Google / Froogle to Become An Affiliate Network !?

**Qui Gon Jinn** · 02-03-06

Phew...not yet...but is it a question of when?

Is it only a matter of time before Google do a find & replace url on organic search links with affiliated links .. or Froogle becomes an affiliate network (hence no longer free listings) but when they do form this affiliate network, they will be the only affiliate within their network?

Then organic seo'd listings diminish from first page & demoted to 2nd page

Surely there are enough skilled independent publishers & whizzos to club together and find a competitive solution with an army of publishers / affiliates to promote it in it's stead?

This has been speculated for a while ... is it a question of when?

**dmorison** · 02-03-06

My guess is that Google is gearing up to become an affiliate network in terms of connecting AdWords advertisers with AdSense publishers on a CPA model, probably tied in with the forthcoming "GPay" Google payment system.

The rewards for those who convert will be fantastic; the ad placement algo basically taking into account how much your ad makes for Google (a la AdSense publishers).

**pricethat** · 02-03-06

Originally Posted by dmorison

My guess is that Google is gearing up to become an affiliate network in terms of connecting AdWords advertisers with AdSense publishers on a CPA model, probably tied in with the forthcoming "GPay" Google payment system.

Sounds pretty spot on to me.........

**markschok** · 03-03-06

They've got all those feeds floating round in froogle so why not just link them up to adsense and have actual contextual product placement. Would they be a good affiliate network?

**Azam.net** · 03-03-06

Yes it would - sadly.

dmorison, that's a frightening scenario.

The only way you could originally make money with Adsense was to feature Adwords ads. Then they started adding CPA deals: earn commission for referring people to download Firefox, earn commission for referring other webmasters to join Adsense. It will become a network gradually I'm sure.

Whatever the case may be, it's gonna get tougher because Google's remit is to satisfy its shareholders not we affiliates.

**getvisible** · 03-03-06

Is it only a matter of time before Google do a find & replace url on organic search links with affiliated links .. or Froogle becomes an affiliate network (hence no longer free listings) but when they do form this affiliate network, they will be the only affiliate within their network?

I don't see it happening. I spent part of this afternoon in Matt Cutts company (even getting a private email addy to use - oh yeh baby), I don't get the impression that they'd be interested in the bad publicity that it'd bring.

They know that the only reason that people use them is the relevancy of their results. Everything else that drives significant revenue is based on their serps. They would not want to give the remotest of possibilities to those that would like to tarnish them with the adware brush.

With Froogle, I see that as a distinct possibility, however.

**Xcaping Oz** · 03-03-06

Anyone know if they're using a different Algo for Froogle as they do for the SERPS? The results are stll very general I think.

One more thing, does anyone use the Image ads/ Site-targeting they offer. Something I have considered but haven't heard much good about it. I see the Ad Space available on many Publishers sites but very seldom an actual image.

**markschok** · 03-03-06

Yeah, I was thinking a bit more on this this morning, of course Google wouldn't want to use their domain with the likes of Norton, adaware etc marking network cookies up as tracking/spyware cookies. Using Froogle would be the obvious choice. And if there's enough money it then the shareholders may go for it.

If this ever happens, here's what I'd like to see,
I'd like to see them give the current networks a run for their money.
I would like to see how a seperate CPA version of adsense would work.
I'd like to see adsense earnings combined with affiliate earnings
I'd like to see them deny access to all spyware pushers and spammers.
I'd like a condition that affilaites must be part of Google site maps to discourage the two groups mentioned above
Buy Norton and switch of the default anti affiliate cookie setting.
and maybe some more stuff that I'll think of later.

To be honest though, froogle hasn't really set the world on fire so I imagine there will be someway to go before this could ever happen. That said, the speed at which Google builds and releases products I expect to be signing up for this tomorrow AM.

I don't understand why a S/E hasn't already gone for something like this big time. They'd stand to clean up a lot of the damage crappy (thin?) affiliates do to the serps and make money at the same time whilst cutting of the oxygen supply to those manky spyware publishers. It's a win-win-win triple barrel fantasy.

**pricethat** · 06-03-06

Originally Posted by markschok

I don't understand why a S/E hasn't already gone for something like this big time. They'd stand to clean up a lot of the damage crappy (thin?) affiliates do to the serps and make money at the same time whilst cutting of the oxygen supply to those manky spyware publishers. It's a win-win-win triple barrel fantasy.

Simply because there is ten times more money in ppc and to be honest its not their job to "sell" items for merchants. The more i work with affiliate marketing the more i like ppc. Sure there is more money to be made in selling the item as opposed to getting a measly few pence in a click but the hundreds of thousands of clicks that just go to waist on some merchants need paying for. By only doing ppc google distance themselves from having to perform, instead letting natural selection take its place. If there is a margin in a product then merchants seem to be quite happy to work it and spend right up to the limit anyway so it is not as if they are loosing money in any way.

What i could see is some sort of paid inclusion eventually coming into place where people have to pay something to be included at all. Would be interesting if they did. They certainly have the reach to take affiliate marketing much further than any network we have at the mo. They could probably be much bigger than zanox, tradedoubler and cj all together in less than 6 months.

**drivetowin** · 06-03-06

Personally I can't see it happening - not when adwords / adsense work so well to make revenue for them - after all if they did it they would lose a load of adsense revenue overnight.

And the adsense model from a search engine perspective is perfect - think about it from their perspective for a minute -

We get all of these other sites to show ads which people pay us for on their sites.

We pay those sites for each click on those ads but
a) we don't tell them how much we get paid for the click in the first place
b) we don't tell them what percentage of that revenue we are going to give them
c) we can change that percentage dynamically all of the time
d) we don't have to worry about tracking too much because they can't check because we will make it part of the terms and conditions of the programme that if you make even a single click on one of your own links you can be kicked off the programme and forfeit all your revenue.
e) we also make sure they can't compare what they're getting by making it part of the t's and c's that discussing your EPC or EPM figures publically means we can kick you off the programme and you forfeit all your revenue.

So given that 'winner takes all' scenario, why would you possibly want to change to any other model?

**saysomestuff** · 22-06-06

Though I'd revive this thread in the light of the following:
http://internet.seekingalpha.com/article/12363

**CompareStore** · 22-06-06

This morning, soon after the market opened, I shorted ValueClick. Stock buyback or not, this spells the end of ValueClick’s Commission Junction business.

Strong words indeed.