating it into your website or email campaign is very intuitive. LeadFlash is located in Florida and employs nearly 50 people.
LeadPile
LeadPile is one of the largest lead aggregators and they feature one of the most diverse selections of lead types for both affiliates and lead buyers. Through their custom forms, LeadPile reports that over the last 30 days they have served 61 different lead types. LeadPile has a few different options for affiliates; they can send traffic to a LeadPile web property, embed a form on their own website, or HTTP and XML post directly into a LeadPile server. Their demo videos clearly explain and illustrate many of the CPA lead concepts and decrease the learning curve when starting to work with them for the first time. The LeadPile blog has current company news and lead-gen tips for their affiliates.
LeadPoint
LeadPoint is a lead network founded in 2004 in Los Angeles offering services for both lead buyers and sellers. With many lead types, LeadPoint has services for voice leads, custom forms, and other creative solutions for lead delivery. The LeadPoint Blog is a great resource for all topics pertaining to lead generation and links to their social profiles. LeadPoint also has a UK arm of business that works with many of the same verticals as their U.S. counterpart.
LinkConnector
LinkConnector is an affiliate network which launched in 2004. Their client list includes JC Whitney, MyLife, American Muscle, WordTracker, PR Web, and Monster Learning Network. LinkConnector's platform features some great benefits, including an affiliate widget builder and a linking technology that allows for affiliates to link directly to the advertiser's site while still maintaining a high level of tracking. The LinkConnector home page also has links to their Facebook and Twitter profiles so you can quickly connect.
LinkShare
LinkShare is one of the largest Affiliate Networks and boasts one of the most impressive client portfolios. Advertisers include AT&T, iTunes, Delta, CompUSA, Enterprise, FootLocker, GNC, Hotwire, Macy's, McAfee, PetSmart, Toshiba, WalMart, and Zales, to name a few. LinkShare's affiliate platform features an exclusive CPA area called "Lead Advantage," where publishers gain access to high performing lead offers. LinkShare was founded in 2006 and has offices in both the U.S. and Europe.
NeverBlue
NeverBlue is a lead generation affiliate network headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. It began business in 2004 and is a subsidiary company of Vertrue Inc. NeverBlue's advertisers include GameFly, MindSpark, PerfectMatch.com, and CellFish. The NeverBlue blog gives potential affiliates some insight into the corporate culture of their company, and offers some helpful tips to affiliates. Their "meet the team" pages are filled with fun facts about the people who work there.
PartnerWeekly
PartnerWeekly is the largest full-service player in the cash advance/payday loan space today. That didn't happen by accident. Their philosophy of continuous improvement makes being sensitive to affiliate needs a way of life. Today, that means offers that convert extremely well, and that generate industry-leading ROI. Tomorrow, that means a dedication by the company to diversification within other non cash verticals. More choice. More opportunity for profit. Business relationships, and how to make them great, is a PartnerWeekly mantra. That starts with the best offers. An unmatched capability to customize them. Supported by world-class customer service from experienced affiliate managers, and real-time communication tools to maximize business results. PartnerWeekly is a business unit of Selling Source LLC, which earned its place in 2008 at #68 on the Inc 500 list. That didn't happen by accident either.
PepperJam
PepperJam was founded in 1999 by internet marketing expert Kris Jones and has successfully integrated several core services to their affiliate network side of business. Among those value added services are search, media buying, and design services. The PepperJam was recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. Their blog announces new campaigns on their network, company events, and links to a few of their social profiles.
ShareaSale
ShareaSale is an affiliate network with over 2000 merchants and numerous awards. Their website features a preview of all merchants that they work with so potential affiliates can search by category, allowing easy look-ups of relevant campaigns. Merchants to ShareaSale have a minimal network access fee and a very competitive pricing structure. The ShareaSale Blog is the prime source for company info and events.
Share Results
Share Results is an affiliate software and network with merchants that include PhotoBucket, Nero, eLearners, and PlanningFamily.com. Founded in 2002 by Nicky Senyard, Share Results is known for, among other things, the high level of transparency the network provides to both its affiliates and merchants. Share Results features multiple campaign types like CPA, CPL, referral, and rev share, and they make their affiliate payouts monthly via wire, check, or PayPal. The Share Results Blog is packed with great affiliate information and video interviews with industry professionals.
Tribal Fusion
The Tribal Fusion network serves over 20 billion impressions per month reaching over 230 million users. Clients include Classmates.com, Morpheus Media, Beyond Interactive, PowWeb, and Artifact Software. Tribal Fusion has a very handy "channels" page which compares some of their network metrics with some competitors. Potential clients are also able to drill-down the category that their site fits in and see landscape of Tribal Fusion's reach within that vertical.
Zanox
Zanoxis a leading affiliate network with advertisers that include Jamster, 1&1, ZoneAlarm, GameOn, and FerrariStore.com, Amazon, Lycos, Procter & Gamble, Citibank, among others. The Zanox blog features a live cam of their office in addition to links to their Facebook Group, company Twitter account, Flickr photos, and their iGoogle gadget. Zanox works with over a million affiliates in over 190 countries and offers direct support in about 30 countries.
Evan Ernst is a technology marketing specialist and COO of Adworkz, a performance marketing agency with an innovative Affiliate Network, a lead management and delivery platform, and a full suite of website development and optimization services. http://www.adworkz.com
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