Affiliate Business Models

There are millions of affiliate sites offering their visitors different ways to purchase through their affiliate site. Some of the more popular affiliate business models are listed below.

• Comparison Shopping sites sell items where some comparison is made before the purchase. Many times the affiliate will have direct product links of the same product from different retailers. Usually these affiliates use LinkShare’s Merchandiser or Link Locator Direct programs for their product listings.
• Loyalty/Reward sites give something back to the consumer in exchange for purchasing through the affiliate site. A percentage of the merchant commission is used to pay a reward to the end user. Rewards come in many forms including cash, airline miles, credit card points, or a percent of sale given to an organization. These affiliates use Signature to track their members.
• Sub-Networks are affiliate networks within a network. Similar to the LinkShare model, the affiliate has their own network of affiliates who they distribute links to and manage paying these sub-affiliates.
• Coupon Malls are one of the most popular affiliate models. This type of affiliate is usually a shopping site that requires the merchant to provide the end user an offer either a coupon code, percent off discount, or free shipping. These sites are an aggregate of deals and coupons in one place. Check out the Deal Dispatcher for the latest merchant promotions.
• Content sites focus on a specific area of interest. This type of site is normally not a “shopping” site but users go to the site because they are interested in relevant content on site. Content sites that do well with performance-based marketing blend their area of expertise with product recommendations.
• Search affiliates promote merchants via search engine marketing (natural or paid). If you are considering using search as your business model, be sure to review your merchants’ trademark bidding policies. Click here to view some merchant search policies.
• Shopping sites can be thought of as a virtual mall. The end consumer can shop various products and or brands without ever having to leave the site. This type of affiliate is not focused specifically on coupons and deals.