Affiliate network

Affiliate networks aggregate hundreds or thousands of merchants into a single platform. As a creator, you sign up to one network, get approved into individual programmes (each merchant approves separately), and use one dashboard to track clicks, conversions, and earnings across all of them. Networks handle the tracking infrastructure, attribution, payouts, and dispute resolution on behalf of merchants.

The merchant-network-publisher triangle. Networks sit in the middle. Merchants offer their products, set commission rates, and pay the network. The network provides tracking software, hosts the publisher dashboards, runs the click-ID infrastructure, holds the cookies, and handles attribution disputes. Publishers (you) join the network once and then apply to individual merchants whose programmes you want to promote. Each merchant approves independently, and approval criteria vary widely.

Networks by region and niche. Amazon Associates has the broadest catalogue and the lowest barrier to entry but the shortest cookie window (24 hours) and the lowest base rates. Awin is the largest pan-European network and covers most major retailers across the UK, DE, NL, ES, IT, FR. Daisycon and TradeTracker dominate the Benelux for mid-size brands. Tradedoubler covers Scandinavia and DACH. Impact and PartnerStack focus on direct-brand SaaS programmes with longer cookie windows and higher commission rates. ShareASale and CJ (Commission Junction) have long tails of mid-size US merchants. Rakuten Advertising spans US, EU, and APAC.

Joining and getting approved. Network sign-up is usually instant; merchant approval is not. Each merchant reviews your site or channel and decides whether to accept you. Common rejection reasons: low traffic, no clear content niche, competing affiliations, content that violates the merchant's terms. Established creators with public traffic numbers get approved quickly; new creators often need 1 to 3 months of content before merchants accept them. Amazon and Awin are the most permissive starting points.

Direct programmes versus networks. Some merchants run their own affiliate programmes in-house rather than through a network (Apple, Booking.com's own affiliate, many DTC brands). Direct programmes can pay more per sale because the network's margin is cut out, but they require separate sign-ups, separate dashboards, and separate payouts. Networks win on aggregation and convenience; direct programmes win on rates for top-performing publishers.

What a network does technically. Click counting and bot filtering. Cookie management or server-to-server attribution for cookie-less browsers. Conversion deduplication when the same sale gets postbacked twice. Holding the attribution window and applying last-click attribution rules. Currency conversion for cross-border sales. Tax reporting (1099s in the US, equivalent in the EU). Payouts on a regular cycle (usually NET-30 to NET-90 after the cookie window closes).

Why most established creators use 4 to 5 networks. Brand coverage. No single network has every merchant. Amazon for general consumer goods, Awin for EU retail, Impact for direct SaaS, ShareASale for mid-size US merchants, plus one or two specialists for your niche. Most creators discover this incrementally; the first network covers 60% of their needs, the second adds 20%, the third 10%, and the long tail trails off.

Payout schedules and minimums. Amazon pays monthly with a $10 minimum (US) or €25 (EU). Awin pays twice monthly with a £/€20 minimum. Impact pays monthly with $50. ShareASale pays monthly with $50. CJ pays monthly with $50 to $100 depending on payout method. Direct programmes vary from monthly to quarterly. Holdback periods (a window during which the network can claw back a payout for refunds) are 30 to 90 days at most networks.