Affiliates Are from Mars – Arbitragers Are from Venus
Do you know the difference between affiliate networks and CPA networks? Many affiliates and even merchants don’t. When I do free consultations for merchants, quite often I get a retail product type merchant that says they are considering setting up their new affiliate program on one of the CPA networks. When I ask them if they know the difference between affiliate networks and CPA networks, they always say they thought they were the same thing and are quite surprised when I explain the differences.
In very simple terms affiliate networks are primarily either product-based or traditional lead-based offers. (example: insurance or loan leads) CPA networks are more offer-based such as freebies, surveys, incentivized leads like ‘win a free ipod’ and free trial rebill type offers.
In case you missed Digital Moses today, they have an interesting article about the differences between the 2 types of networks, not only in terms of the type of advertisers but the difference in affiliates, traffic methods and speed of implementation.
Affiliates Are from Mars. Arbitragers Are from Venus.
“We’ve all known for years that (insert CPA network name here) differs from Commission Junction or Linkshare. Both make the majority of their money off their cut of the actions driven by their affiliates / publishers, but just as they overlap very little on top publishers so too do they overlap little with their top advertisers. What once started as some minor differences has naturally evolved where the distinction is much greater, and ultimately, it’s a good thing. In the past, though, we used to think the advertisers drove the difference between CPA Networks and Affiliate Networks, but now, it seems the traffic is the better explanation…
(CPA) It’s collaborative, hands-on, and it attracts very specific personalities. It is why PubCon feels so different from Affiliate Summit and why both affiliates and arbitragers will succeed but the latter will find ways to succeed right now. If you want to take your time, it’s ok, but you might not want to try arbitrage.”
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#1 Affiliate Secret wrote on Thursday, March 19th, 2009:
Hye there Lynda,
It is useful information you give here.
I’m sure now people will know how to differentiate between affiliate n cpa
#2 Chris Kramer wrote on Thursday, March 19th, 2009:
Thanks Linda – from the affiliate perspective I think you nailed it on the head but from the merchant / advertiser perspective there is another huge difference between the two. CPA networks are often run blind and it is the network who approves and denies affiliates, not the merchant. With affiliate programs the merchant is the one who controls who they will allow to run their offer and you know who your affiliates are.
#3 JessicaAdzacta wrote on Thursday, March 19th, 2009:
This is a great article and would be even better if someone elaborated on it.
Looking for writers on our blog as well.
#4 Linda Buquet wrote on Thursday, March 19th, 2009:
Chris, really good point. Since I don’t work on the CPA side, I never thought of that but I’m sure that’s typically how it’s done.
#5 Chris Kramer wrote on Thursday, March 19th, 2009:
for really brand conscious advertisers its often hard to give up that much control to the CPA networks. There are some CPA networks that are transparent and will let you approve sites or see placements but the majority of them do not.
#6 Gauher Chaudhry Formula: The Difference Between CPS & CPA Affiliate Networks | Pay Per Click Formula 2.0 Insider's Review wrote on Thursday, March 19th, 2009:
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