Affiliate Network Programs

Affiliate network programs are business partnerships whereby, a merchant pays the affiliate for advertising his product offerings and generating online traffic for his website. The affiliates work in collaboration with merchants to post their website links and advertise them. Whenever a visitor is redirected from the affiliate website to the merchant website, the affiliate gets paid. 

The affiliate network programs or also known as affiliate marketing, is a highly effective way of not only increasing your visibility and search engine page ranking but also for successfully selling your products and services online. 

These affiliate network programs evolved ads a part of internet marketing strategies. They have grown in popularity because of their effectiveness in terms of Search Engine Optimization for a website and profit generation. 

There are 3 parties involved in an affiliate network program: 

• Merchant Website: 

A merchant website is the one who is selling its products and services. They put up banner ads or links to their websites in their affiliates’ websites. This generates a higher traffic volume for the merchant website, increases its visibility, and therefore, its chances of sales lead generation and customer base. 

• Affiliate Website: 

Affiliate websites are websites that sign up an agreement with merchants and thereby, directly or indirectly sell their products. These websites allow for banner advertisements from their merchants, and also provide links back to the merchant websites. For every customer that they send to the merchant website they earn a profit as per the agreement. 

• Affiliate Brokers: 

These are websites which are intermediaries between merchants and affiliates. Their job is to manage and keep a track of all the business transactions between the two. They help merchants find affiliates for themselves and vice versa. They maintain affiliate marketing directories, and provide detailed reports of online traffic on both sides. 

Any website can join an affiliate network program whether big or small and regardless of its nature because there are many variations in these networks. The basic purpose of an affiliate network program is to facilitate the merchant in successfully selling their product offerings and revenue generation. All of this is done by generating traffic for the merchant website via increasing its visibility. 

How an Affiliate Network Program Works

Affiliate network programs can benefit your e-business greatly through supporting your internet marketing campaigns by providing you another platform for online advertising. 

Why Join an Affiliate Network Program: 

• As a merchant and affiliate both you will have increased online visibility, meaning more customers could reach you for making purchases. 
• If you are a merchant you get another platform to sell your products at and advertise your offerings, that way you can reach a higher number of potential customers. 
• As an affiliate marketer, you earn money without even having to do a lot on your part really. All you have to do is to put up ads and then wait for the revenue to start rolling in as soon as a visitor clicks through to your merchants’ website. 
• Your search engine page rankings go up as you get back links through your affiliates. 
• A higher traffic to your website means an increase in potential customers. 
• If successfully managed affiliate network programs can churn great profits for your business. 
• Through participating yin affiliate network programs you heighten your brand awareness and take a step towards increasing your customer base. 

Types of Affiliate Network Programs: 

Affiliate network programs work on one of the following principles: 

• When payments to the affiliate marketer is made on the basis of the number of visitors who click through on to the merchant’s website's link on an affiliate website i.e. Pay per Click (PPC) advertising. 
• When affiliate marketer gets paid on when he generates visitors who buy something or perform some other predetermined action once the affiliate sends them to the merchant’s website. 
• When the affiliate marketer generates revenue on the basis of the number of visitors who see the merchant’s website banner link on the affiliate website i.e. Pay per Impression advertising. 

Where to Find Affiliate Network Programs: 

• You can find and join an affiliate networking programs from: 
• Affiliate program directories. 
• Large affiliate networking websites, which provide the platform for dozens or even hundreds of advertisers, merchants and affiliate marketers. 
• Websites which are offering an affiliate network program. 

Affiliate network program is like a business partner, working for your profit maximization. Therefore, successful internet marketing calls for participation in affiliate network programs.