Source: ReveNews
Affiliates have a lot to worry about these days. Advertisers themselves are busy divying up affiliates’ commissions among themselves. The The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division issued a ruling on the so-called Amazon Tax that wasn’t the most positive for the industry. But there’s another burning issue that the industry should be watching which deserves an update: How Google is crowding out AdWords advertisers, as well as advertisers from other affiliate networks, by swapping cost-per-click ads with cost-per-action image ads from Google Affiliate Network (GAN) advertisers.
By placing cost-per-action (affiliate) image ads in the space where AdWords ads traditionally appear, Google is elevating it’s Google Affiliate Network. And it’s tapping into a new revenue stream. As I see it, ValueClick’s (VCLK) Commission Junction unit is suffering, so is Rakuten’s LinkShare. As are retail advertisers who choose to not work with Google’s GAN. In fact, I feel, they’re under increasing pressure to make a switch.