Performance Marketing Network
Performance Marketing Network refers to companies that are engaged in performance marketing. They are usually divided into two categories: CPA network and CPS network. The CPA is a model of rewarding the promoter according to the user’s behavior which includes registering, installing, or filling in user information. CPS is an incentive for promoters to complete an order.
The performance marketing network includes three basic elements, one is the publisher or affiliate, the second is the advertiser, and the third is the network and it’s business operation system. Advertisers upload creative ideas and quotes. publishers promote advertising and get paid. The network is responsible for operating the business system, receiving revenue from advertisers, paying publishers’ commissions, and earning profits by obtaining the difference.
This is an innovative marketing approach that allows geographically dispersed promoters and advertisers to connect and do business. Promoters are the foundation for the network to provide advertising marketing services. Promoters are not employees of the network, and both parties are equal business partnerships. Promoters and networks often belong to different countries, and the products promoted also come from different countries. This is a typical model of international business cooperation. From a business logic point of view, it is of positive significance to enhance industry efficiency and promote business prosperity.
Some problems and difficulties will also be encountered in practice. How to ensure the integrity of the promoters to provide advertisers with high-quality and genuine promotion services is the most important issue that the network needs to solve. However, since the promoters have very few legal and business restrictions, which results in a very low risk of default, promoters often use false traffic to make profits in order to obtain more benefits. This has hurt both advertisers and the network. Therefore, the basis for the healthy development of the industry is to manage and constrain promoters and establish evaluation mechanisms.
Due to the above problems, the network has not obtained enough trust from advertisers and the size of the network is still limited. Therefore, the products they marketing, whether they are virtual electronic books or e-commerce products, are not mainstream products, and their share and channel are far from being comparable to traditional models. Fundamentally, the operational capabilities of the network determine its growth potential. The current network is still in a competitive phase, and no industry giant has emerged.
Top Performance Marketing Networks
CPA networks include Clickbooth, MaxBounty, w4 and so on[1]. Clickbooth has been on the list for two consecutive years. The network has been well received by advertisers and promoters to provide innovative optimization solutions and advertising management tools. MaxBounty achieved rapid growth under the leadership of the new CEO. W4 is a veteran network that has won the approval of many promoters.
CPS networks include Rakuten, ShareASale, Amazon Associates, CJ, ClickBank, etc[2]. Among them, Rakuten Affiliate Network has been on the list for six consecutive times. In 2005, Rakuten bought Linkshare, a well-known performance marketing network, for US$425 million. LinkShare is a leading global performance marketing network.
Amazon Associates was the first company to introduce the concept of performance marketing and Affiliate Network into the e-commerce field and achieved great success. With formal Amazon involvement, Affiliate Network has thrived as the most important form of performance marketing. ClickBank is an e-book company specializing in promotion and originality.
The China CPS performance network is divided into two camps. One is CPS with its own traffic, including Alimama and Baidu Union. The advertising revenues of these two companies account for more than two-thirds of the domestic CPS performance networks. The second is the third-party CPS network, including Yiqifa, Linktech, Duomai, etc., covering e-commerce, finance, games and other industries.
There are also some Chinese companies that participate in the global Performance Marketing competition. The larger ones include Yeahmobi, Avazu, Mobvista , and others.
[Reference]
[1] Best CPA Affiliate Networks. https://mthink.com/best-cpa-networks/
[2] Best CPS Affiliate Networks. https://mthink.com/best-cps-affiliate-networks/
Theory Articles:
The concept and classification of Performance Marketing
Performance Marketing Network
