AFFILIATE SCHEMES AND AFFILIATE NETWORKS

Affiliate schemes and affiliate networks, how to make the most money from affiliate programmes through your website.

Affiliate Networks

When it comes to choosing affiliate networks, you may as well sign up with as many as you can find, since there is no charge for joining as an affiliate.

Some affiliate networks have a range of merchants from all sorts of different sectors, whilst others focus exclusively on a particular type of products or service.

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Affiliate networks generally have a payment threshold. In other words, they will not pay you until your account balance reaches a certain level. This can be anything from £20 to £200 or more, depending on which affiliate network you are talking about.

The payment frequency can also vary, with some affiliate networks paying weekly and some monthly.

Here are some of the affiliate networks that I've dealt with over the years, with comments on each one's pros and cons.

Affiliate Window
One of the largest UK networks with merchants from a wide range of areas. Pays affiliates monthly with a £20 payment threshold. Fairly comprehensive and easy to use reporting tools. Overall score 3/5.

Affiliate Future
Another large UK affiliate network with a wide range of merchants, especially in the travel sector. Good reporting. £20 affiliate payment threshold with monthly payouts. A year or so ago I would have given them full marks, but the quality of their support and communication with affiliates has deteriorated over the past year, so now scoring 4/5.

Tradedoubler
This affiliate network has lots of merchants but some of them have to approve your site before you can start earning commissions. This is a drawback if you want to get up and running quickly as some merchants take a long while to process applications from affiliates. Reporting could be better. In the past I have experienced problems with some transactions not tracking correctly. Overall score 2/5.

Webgains
A less well-known affiliate network but, in my opinion, probably the best. Great reporting, good choice of merchants and helpful staff. Weekly payments with a £20 threshold. Overall score 5/5.

e-financial Affiliates
As the name implies, this affiliate network deals with a small number of merchants all of whom are from the financial services sector. So, if you want to promote loans, mortgages, bank accounts, etc, this is a good place to look. Payment threshold is high at £200 but if you know what you are doing as an affiliate it won't take you long to reach that level as commissions in financial services tend to be quite high. Reporting tool is a bit clunky but the staff are friendly and helpful so overall score is 4/5.

Smart-Quotes
Another smaller network focusing on mainly financial services merchants. Lots of pay-per-lead affiliate programmes, which I personally prefer. They throw a good party but their reporting tools leave a lot to be desired and their communication with affiliates is poor to say the least. Overall score 1/5.

OMG
Some good affiliate programmes on here but nearly all of them require approval by the merchant before you can go live. In some cases, approval can take months so this is not an affiliate network for those in a rush. Good once you're up and running though. Overall score 3/5.