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BasicsAffiliate glossary

What is Advertising network?

The ad network sits between two sides. Publishers (site and app owners) put its ad code on their pages and get paid for the impressions or clicks they deliver. Advertisers buy that inventory in bulk, target it by country, device or topic, and pay per thousand impressions (CPM) or per click (CPC).

Affiliates use ad networks in both roles. As buyers, they purchase popunder, push, native or banner traffic and send it to affiliate offers. As publishers, they monetize the visitors who do not convert on an offer.

The key difference from an affiliate network: an ad network is paid for showing an ad, whatever happens next. An affiliate network pays only when a sale, lead or install happens. Some companies, such as Adsterra, run both under one roof.

Related terms

Affiliate network
An affiliate network is a platform that connects merchants with affiliates, tracks conversions and pays commissions for many programs under one account.
Traffic
Traffic is the stream of visitors an affiliate sends to an offer, from search, ads, social media, email or any other channel.
Traffic sources
Traffic sources are the channels an affiliate uses to send visitors to an offer, such as SEO, email, social, search ads or push.
CPA · Cost per action
CPA (cost per action) is a commission model where the affiliate earns a fixed amount each time a referred user completes a defined action.