revenue - mthinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/rp21_v11a_web.pdf · 2018-03-27 ·...

12
2015-Q1 : Vol. 1 : Issue 21 CPS & CPA Network Rankings BLUE BOOK 2015 The Top 20 Performance Marketing Networks Input From 20,000+ Advertisers & Publishers! What Works For Top Networks REVENUE Monetization & High-Performance Marketing performance

Upload: others

Post on 19-Jun-2020

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

2015-Q1 : Vol. 1 : Issue 21

CPS & CPA Network Rankings

BLUEBOOK

2015

The Top 20 Performance Marketing NetworksInput From 20,000+ Advertisers & Publishers!What Works For Top Networks

REVENUEMonetization & High-Performance Marketing

performance

Page 2: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

REVENUEperformance

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of

the content of this publication, the publisher will accept no

responsibility for any errors or omissions, or for any loss or

damage, consequential or otherwise, suffered as a result of

any material published here. The information published in

Revenue+Performance is not intended as a substitute for legal,

accounting, tax or other professional advice. The publisher

assumes no responsibility for statements made by advertisers

in business competition. All editorial submissions, whether

solicited or unsolicited, become the property of mThink. State-

ments and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those

of Revenue+Performance, mThink, its affiliates, advertisers or

any other agent. The name “Revenue+Performance” and the

phrase “Super-Affiliate Insights” are the intellectual property

of mThink. The entire content of this publication is protected

by copyright; full details are available through the publisher. All

rights reserved. These trademarks or copyright materials may

not be used in any media for any purpose without the express

written consent of mThink.

© 2015 mThink ISSN: 1549-7615

Cover Image: © Shutterstock: Saicle

PUBLISHER & EDITORChris Trayhorn

DIRECTOR OF ONLINESheila Fox

PRODUCTION DESIGNRick Greer

Revenue Performance is published by mThink55 New Montgomery, Suite 617

San Francisco, CA 94105mThink: Intelligent Performance Marketing

CHAIRMAN AND CEOChris Trayhorn

VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETINGYvonne Schellerup

DIRECTOR, WEB DEVELOPMENTRocio Santillana

Disclaimer: Revenue+Performance and revenue.mThink.com include editorial and/or advertising that refers to affiliate programs that often include many different websites. Occasionally those programs may include websites offering education in casino or card games. In such cases no promotion or endorsement of those sites should be inferred or implied – our editorial coverage and/or advertising relates only to the affiliate program itself. Revenue+Performance magazine and revenue.mThink.com do not accept advertising that promotes online gambling.

Dedicated To Monetization + High Performance Marketing

The Best Performance Marketing Networks In The WorldChris Trayhorn, mThinkDigital.com

Once again this year the BLUE BOOK survey exceeded all expectations. Tens of thousands of industry professionals, doz-ens of interviews and many, many hours of analysis and discussion lead to this pre-sentation of the results. Within these pages you will find 40 of the best affiliate and CPA networks in the world, as chosen by the ad-vertisers and publishers of the international performance marketing community.

Affiliate marketing is maturing, and as it does so, the

opportunities for growth expand. An ever-expanding

roster of brands are entering the industry and finding

that a performance marketing model fits perfectly with

their need for reduced risk and increased scalability.

The winning networks in our league tables are the

ones that are thriving in this new reality. Without ex-

ception they strive to offer remarkable levels of cus-

tomer service in combination with cutting-edge tech-

nology and marketing intelligence. Evolution in times

of change is the mark of a survivor species – all of these

networks have shown that they possess the combina-

tion of intelligence, responsiveness and resilience to

succeed in the longer term. This can only be achieved

by good leadership.

As online marketing evolves into an industry domi-

nated by mobile, so opportunities for innovation have

opened up, and here too the performance marketing

networks have shown themselves to be exemplars of

how to respond to change. New tracking methodolo-

Page 3: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

revenue.mThink.com 1

The Best Performance Marketing Networks In The WorldChris Trayhorn, mThinkDigital.com

BLUE BOOK #1 CPS NETWORKRakuten LinkShareThe Best CPS Network In The World

This is Rakuten LinkShare’s fourth con-

secutive #1 ranking, an amazing record and a

tribute to their commitment to continuous

improvement. In the face of extremely strong

competition, the rock-solid tracking platform

and high levels of both advertiser and publish-

er satisfaction reported in our survey carried

them over the line.

BLUE BOOK #1 CPA NETWORKMax BountyThe Joint-Best CPA Network In The World

Max Bounty is also a multiple winner of the

CPA network category and their continuing

excellence is a mark of their remarkable lead-

ership, strong ethics and financial stability.

BLUE BOOK #1 CPA NETWORKPeerFlyThe Joint-Best CPA Network In The World

PeerFly’s CEO, Chad French, has created a

fast-moving, much-respected network that

is a hit with both publishers and advertisers.

Their first (joint) #1 position in our CPA league

table reflects the fact that for many people,

this is their favorite network.

The BLUE BOOK Top 20 is not a simple list of the big-gest networks. Instead, it takes into account reputa-tion, influence, clientele, popularity and scale. Publish-ers and advertisers are self-identified and are provided with different questionnaires depending on whether they primarily run CPS campaigns or CPA/CPL.

For more on our methodology, please see inside back cover.The Blue Book tables are a representation of the opinion of the publisher. Readers should always do their own research and form their own opinions.

Methodology

TIED FOR #1

TIED FOR #1

gies, new approaches to media buying and cross-chan-

nel campaign integration are all areas in which we have

seen rapid progress. This will only accelerate as more of

the world is brought online and provided with afford-

able Internet access via smartphones.

The ongoing integration of performance marketing

into the bigger marketing mix will also continue, par-

ticularly as online video eats into television’s share of

ad budgets. Corporate brand managers using integrat-

ed marketing dashboards that seamlessly incorporate

performance marketing metrics along with other cam-

paigns is surely where we are headed. Brands should

and must bring performance marketing into their mix

if they are to succeed in the years ahead. The networks

in these pages are the ones to help them, do just that.

This year’s BLUE BOOK survey was bigger than ever,

with over 20,000 industry professionals taking the time

to give their views. There is no better guide to which

networks are really doing the job of serving their adver-

tiser and publisher partners.

The BLUE BOOK Top CPS and CPA networks: the

best networks in the world.

Page 4: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

2 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 21

Page 5: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

3revenue.mThink.com

Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) NetworksNetwork URL Survey comments or notes

1 Rakuten Affiliate Network linkshare.com

A close competition between Rakuten LinkShare and CJ as always, but the quality of LinkShare’s advertiser support is hard to ignore.

2 CJ by Conversant cj.comCJ is felt by some to have a technology lead over their competitors and is a little more popular with publishers. A very professional network.

3 Amazon Affiliates affiliate-program. amazon.com

The industry entry-point for many publishers. Ease of use and broad product offerings make it simple.

4 Avangate avangate.comAn impressive jump in the rankings resulting from very strong support from their vibrant publisher community.

5 eBay Enterprise/ Pepperjam ebaypartnernetwork.com

The absorption of Pepperjam is complete and the resulting bigger, stronger eBay Partner Network is extremely popular with publishers.

6 ClickBank clickbank.comStill huge even as they have had to evolve with the changing rules on promotions and disclosures. Massively popular with entry-level merchants.

7 ShareASale shareasale.comAlways a contender, ShareASale seems to polarize opinions a little more than some other networks. A stable network with a solid history.

8 FlexOffers flexoffers.com A network that promises original product review content for publishers and full compliance monitoring for advertisers - within a multitude of product verticals.

9 RevenueWire revenuewire.comA terrific jump in the rankings from last year shows the great reputation that this Canadian network has built for itself.

10 AvantLink avantlink.comStable, professionally operated and a great business model. Very popular with the advertisers in our survey. What more could anyone want?

11 LinkConnector linkconnector.comA terrific range of trusted brands and a focus on proprietary technology keeps LinkConnector high on our list.

12 Affiliate Window us.affiliatewindow.comThe best network in Europe and increasingly prominent in the USA. Well worth a look for any publisher or advertiser looking to go global.

13 oneNetworkDirect onenetworkdirect.comoND is still popular but increasingly finds itself over-shadowed by newer digital download networks.

14 AffiliateNetwork.com affiliatenetwork.comBased in Manhattan and with a great reputation, especially for their email campaigns.

15 Affiliate Future affiliatefuture.comNo longer a new entry but still based in NY and owned by Progressive Digital Media Group, Affiliate Future is going strong.

16 AdMedia admedia.comA surprising new entry this year out of Burbank, CA, AdMedia has been providing online advertising services to advertisers, publishers, and consumers since 1998.

17 TradeDoubler tradedoubler.comAnother very strong European network and founded way back in 1999, TradeDoubler has global reach and a great publisher network.

18 Webgains webgains.comBased in the UK but with an active US office, WebGains tries to stay focused on solid, core values.

19 Impact Radius impactradius.comRun by legends of the industry, with top-class technology and great results. Well worth their inclusion.

20 Valuleads valuleads.comBack in the rankings this year, ValuLead’s customized campaigns have fostered a dramatic rise in popularity.

Page 6: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

4 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 21

Affiliate Marketing

Start earning with the #1 CPA network.

Success in affiliate marketing requires balance between affiliate wants and advertiser goals. Having built long-term prosperous marketing relationships for over a decade, MaxBounty delivers like no other

network. Enjoy the benefit of our experience and see your business thrive by signing up today.

KNOWS

Page 7: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

5revenue.mThink.com

Performance Marketing – Daryl Colwell, Matomy Media Group

MaxBountymaxbounty.com

Max Bounty wins this year for their consistent quality, longevity and experience. Received high votes in all categories.

PeerFlypeerfly.com

After chasing the #1 spot for several years Chad French’s network has finally made it. Loved by publishers for their strong affiliate management team.

TOP 20 CPA Networks

Network URL Survey comments or notes

2 Neverblue neverblue.com Being acquired by GlobalWide Media a year or two back hasn’t slowed down Neverblue at all. Another very strong showing.

3 Clickbooth clickbooth.com Clickbooth seems to have been around forever. Lots of scale but just a fewer votes across the industry than the top two networks.

4 Mundo Media mundomedia.com One of several Canadian networks in our Top 10, Mundo Media is growing fast across several verticals using proprietary technology.

5 Ad Work Media adworkmedia.comWith a very impressive leap in the rankings this year AWM is an innovative global performance marketing with global reach featuring content monetization tools such as Content Lockers & Link Lockers.

6 Adscend Media adscendmedia.com The content-locking kings, Adscend has terrific reach. If you want to monetize content, look no further.

7 Above-All-Offers abovealloffers.comAnother impressive rise in the rankings this year, Above All Offers is based in Eugene, OR but serves clients all over the world. They boast 24/7 customer service and a very dedicated staff. A big plus for a network working on international success.

8 Matomy Media matomy.com Matomy is rapidly expanding via acquisitions and strategic partnerships, transforming itself into an international behemoth.

9 A4D a4d.com Formerly known as Ads4Dough, A4D has a loyal and enthusiastic tribe of publishers. Based in San Diego, CA.

10 CPAWay cpaway.com Tom Dietzel is well-respected in the industry and is known for new technology initiatives.

11 W4 w4.com A good, highly professional network with one of the most experienced teams in the industry.

12 Convert2Media convert2media.com Jumped one place from last year and still a strong network with good offers

13 Adknowledge adknowledge.com AdKnowledge is big, technologically savvy and very popular. A network that is well-regarded by many.

14 ClickDealer clickdealer.comNo other first time network in the Top 20, has made a better showing this year than ClickDealer, debuting at #14w. An international network with headquarters in the Netherlands, they have quickly made a name for themselves by rapidly becoming a certified Google Partner.

15 Affiliate Crossing affiliatecrossing.comFormally known as Affiliate Venture Group, this network has re-invented itself by expanding globally and becoming much more integrated into branding, search engine marketing and social media marketing overall. They are very excited to unveil their new brand.

16 Diablo Media diablomedia.com For the second year in a row Diablo Media makes a good showing in the rankings. Another network from Denver, CO which is very popular with publishers

17 Adperio adperio.comBased on a foundation of “Advertising in the Open”, Adperio has been on the cutting-edge of advertising for over 19 years. With headquarters in Denver, CO., their approach is to offer transparency and visibility into their clients’ online ad spend.

18 YeahMobi yeahmobi.comAnother newcomer this year is YeahMobi, a subsidiary of NDP Media Corp. and founded in 2011. With a focus on mobile performance marketing they are the flagship business of NDP Media with offices in China, US, Japan and Germany.

19 CrakRevenue crakrevenue.comBased out of Ontario, Canada, CrakRevenue surprised us all with their outstanding publisher support. They have been around for over 10 years but this is year they “cracked” the Blue Book rankings.

TIED FOR #1

Page 8: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

6 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 21

Network Management – Melissa Feemster, Adam Weiss, Steven Sauve

Revenue+PerformanceLet’s start with talking about what success looks like. Give us some idea of how big a top network is these days?

Steven Sauve MaxBounty currently works with over 16,000 publishers from all corners of the globe. We are truly international and can generate leads for campaigns in any country in the world. On the other side, we work with over 300 merchants with over 800 campaigns across multiple B2C verticals.

Melissa Feemster At Rakuten LinkShare (now Rakuten Affiliate Network) we’re fortunate to be part of Rakuten, a truly global company. We were already in the US, Canada, UK, Japan, and Australia, and we launched in France, Germany, and Brazil during 2014. Within the Rakuten LinkShare network we are also seeing rapid growth. In the United States, same store sales were up 20% YOY in Q4 2014.

Revenue+PerformanceSo, you are successful, but we see networks falling away all the time. How do you sustain success in such a highly competitive industry?

Steven SauveWe attribute the success we have enjoyed since 2004 to two principles that drive everything we do: professionalism and respect. These principles have given us a reputation that both affiliates and merchants seek out. Obviously you also need to be hard-working and highly competent,

but competitive advantage comes from trust. It’s really as simple as that.

Adam Weiss We take much the same approach. We are known through and through for the high level of service we provide our clients, but also for our data-driven strategic program management. Our customers frequently cite factors such as reliable technology, customer service and publisher reach as some of the top reasons for working with us. As Steven says, it’s a competitive advantage. We’ve seen a large number of clients who migrated to Rakuten Affiliate Network in 2014 for our superior levels of service, and 84% of those clients have seen an increase in YoY revenue growth.

Revenue+PerformanceWhat about external factors? How has the industry changed over the last few years and what have you done to stay ahead?

Steven Sauve The biggest change in the industry has been the overall reduction in the number of CPA networks. This can be directly attributed to the push by affiliates, merchants and regulatory bodies for networks to operate to higher standards. That fits perfectly with how we have always done business. The industry is maturing, and that’s a great thing.

Melissa Feemster At Rakuten LinkShare, we have made it our mission to keep our focus on what is most important and not be

What Works? What Keeps a Network Successful?By Revenue+Performance staff

We ask the leaders of two of our #1-ranked networks for their insights into what works and why.

During our research for the BLUE BOOK rankings we typically look at over 500 different networks. Out of all of them, over the last five years two networks in particular have ranked highly more consistently than any others: Rakuten LinkShare and Max Bounty. Chris Trayhorn talked to Steven Sauve, CTO of Max Bounty, and Melissa Feemster and Adam Weiss, the co-GM/SVPs of Rakuten LinkShare (now Rakuten Affiliate Network), to see what keeps their networks successful and what they think the future holds for the industry.

Page 9: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

7revenue.mThink.com

What Works? What Keeps a Network Successful?By Revenue+Performance staff

distracted by too many changes. That means we see our role as providing the affiliate marketing ecosystem for advertisers and publishers to do business, and create value added strategic partnerships on our platform. Naturally, we innovate and add new technology and features, but we also haven’t taken our eyes off the prize, which has meant re-investing in our core platform. There is so much data that passes through our system that it is hard to do what we do as a network. We really focus on ensuring that the infrastructure is sound and that people know they can trust our platform.

Revenue+PerformanceThe interesting thing is that you all run technology-based companies, yet you speak so much about customer service. Is your success based upon technology or upon people?

Steven Sauve Without a doubt it is the people. The only true differentiating factors between CPA networks are the qualities that cannot be licenced from a tracking platform: professionalism, ethics, respect, and stability.

Adam Weiss As Melissa said earlier you definitely need great technology to build an effective ecosystem for advertisers and publishers. Ask anyone though, and they’ll tell you this is a relationship business. Our people are the lifeblood of our organization. We put a huge focus on service, and on ensuring that we’re constantly looking for new partnership and optimization opportunities. We consider our network to be an extension of our advertisers and publishers, and it’s our job to know their business well enough to be able to help them make more money.

Revenue+Performance What lies ahead for the industry? Can you make any predictions for 2015?

Steven Sauve First and foremost, there are going to be more network failures. It’s inevitable that as demand increases from affiliates and merchants for networks to be operated to a higher standard, those networks who do not have the ability or desire to conform will falter. To protect their financial assets and on-line reputations, merchants and affiliates should demand more from their networks this coming year.

Second, more brands will become comfortable with using

performance marketing to find leads. The increasing maturity of the industry means that brands are starting to understand that a CPA campaign can be safe. We believe the pace of adoption will increase in 2015.

Third, demands for transparency will increase. As more brands come to the performance marketing space, and as regulatory bodies continue to scrutinize on-line advertising, more and more merchants will require some level of transparency from their affiliates or network partners. Those affiliates and networks who are willing and able to provide transparency will thrive.

Adam WeissThere are so many opportunities for 2015 that it is hard to know where to begin. From our perspective we think our opportunities are to continue to invest in our business while leveraging the global power of Rakuten Marketing. Picking up on what Steven said about transparency, the development of our new Cadence product offers a great opportunity to provide our advertisers and publishers with the type of transparency and program optimization that can really change the affiliate business in a positive way for everyone.

Melissa Feemster The other massive change will be in mobile commerce, of course. More and more people are using their mobile devices for e-commerce based activities which means that affiliate mobile sales will continue to accelerate rapidly. We saw huge growth in Q4 2014. Mobile made up 34% of clicks (up 24% YoY) and 20% of orders (up 35% YoY).

Mobile is reshaping e-commerce as we know it. I can’t tell you how many calls our Business Development team and I get from mobile publishers with great ideas and new technology. They see affiliate marketing as the place where they can get access to the right merchants, products, and reporting for the tools that they’re developing. Publishers and merchants not only need to be ensuring that they themselves are up to speed with mobile, they need to make sure that their network partner can track across devices, operating systems and whatever is needed. In 2015 mobile is critical.

Revenue+PerformanceGreat information, everyone! Thank you all and good luck for the year ahead.

Page 10: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

8 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 21

Industry Insights: Social Media

Secrets of Social Media ConversionBy Chris Trayhorn, Social Influencer Marketing Group, mThinkDigital.com

The idea that social media traffic doesn’t convert is so widely held by now that many companies don’t even test it. The phrase, “there is no ROI in social” has become almost a cliche. But like most cliches, while there may be a kernel of truth to it, there is also a much more nuanced - and profitable - reality.

Of course social media traffic converts. It is made of people, after all, and the last time I checked people are what you need in order to get conversions. So the question isn’t whether social media traffic converts. It is, how do we get it to convert profitably and predictably? How do we turn those reading-viewing-sharing people into buyers and form-fillers?

In order to do that, we need to think about the difference between short and long conversion funnels. As an example, paid SEM represents a classic short conversion funnel: you advertise, and someone who is already in buying mode clicks on your ad and goes to your landing page. This works because search engines attract people who are already at near the end of their buying process – they’re just looking for the best posible deal.

Social media by its nature isn’t normally targeted at people near the bottom of the conversion funnel, but there’s no reason why your particular social media content shouldn’t be. Think of it this way: a large percentage of people on social media platforms at any given time will also use Google or Bing on the same day. They are buying stuff all the time, even if it’s not top of mind when they are on Facebook or YouTube.

What that means is that there is an opportunity to reach people with the right kind of content at the right time, and in doing so, to bypass the big search engines. Video product reviews on YouTube, for example, can lead a prospective customer by the hand, create trust and then maximize conversion on a subsequent landing page, better than any 95 character text ad. The key is to treat social media traffic differently - although this often simply means treating it with the same level of respect you normally give to paid search traffic.

Let’s summarize six takeaways on this subject: the secrets of social media conversion.

• Focus on the right social networks. There are lots of them, but unless you have a good reason to choose one of the

smaller ones, stick with the giants. Facebook, of course. Twitter, although some find that there’s too much poor traffic. YouTube, best of all for product reviews and traffic quality. And Google+, just because its Google and so you will probably benefit from better search rankings and any number of other, hidden algorithm-related goodies.

• Use a proper landing page and make sure it matches the social media traffic source. If you were running a paid search campaign on Google you would probably create a dedicated landing page and ensure it was optimized for the search terms on which you were bidding. You might even have multiple landing pages, each optimized for a different

search term group. So why wouldn’t you do the same for your social media traffic? Make the effort to create a sales funnel that feels “right” and you will reap the benefit.

• Use social media widgets and testimonials on the page in order to establish authority and trust. In social, popularity can often function as a substitute for reputation, meaning that even if potential customers don’t know your brand personally, they are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if they can see that you are popular.

• Optimize for mobile, the whole way through the sales funnel. Mobile social media traffic is huge, so if you’re serious about making it convert, ensure the your landing pages, shopping carts and forms all work beautifully and seamlessly across a wide range of mobile devices.

• Include a strong call-to-action in all of your social media content. It doesn’t have to be as in-your-face as “buy this now!” but it should at least encourage the reader/viewer to be an active participant in the sales process.

• Encourage sharing. If, on average, each visitor to your squeeze page finds just one thing that’s worth sharing with their friends, then your marketing reach has just been increased exponentially. Make sharing as easy as possible, on as many platforms as is practical.

Social media traffic really does convert. But it can’t be treated just like paid SEM traffic, or even display. Treat it with respect and profitable campaigns will follow.

Social media traffic is cost-effective and highly scaleable but only if you know how to make it convert. The social media conversion funnel is different to the one that many of us are used to but, if it’s executed properly, a conversion-centered social media strategy can yield real ROI.

Video product reviews on YouTube can lead a prospective customer by the hand, create trust and then maximize conversion better than any 95 character text ad

Page 11: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

9revenue.mThink.com

Data and Methodology

2015 Blue Book Rankings Data & Methodology

The BLUE BOOK Top 20 is not a simple list of the big-

gest networks. Instead, it takes into account reputation,

influence, clientele, popularity and scale.

An important part of the ranking process was our sur-

vey of over 20,000 industry figures carried out during

Fall, 2014. In that survey, we asked an open-field first

question to identify the respondent’s favorite networks

for running CPA and affiliate campaigns. The open-field

nature of this first question was designed to avoid any

selection-bias caused by prompting or by which net-

works we included in a pick-list.

On a subsequent screen we provided a list of almost

over 100 networks from which respondents were asked

to choose a further four networks in either of the CPA

and affiliate network categories.

We also made allowance for the sheer number of pub-

lishers that the big networks deal with. We didn’t want

smaller but well-loved networks to be swamped, so we

factored that in too.

In addition, we consulted industry experts and mer-

chants in order to obtain insights into day-to-day expe-

riences with the various networks in contention.

Finally, we also researched and aggregated a variety of

traffic data, measures of industry influence and as many

other pieces of information as we can gather.

The result of all these deliberations is the BLUE BOOK

Top 20: our picks for the Top 20 affiliate networks and

the Top 20 CPA networks.

How We CalculatedThe Scoring

Approximate WeightOf Final Score

An open-field question to establishrespondent’s absolute favorite affiliateand CPA networks

Multiple-choice question to identifyrespondent’s preferred networks

Industry experts and merchant interviews

Other research on reputation,stability, etc.

30%

30%

20%

20%

We wish to thank everyone in the industry that helped with our research for the 2015 Blue Book rankings. Many networks promoted the survey to their publishers and advertisers, and it was this broad spread of distribution that provided the large sample size and validity that underpins the results. Many individuals were also extremely supportive of the process, aiding in question design, list compila-tion and innumerable other issues that arose.

Once again, thanks are due to all concerned.

Thank you, Chris Trayhorn

Acknowledgements

Methodology

For more information on the best affiliate and CPA networks go to mthink.com/bluebook

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

Chart Title

Quality of service and support9,212

Financial stability & trustworthiness8,662

Technology innovation6,388

Reliability of tracking/technology7,503

Other (various)5,067

Quality of o�ers11,149

Network Characteristics Most Important to VotersWe asked both publishers and advertisers what are the most important characteristics they look for when se-lecting a network partner.

The Blue Book tables are a representation of the opinion of the publisher. Readers should always do their own research and form their own opinions.

Page 12: REVENUE - mThinkmthink.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/RP21_v11a_Web.pdf · 2018-03-27 · revenue.mThink.com 3 Online Advertising BLUE BOOKTOP 20 Affiliate (CPS) Networks Network URL

[email protected] // (415) 371-880055 New Montgomery St., Suite 617 • San Francisco, Ca 94105

WE BUILD

BIGThe old models of PR, brand and advertising are dead. Nobody needs to read your press release this morning. No one cares about your blog post. Everyone is busy.

What’s a marketer to do? How do you break through the clutter? How to be heard above the noise?

We know how. We specialize in programmatic and Facebook advertising, social media, video and mobile, for direct reponse, app installs and lead-gen. We get your message seen and heard.

• Dedicated Facebook Media Buying/Creative Team• Proprietary Programmatic Buying Methodology• Direct Response/Lead-Gen/App Install Programs• Social Marketing & Content Solutions• Responsive & Mobile Design & Optimization

Talk to us. We provide the solutions you need.

Find out more today at:mThinkDigital.comEmail us a question or an RFP:[email protected]