subject: Role Of Affiliate Network In Affiliate Marketing [print this page] The downturn taken by the economy over the past year has seen a spurt in the number of people who are on the look out for an additional source of revenue through Internet. With Internet providing many options that can be performed at the time and convenience of the individual, the popularity of various sources of income like affiliate marketing has gone up. The rise in the affiliates has made managing tough, resulting in the allotment of the task to affiliate networks.
Affiliate networks hold a pivotal position in the maintenance of the relationship between the affiliate and the merchant.
Role played by affiliate network
Affiliate marketing is an internet marketing technique wherein the merchant remunerates the publisher of a site for directing the visitor flow to the merchant site through the link provided by him. The inclusion of more number of affiliates in a program can result in greater income generation for the company. But the selection and management of the affiliates must be performed with great care as the contents and the further modifications can make or kill customer base. With time being a key factor in generating revenue, the company can seek the services of an affiliate network for this purpose.
An affiliate network works as an intermediary between the company and the publisher of the site. His presence eases the task of recruiting affiliates, tracking the traffic flow from the site, maintaining account information and in the dissemination of remuneration. In return for the services, he seeks remuneration, which is typically a fixed percentage of commission based on performance.
Affiliate networks also take up the task of providing adequate training to the affiliate to make him abreast of the changes in the technology that can be adopted in improving the visitors to his site. The training also offers information on how to find profitable keywords, target the audience, retention of the existing clientele besides luring new audience.
The affiliate network allots a URL to the affiliate site and the merchant site and makes use of tracking cookies to link the affiliate who is responsible for generating the traffic. They assist in propagation through giving access to banner ads, hover ads, text links, etc. Affiliate networks not only keep track of the performance of the affiliate, but also help them in seeking a right program that matches with their contents.
The automatic reports and graphs generated by the affiliate networks provide instant access to a huge volume of information related to the current situation. Through the guidance and support provided by affiliate networks, this technique of marketing can be made a raging success.
