Who is better for a webmaster to work with – affiliate networks or direct advertisers?

What is better for a publisher – working with an advertiser directly or using affiliate networks? Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you should choose the appropriate option, taking into account specific nuances and circumstances.

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What is the difference between an affiliate network and a direct advertiser?

An affiliate network is a special platform through which affiliate networks contact advertisers. An advertiser is the owner of an offer. He can cooperate with webmasters not only through affiliate networks, but also directly, without using intermediary services.

If a webmaster decides to work through an affiliate network, he uses his personal account in this program to connect to the offer. The affiliate network performs the function of an intermediary. For its services, it charges webmasters a commission from all the leads they attracted, applications submitted with its help or deposits made. The commission is a part of the income transferred to the affiliate networks by the advertiser.

Working with advertisers directly saves webmasters from paying commissions. In this case, they choose the products they are going to promote and independently manage advertising campaigns. At first glance, direct cooperation with advertisers seems to be more favorable for webmasters, because when choosing this form of work, the webmaster can save on commission payments and control the whole process directly.

Advantages and disadvantages of using affiliate networks

Pros of working with an affiliate network:

1. Guaranteed receipt of payouts. This plus is the most important for webmasters who prefer to work through an affiliate program. In this case, the risk of not getting paid for the work done is minimal. Modern CRA-networks operate on the principle of prepayment. Advertisers cooperating with them transfer money to the account of affiliate networks in advance, so when using these programs, non-payment of money to the affiliate networks is excluded. Webmasters using them can be sure that their services will be paid in full and on time.
2. The opportunity to get support for any problems from a personal manager at any time. A personal affiliate manager is attached to each webmaster after his registration in the affiliate program. He assists the webmaster in choosing offers, recommends suitable geos and provides other types of support.
3. Large selection of offers. Using CPA-network, you can get access to many offers and quickly choose the most suitable one for you. Earned money is saved on the partner’s account in his personal cabinet, at any moment these funds can be withdrawn.

Minuses of using affiliate networks

• profitable offers are in high demand, so it is not easy to get them, partners often have to wait for their turn;
• insufficiently detailed statistics;
• the process of establishing the desired offer can be delayed due to the nuances of integration.

Advantages and disadvantages of cooperation with direct advertisers

Pros of using the services of direct advertisers

1. A lot of promotional materials that help to increase the conversion rate of advertising campaigns.
2. Detailed analytics, allowing the webmaster to establish those product features that are most attractive to the target audience.
3. The ability to access detailed data of the attracted traffic for fine-tuning advertising campaigns based on the analysis of user actions and their reaction to different offers.

Minuses of using the services of direct advertisers

• No guarantees of receiving payments;
• direct advertisers are only interested in traffic to their product;
• no technical support. If during the work you encounter unexpected problems, you will cope with them on your own, without outside help;
• if any problems appear, you often have to wait too long for them to be fixed. Waiting can cause you to lose your potential profits. When using an affiliate network in such a situation, the webmaster may start using another product that is more effective.

Conclusions

Webmasters with experience usually prefer to work through affiliate programs. They favor them because of the reliability of payments, the ability to use support at any time, a large selection of proven offers. Cooperation with proven affiliate networks not only provides stable profits and convenience of work, but also protects partners from financial risks. They are preferred by those webmasters who appreciate the opportunity to get professional support at any time and stability of work provided by reliable protection from fraud.