Synopsis Explaination of affiliate networks, the middlemen in the business of affiliate marketing. Affiliate networks bring together merchants and affiliates, and manage their relationships.

Chapter Contents Affiliate Networks Benefits of Affiliate Networks Recommended Affiliate Networks

Affiliate Networks

Running an affiliate program requires time and resources that many companies don't have. This has allowed middlemen to enter the market. These middlemen are known as "affiliate networks." Affiliate networks are companies that specialize in managing the details of various affiliate programs. They basically bring merchants and affiliates together, and manage their relationships.

When a company decides to start an affiliate program, it makes many decisions. Among those is whether to manage the affiliate program themselves, or to outsource the details of the program to an affiliate network.

Recall that one of the core responsibilities of the merchant is to track the performance of its affiliates. This requires computer software and equipment. Not all companies have the expertise necessary to undertake a software development project of this caliber. So, often the company will decide to allow an affiliate network to handle this for them. The affiliate network already has the software and equipment necessary to track an affiliates performance.

If a merchant decides to do this, it will contract with an affiliate network to start an affiliate program. The merchant agrees to pay the affiliate network for the setup and management of their affiliate program. The merchant then delivers information to the affiliate network about the products and services they want to be made available for affiliates to use on their websites, along with the commissions they are willing to pay affiliates for generating sales.

An affiliate who wants to participate in a merchant's affiliate program must be a member of the affiliate network that manages the program. Membership to an affiliate network is free and provides affiliates with the opportunity to join merchants' programs along with access to the marketing information and affiliate links to the merchants' websites.