One of the things that we find overwhelming for people who want to use affiliates to promote their products or services is theamount of choice in CPA networks. CPA (Cost-Per-Action) marketing works by an individual signing up to promote your product. When someone clicks that link and completes an action (a purchase, for example), they get a commission.
If you are feeling a bit confused, don’t worry – we have an ultimate guide to choosing the best CPA affiliate network for your business.
How Do CPA Affiliate Networks Work?
CPA affiliate networks operate a model whereby they connect advertisers (businesses) and publishers (people who are promoting your products). Essentially, they are a platform for you to advertise and allow people to find out more about becoming an affiliate for your product or service.
In a way, affiliate networks work by acting as a kind of middleman in the whole process. Rather than hoping that a potential affiliate marketer will stumble across your website and find your affiliate section, these networks allow you to connect with them directly.
They serve many purposes beyond simply providing a method of connecting affiliates and businesses. Other things, such as handling payments and having numerous tracking tools, help you, as a business, to take some of the workload away from your affiliate model.
Also, certain CPA affiliate networks will be focused on specific niches, which means that you can gain affiliate marketers whohave experience and want to work in the industry in which your products are promoted. Some affiliate networks focus entirely on financial or health niches, while others will turn their attention to 18+ markets and dating.
Using an affiliate network is a good way to cut down on fraud as well. This can minimize the risk of affiliates using bot traffic to gain leads, clicks, or even fraudulent sales. Networks will also vet affiliates before they sign up, which means you will only get real and genuine affiliates signing up to promote what you have to offer – this helps with your brand awareness because the last thing you need is your brand being hit with shady affiliate practices like black hat SEO.
5 Things to Consider When Choosing A CPA Affiliate Network
OK, now that we have set out how a CPA affiliate network can help your business increase sales and exposure, what things should you think about when choosing a network? We think there are five things that are vital to consider.
Reputation
This has a lot of layers and cuts across most of the things we’regoing to list below; however, the reputation of the network is of utmost importance.
While you obviously want to generate more sales, clicks, or leads for your business and the services that it provides, going with a shady CPA affiliate network will cause you more harm than good. Publisher reach (this is the number of publishers a network has signed up that will come across your business on the platform) is all well and good, but are they high-quality and reputable? Does a network have a reputation for having many shady affiliates that use unethical practices, such as black hat SEO or driving bot traffic to your links?
Definitely do your research first to ensure that the network you are thinking of using has a good reputation. It’s unlikely that any network will have 100% positive reviews, but you will soon find out the ones to avoid by simply searching online.
Relevance
Some affiliate networks predominantly focus on offers in a specific sphere. For example, certain networks will deal mainly in 18+ oriented niches such as dating or finance, whereas otherswill have a much bigger focus on health and personal improvement.
If you have a specific niche that you operate in – for example, supplements and nutrition for people looking to boost their fitness – does it make sense to go with an affiliate network that mainly has offers and publishers focus on finance? Not really.
Many affiliate networks will cut across a load of different niches and topics, but some will have their attention on specific markets. Signing up for the latter networks won’t do your business any good because you will have affiliates that don’t have much experience in what you are trying to promote, and this will result in poor sales and exposure.
Tracking
Affiliate marketing – whether from an individual or a business point of view – is all about tracking and improving performance. It isn’t a case of you getting some affiliates signed up and sitting and watching sales rise and the money flow in.
A good CPA affiliate network will have a wide range of tracking and analytical tools that you will be able to use. This includes fraud prevention and tracking tools such as HasOffers, Everflow, and Cake that can identify fake sales, both traffic, or publishers spoofing geo-traffic that drives to your website through an affiliate link.
SmartLink is something else to look out for, as it has several potential advantages for businesses. Smartlink generates a single affiliate link that automatically diverts incoming traffic to the highest-converting offer. This is important for businesses as it helps you to maximize conversions and diverts people away from campaigns that don’t have a great track record. It also tweaks campaigns in real time to ensure that you get the best outcome, and it is particularly useful for campaigns spread across different geo-locations.
Payments
Payments are important to both affiliates and businesses, and it is one of the most important things that you should look out for when choosing a CPA affiliate network.
Different networks will payout at different times. Some might pay out weekly, whereas others will pay out on a monthly basis. There are also minimum thresholds attached to some affiliate networks that you need to consider as well.
Knowing the payment method that the affiliate network uses, as well as the frequency, is vital for cash flow and the successful running of your business. There is no use in having a lot of money tied up in a network when you need it soon to scale up your business.
Support
Lastly, we have support.
Affiliate networks will range in how they offer support, with some giving you a fully-fledged account manager who is on hand to deal with any problems that you have or questions you need answered quickly. Other affiliate networks are more self-service, where you are left to your own devices a lot of the time unless something goes seriously wrong.
It is best to opt for a CPA affiliate network that has a high level of support, as it reduces the chances of damage to your business. Also, if the network is a database of guides, this is also helpful,especially if you are just getting started with using publishers to promote your products.
7 Top CPA Affiliate Networks
Here are the top 7 CPA affiliate networks that can help your business grow through affiliate marketing.
1. AdsEmpire
The AdsEmpire affiliate network is a highly-renowned CPA affiliate network that has won numerous awards, including The Best Dating Network at the YNOT Awards and The Best Smartlink Affiliate Program at the Affiliate Space Awards.
They operate mainly in dating, games, and sweepstakesverticals, so if your product or services fall within these categories, then it is difficult to find a better option. Their use of Smartlink greatly helps to achieve the best ROI by showing a potential buyer the most relevant and high–performing offer.
AdsEmpire also offers a range of payment options from Bitcoin, USDT, Wire, Paxum, and PayPal, and accepts worldwide traffic and offers.
2. Max Bounty
Max Bounty has been around since 2004 and has a pool of over 5000 publishers that can promote your offers. They are an ideal affiliate network if you have a range of offers that you need promoted, as they generally aren’t focused on one specific area.
You get a dedicated account manager with Max Bounty, which helps a lot with support, and if you have any questions or issues arise. There are also affiliate management features that will help you, too.
Max Bounty has a very strict approval process, which we don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, but it can feel a bit cumbersome in the beginning.
3. Click Dealer
Clicker Dealer is an optimal CPA affiliate network if you work within the e-commerce, sweepstakes, and nutra realm, as it is where they tend to specialise. They also have publishers that specialize in dating and more 18+ oriented offers.
I’ve found that their AI traffic monitoring is incredibly useful,and it helps to cut down on spammy clicks and conversions, and you get a dedicated account manager for support and guidance.
We feel like their reporting capabilities are a bit limited compared to some other networks, but they are a solid choice for finding publishers to promote CPA offers.
4. CPA Lead
If you have a business that is solely focused on mobiles and apps, then CPA Lead is a CPA affiliate network that we would recommend looking into. They are an excellent choice for anyone who is just starting out as a business on an affiliate network, as we find their platform and way of working very beginner–friendly.
For app installs and mobile–only conversions, CPA Lead is a great choice. However, if you don’t operate solely in this realm or it is only part of your overall business, you will find this network quite limiting.
5. Mobidea
Mobidea is another affiliate network that specializes in mobile-first CPA offers.
App installs and offers that are focused on dating and sweepstakes are where this network performs really well. They have flexible payment options, which is a great plus point depending on your business needs, and you also get a dedicated account manager for help.
Again, like CPA Lead, Mobidea isn’t ideal if you don’t have app or mobile exclusive offers, and, while they do cover a lot of geos, some are low converting and not very lucrative (such as tier-3 offers).
6. Admitad
Admitad has been running since 2010 and has a really broad network of niches and offers, so there is potential for a good number of publishers that will be interested in the products and services you need promoted.
With over 15k publishers, this platform represents a great opportunity for you to connect with affiliates, particularly in the retail, travel, gaming, finance, and mobile app niches.
We find their platform very user-friendly, and they also use Smartlink technology, although the support they offer through their account managers, while useful at times, isn’t at the same level as other affiliate networks.
7. ClickBank
Last but certainly not least, we have ClickBank, which has been operating since the late 1990s and is one of the biggest CPA affiliate network platforms in the world.
They have over 200,000 publishers worldwide and present a fantastic opportunity to get your offers into the right hands for promotion. One thing we’re not keen on is the lack of tracking features – while they are there, they aren’t as good as some other platforms. In saying that, ClickBank has a fairly straightforward approval process, which helps.
Choosing The Best CPA Affiliate Network
There are so many options on the market that we found it difficult to cut the list down to just 7 CPA affiliate networks, not least because it is such a diverse range.
They each have their own quirks and plus points, as some work best for mobile and app installs, while others are better at 18+niches with better tracking and analytical tools.
When choosing a CPA affiliate network, remember to look at their reputation, relevancy to your niche, what their support options are like, tracking tools, and their payment terms. This will help you to get your offers onto the best CPA affiliate network that suits your business needs and allows your offers to reach more people.
