--- title: "Partner types overview" slug: "partner-types-overview" updated: 2026-03-09T14:31:04Z published: 2026-03-09T14:31:04Z canonical: "help.awin.com/partner-types-overview" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.awin.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Partner types overview 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. ### Email - **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.