This article explains what a publisher is and the various types of partners you can work with on your affiliate program.
What is a publisher?
A publisher is the owner or manager of a website and can also be referred to as an affiliate or partner.
Publishers earn commission when a visitor clicks through an affiliate link, e.g., a banner, logo or text, directing to a brand’s website and completes a sale. Some publishers may earn commission when referring traffic that results in a lead; this can include completion of an online application form, or submission of a user’s email address.
What types of publishers are there?
Publisher can fall into the following four main promotional types: Content, Display, Email, and Search. The following outlines the different partners within these types and how they operate within the affiliate industry.
Content
Cashback - Cashback publishers have a member base that earn monetary rebates from online purchases.
Communities and User-Generated-Content (UGC) - Community publishers host online environments where groups of people interact together with publisher links included where appropriate.
Comparison Engine - Comparison publisher sites compare the prices and features of searched-for products available from a number of online stores.
Content Creators and Influencers - They are active in driving traffic through personally opinionated content blogs and/or social media platforms.
Discount Codes - Discount code websites list discounts, coupon codes, and other deals which may be redeemed at advertiser’s websites or stores.
Editorial Content - These publishers write copy to engage an audience on a specific topic with publisher links included where appropriate.
Lead Generation (Content) - Lead-based publishers generate prospective consumer interest for advertiser’s products or services via websites.
Loyalty
Loyalty publishers have a member base that earn non-monetary rebates such as points, miles, and tokens from online purchases.
Media Content - These publishers produce video, music, and pictures with publisher links included where appropriate.
Shopping Directory - These publishers list business information such as sector, website, and store description for numerous advertisers.
Virtual Incentive - These publishers encourage their audience to take up advertiser’s offers in return for in-game rewards such as virtual currency, bonuses, and power-ups.
Display
Ad Networks - Publishers who buy ad space on numerous websites (creating a network) with the intention of serving advertiser’s creative across this network of sites.
Contextual Targeting - Publishers who display advertising relevant to the content of the web page the user is browsing.
Direct Traffic - Publisher who display creative to their audience in the form of banners, pop-ups, and exit traffic adverts.
Media Brokers - Publisher who buy exit traffic and opportunities from website owners.
Mobile Traffic - These publishers purchase display inventory across mobile-enabled platforms including apps, games, and websites.
Retargeting (Display) - Behavioural retargeting displays personalized advertising on third-party websites to customers who have previously visited the advertiser’s site, specifically displaying products in which they have shown recent interest.
Social Traffic - These publishers purchase display inventory on social networks.
Sub-networks - A collection of publishers owned by numerous third parties brought together and being seen to operate as one single publisher.
Lead Generation (Email) - Lead-based email publishers generate prospective consumer interest or enquiries into products or services for advertisers via email.
Newsletters - These publishers produce a content-rich email distributed to an owned, shared, or rented database.
Retargeting (Email) - Email retargeting generates a personalized email for customers who have exited the advertiser’s site during the checkout process. The email will only make reference to the product(s) that were abandoned.
Search
Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) - CSS publishers will collect products via product feeds and serve ads on Google search results on behalf of an advertiser.
Direct Linking - Publishers who navigate the user from search engine results to the advertiser’s website with no other interim stages.
Domain Parking - This is the registration of an Internet domain name with a distinct absence of content. Publishers who own these domains often populate the associated landing pages with paid search adverts.
Linking via Landing Pages - Publishers that navigate the user from search engine results to the advertiser’s website with at least one interim stage (usually a landing page).
Mobile Search - Publishers who run search advertising campaigns that navigate the user from search engine results on a mobile device (such as a smartphone) to the advertiser’s website.
Social Search - Publishers who run search advertising campaigns which navigate the user from social media websites to the advertiser’s website.