Affiliates might see the list of affiliate networks and become overwhelmed. Wondering if it would be worth it to join more than one network. Many affiliates entering the game have heard of Commission Junction so that is who they register with, ignoring the rest of the networks.

The number of affiliate networks continues to grow. Competition rages between the top 3 affiliate networks Commission Junction, LinkShare, and Performics. Share A Sale has found a good niche targeting smaller to medium size merchants. There are still more networks such as Affiliate Future, which offers many merchants including the great eBook by Vlad, “Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing” and still more affiliate programs are run in-house or by emerging affiliate networks. Here is a run down of the top four affiliate networks.

Commission Junction – Large to Medium Size Companies
eBay, Capitol One, Wall Street Journal

Performics - Large to Medium Size Companies
Target, AOL, Blockbuster

LinkShare - Large to Medium Size Companies
Sharper Image , NHL.com, wine.com

Share A Sale – Medium to Small Size Companies
Denver Fabrics , Checks Unlimited, Entirely Pets

Share A Sale is the best run affiliate network. Offering a number of user friendly tools for both merchants and affiliates improves the affiliate marketing experience. Check out the “Make a Page” option for affiliates and the “create a widget” for merchants. The stats tracking is also superior to any of the other networks.

Affiliate networks can be too large for their own good in my opinion. Commission Junction is constantly late in their payments to affiliates and often times their network goes down with no warning. LinkShare is still improving their interface and payment methods and are becoming stronger on the whole. Performics is very middle of the road in terms of their all-around affiliate marketing experience.

Affiliates should not limit themselves to one network. When designing your affiliate site you should pull merchants that fit the theme of your site from any network possible.