Digital Platforms & Tools
Publisher growth tactics for election season | WEBINAR
SODP
SODP Media
Publisher growth tactics for election season | WEBINAR
Top Picks
Disclaimer: Our top picks are based on our editors’ independent research, analysis, and/or hands-on testing. Editorial policy
Subscribe to Pubtech Insights
Founder at SODP
As a publisher, your content is your currency. Now is the time to maximize your content’s earning potential. With the affiliate marketing industry projected to hit $36.9 billion by 2030, you should strategize to cash in on it.
Imagine turning your newsletter and website into a consistent revenue machine by earning commissions from brands targeting your audience.
However, remember that not all affiliate networks are high-value. You need an affiliate marketing network that offers fair payouts, real-time tracking, and multiple programs from premium advertisers.
To make it easier for you, we have tested and evaluated multiple affiliate networks for their commission structure, payouts, reputation, advertiser selection, and more. Based on these criteria, find a list of the top affiliate networks to boost your publisher revenue in 2025.
Before that, we will discuss the key aspects to consider when choosing the affiliate platforms or networks to join. Let’s dive in!
Affiliate networks are established platforms that connect publishers with advertisers so that you can promote their partner’s products or services and earn commissions.
A powerful affiliate marketing network offers several advantages to publishers, including:
When selecting an affiliate network, you should review important factors that directly influence your affiliate marketing revenue potential and ease of use.
Here are the top aspects to evaluate:
Ensure you assess and understand the affiliate network’s commission structure. Some may offer flat rates per sale, while others offer percentage-based commissions that scale with growth in the total transaction value.
83% of publishers use the cost per action (CPA) model, followed by 48% preferring a tenancy fee (fee for placements) and 35% using cost per click (CPC) model.
Next, check the payment schedule. Is it weekly, biweekly, or monthly? Timely payments help stabilize your cash flow. The payment method should also be flexible with options like direct deposit through bank transfers, PayPal, or cryptocurrency for easy withdrawal.
Examine the minimum payout threshold. Lower thresholds mean you will have quicker access to your earnings, while higher ones may cause withdrawal delays.
A credible affiliate network ensures reliable payouts, dedicated support, and long-term passive income.
Start by examining the network’s longevity. Well-established networks are likely to be stable and trustworthy. Ascertain this by reviewing other publishers’ feedback via testimonials and industry forums.
Transparency is key. Check if the affiliate network displays its commission structure, payout terms, and fees without hidden terms.
Since affiliate fraud costs businesses over $1 billion yearly, you might want to verify if the network has solid fraud protection processes to protect your earnings from fraudsters.
Choosing the right affiliate network means access to programs from several high-quality advertisers in your content niche.
A global network with diverse advertisers brings you affiliate programs from small and big brands offering high-value physical and digital products or services. They also provide exclusive deals and promotions to the affiliates, helping you generate more sales for their businesses and, in turn, more commission for yourself.
Since 94% of affiliate marketers use tracking tools to track clicks, conversions, and sales from their referral links, this is a factor you shouldn’t ignore when selecting an affiliate network. Ensure the network’s user interface is easy to navigate and it monitors your campaign results in real time, including clicks, conversions, and commission earnings.
Check if the network offers customizable reports and actionable insights into the types of content or topics generating maximum affiliate sales. This will help you optimize your marketing strategies effectively.
Ensure the network has a fast response time to publisher queries. This will avoid delays in handling any tracking or payment issues you may face, ensuring the issue doesn’t impact your earnings.
Look for a network that offers multiple support channels, such as live chat, email, or phone assistance. This will ensure you get prompt assistance via your preferred channel.
One distinguishing aspect of a top-performing affiliate network is a dedicated account manager for high-performing affiliates. You get personalized guidance and quick issue resolution.
Many networks also have a comprehensive knowledge base with tutorials, FAQs, and best practices guides to support your affiliate journey autonomously.
Affiliate marketing networks also offer high-quality creative assets, such as banners and ad copy, to help publishers and content creators promote specific products and services.
Some networks also let you run affiliate campaigns with custom-made landing pages that suit your audience and the partnering brand. It is a plus if it has built-in marketing tools for SEO, email, or social media marketing to improve your promotional efforts.
An affiliate network with exclusive deals and discount codes is preferable, as they significantly improve CTR for publishers like you.
An affiliate network with a large affiliate base signifies that it’s well-established and has validated success. Amazon, for example, has over 900,000 affiliates, which signify its scale and reliability.
But network size alone isn’t enough. You must also evaluate the advertiser-to-affiliate ratio. If the network is overcrowded with affiliates but has limited advertisers, there will be fierce competition. So, select a network with a healthy and balanced ratio to ensure scalable and sustainable growth in your affiliate income.
50% of global ecommerce transactions are cross-device, highlighting the need to track cross-device transactions accurately. So, check if the network supports multi-device tracking to ensure your commissions get attributed properly, even when users shift between devices.
Look for conversion rate optimization (CRO) tools, such as heatmaps, performance reports, or behavioral insights, to help you streamline your marketing strategies.
Verify if the affiliate network has clear contract terms that protect you from unforeseen changes, such as unfair termination clauses or abrupt commission reductions. Cautiously review exit terms to ensure long-term security across partnership opportunities.
You’d want to partner with tax-compliant affiliate networks that adhere to data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. This ensures your data safety and protects you from legal issues.
Check if the network has a well-defined code of conduct as it shows they are committed to ethical standards, have fair competition, and prevent fraudulent practices.
A credible network should have a transparent and accurate payment system with few or zero discrepancies.
Estimates show that for every $100 chargeback, you lose $240 in wasted time and penalties. Ensure the network you join has solid chargeback policies to reduce unanticipated losses.
The best practice is to look for a network with a proven track record of accurate commission tracking and timely payouts.
The best affiliate networks offer growth incentives, such as bonuses, contests, and promotions, to reward and motivate high performers. It is also a plus if they have tiered commission structures that allow you to claim higher payout rates as you drive more sales.
One such network is CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction). It offers performance-based commission raises to help publishers and affiliate marketers increase earnings while driving more brand conversions.
Given that 75% of ecommerce sales are expected to originate from mobile devices, the affiliate network you join should support mobile-first tracking to avoid lost earnings.
The creative assets it provides should be optimized for mobile devices, including fast-loading landing pages and mobile-friendly CTA buttons.
Extra features like global reach and cross-network partnership programs are nice to have. It can help you tap into international markets, target a wider audience, and boost your revenue potential.
A greater advertiser diversity allows you to select the top-performing programs.
Here are the top six affiliate networks you can leverage to join affiliate programs from successful brands, generate links, track key performance metrics, and make money. You will find details about their commission structures, advertiser selection, customer support, conversion tracking, and additional features.
After careful evaluation, we have rated each of these top affiliate networks on a scale of 1-5 for important aspects you should consider as a digital publisher. Here is an overview of our ratings:
Impact is a great affiliate network that works with over 2,500 partners, helping publishers and creators monetize content by partnering directly with brands in Impact’s affiliate marketplace.
They use a single-tier commission model with a 3% commission rate, no minimum threshold, and a 45-day cookie duration. It is one of the best affiliate platforms that supports PPC, banners, and social media account ads.
You can withdraw funds on a set date each month or upon reaching a set threshold.
It supports payment options such as direct deposit, BACS, or PayPal in your preferred currency.
Overall rating: 5.0 stars ★★★★★
Features
Pros
Cons
Awin has over 1 million publishers on its platform, and the affiliate network connects you with a diverse range of brands across industries. This means you’ll have a wide pool of digital and physical products to promote.
Awin offers cost-per-sale (CPS) and cost-per-action (CPA) earning models to affiliate marketers. You earn a commission for each sale or action generated through your referral link.
You can see your approved commissions on the dashboard.
Awin pays for cleared transactions biweekly on the 1st and 15th of each month. It clears your payment once your balance meets the minimum payout threshold of $20. You can also choose to set the threshold to a higher amount.
The transfer is hassle-free via BACS, international wire transfer, or ACH. For non-UK bank accounts, Awin pays by international wire transfer, ACH transfer, SEPA transfer, and domestic payments in NOK, SEK, DKK, PLN, CHF, and AUD.
Overall rating: 4.7 stars ★★★★☆
Features
Pros
Cons
The Everflow affiliate marketplace gives you access to a wide range of affiliate programs and matches you with the best-fit partnership opportunities.
It allows you to track metrics such as clicks, conversion rates, and revenue across channels, manage all partners, and consolidate your reporting.
Overall rating: 4.2 stars ★★★★☆
Features
Pros
Cons
Amazon Associates is the world’s largest affiliate marketing program. It allows content creators and publishers to create links to Amazon products across categories. You earn a commission when someone clicks through your link and buys the product.
Amazon Associates offers up to 10% referral fees for all qualifying purchases.
The actual commission rate varies from one product category to another. For instance, you can earn 5% commissions on beauty product sales, whereas selling Echo and Alexa devices can increase your affiliate commissions by 7%.
This online retail market affiliate program is best for publishers with global audiences. Joining this network allows you to increase your earnings internationally.
Whether you run a website or publish content on YouTube and TikTok, encourage your audience to buy Amazon products. However, you need to meet their minimum qualified sales requirement within 180 days of joining the platform. Otherwise, you will lose access to the affiliate platform.
Along with making more money online by driving referrals across product categories, you can earn fixed commissions for promoting select Amazon services under the Amazon Bounty Program.
Amazon Associates pays its affiliate partners 60 days after the end of the month for which they are being paid. This means you will receive your commission income for January in late March.
However, your balance must meet the minimum threshold of $10 for direct deposits, Amazon gift cards and $100 for check payments. You can also set your payout threshold to a higher amount, say $500, for example, to receive a lump sum payment.
Overall rating: 4.1 stars ★★★★☆
Features
Pros
Cons
Skimlinks is an affiliate network with over 48,500 affiliate marketing programs for publishers. It negotiates exclusive rates with its merchants, meaning you get 2X the normal rates.
In fact, 41% of their publisher’s revenue comes from the rates Skimlinks exclusively negotiates.
It uses the earnings-per-click (EPC) based commission model. Skimlinks uses this metric to evaluate the efficiency of your relationship with the advertiser (merchant).
Skimlinks pays publishers at the end of every month for cleared account balances only if:
Overall rating: 4.0 stars ★★★★
Features
Pros
Cons
Stay22 is a great affiliate network for travel content creators and bloggers. Stay22 enables you to make money while helping your avid readers explore the best places, hotels, cafes, and more across cities and countries.
This network gives you access to the best programs in the travel niche, from businesses like Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Hotel Planner, and Expedia.
When your referred users get 100 confirmed bookings with Stay22, you get $500. Those users also get a $100 bonus.
The platform pays you via PayPal, e-check, and wire transfer.
Overall rating: 2.2 stars ★★☆
Stay22 claims many users saw a 3x increase in conversions from using their AI tools than from working directly with booking sites such as Booking.com or Expedia. So, you should definitely benefit from their partner programs as a travel content creator or publisher.
Features
Pros
Cons
The highest-paying affiliate programs include:
These programs are the most profitable as they offer high commissions, long cookie durations, and are positioned to maximize your publisher revenue.
To join an affiliate network, you need to:
Related Posts
2nd Annual
Monetization Week
The Convergence of Innovation and Strategy: Publisher Monetization in 2025.
A 5-day online event exploring the future of publisher revenue models.
May 19 – 23, 2025
Online Event