Affiliate Network Characteristics

Affiliate marketing has become very popular in the modern business world. Its application has been extended to many business processes and different trade and commerce verticals. The core concept revolves around the diffusion and distribution of marketing messages by using the help from web site owners and their online resources.

In affiliate marketing there are three main participants – the merchants or advertisers, web site owners or affiliates and the intermediary affiliate network. In this write up we will try to highlight some of the characteristics of the latter, which is affiliate network.

Affiliate networks are the brokers in the affiliate marketing process. Their essential job is to facilitate communication and transaction between merchants and the affiliates.

In order to have a thorough understanding of the affiliate network, one has to understand various network characteristics like the structure, the relationships involved, functions, standards and the regulation.

Affiliate networks, as has been already mentioned act as brokers. In any network you will find Internet marketing professionals, efficient management and accounts team and IT service providers. The marketing professionals interact with affiliates and merchants and invite them to register for the services. The management and accounts team maintain the accounts of the registered affiliate and merchants. They are responsible for coordinating with the users and receive and reimburse the earnings from merchants and to affiliates. For tracking services and managing the interface, It providers come in handy.

Affiliate marketing is based on reciprocal interdependence. The affiliate depends on the merchant and vice versa. Together, they both depend on the intermediary or affiliate network. An affiliate is partnered to few merchants, whereas the merchant is partnered to many affiliates. In nay network there are lesser advertisers than the web site publishers.

There are certain fixed standards which have to be conformed to by the participants that is affiliates and merchants. This gives the status of central authority to the network. The network has the power to disqualify any affiliate network or merchants for services. Standardization also leads to little socialization between affiliates and merchants. So far as regulations are concerned, the network and the whole process is self regulatory. In any case, it is the network that has the final say.