Google is launching an affiliate network. At least that’s the word from David Jackson of Seeking Alpha, a network of stock market and finance sites.
In his blog, “Google Launches ValueClick Killer,” states:
Google is launching a fully-fledged cost-per-action — otherwise known as affiliate marketing — network. Let’s not mince words. This is Google’s ValueClick (VCLK) killer. Google has greater resources than ValueClick, a larger advertiser base, and the advantage of being able to offer publishers a full range of ads based on page views [CPM], clicks [CPC] and now actual purchases or leads [CPA]. Google can translate the performance of all these ads into “effective CPMs”, allowing publishers to compare and optimize for whichever type of ad produces maximum revenue.
This is based on an e-mail he received from the Google AdSense Team to be a Beta tester for a “feature” Google is rolling out to compensate advertisers (née affiliates) on a CPA basis.
This is an interesting development that lots of folks will be watching closely. One thing I do find curious is that Jackson identifies ValueClick as the target in Google’s test.
They’re certainly a strong force, but by no means represent the Alpha and Omega of affiliate marketing.