what is a cpa network

What is a CPA Network? A Complete Guide for Affiliate Marketers

If you’re looking to get started with affiliate marketing one of the most common questions you’ll have is “What is a CPA network?” CPA stands for cost per acquisition or cost per action and CPA networks are essentially middlemen between advertisers and affiliates. Joining a top CPA network can give you instant access to thousands of offers and take a lot of the heavy lifting out of finding advertisers to work with directly.

In this complete guide, I’ll explain exactly what CPA networks are, why you should consider joining them as an affiliate, and provide tips for getting accepted to the best ones By the end, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to start monetizing your website traffic and social media following via CPA affiliate offers.

What Is CPA Marketing?

CPA stands for cost per acquisition or cost per action. This means advertisers only pay affiliates when a desired action is completed, such as a sale, sign-up, download etc.

Some examples of CPA offers include:

• Get paid $1 for every free trial sign-up
• Earn $5 for every app download
• Receive $50 for every product purchase

The exact payout depends on the offer, but the payment model remains the same – affiliates get paid when they generate the desired acquisition, not simply for driving traffic.

CPA payouts are usually much higher than other affiliate models like CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per impression). However, the downside is that converting traffic is generally more difficult.

For example, getting someone to click on a link is easier than getting them to input their credit card details or download an app. But if you can master driving these high-value actions as an affiliate, the potential earnings are huge.

What Is A CPA Network?

Now that you understand CPA marketing, what exactly are CPA networks?

CPA networks (aka affiliate networks) serve as middlemen between advertisers and affiliates. They provide technology to connect the two parties, as well as customer service and reporting.

The main benefit for affiliates is instant access to thousands of offers across almost every vertical, including:

• Finance
• Dating
• Skincare
• Software Apps
• Online gaming
• Crypto
• Travel
• Retail
• Sweepstakes

Rather than having to find advertisers, get approved, learn their tracking methods etc., you can simply browse a CPA network for offers that match your audience and promote them.

Advertisers also benefit by getting instant access to a large pool of publishers (affiliates) who can help promote their products on a pay for performance basis.

Many CPA networks also provide useful tools for their affiliates, such as:

• Dedicated affiliate managers
• Landing page builders
• Banner creators
• Tracking systems
• Reporting dashboards

By using a CPA affiliate network as an intermediary, both advertisers and affiliates save a ton of time and money on things like recruitment, contracts, negotiations, and tracking.

Top 10 CPA Networks For Affiliates

Now let’s take a look at 10 of the best CPA affiliate networks to consider joining in 2022:

1. MaxBounty

MaxBounty claims to be the industry’s #1 CPA network and was named “Best CPA Network” for two consecutive years at the International Performance Marketing Awards.

Some key stats:

• 2000+ campaigns
• $150 minimum payment threshold
• 5 tier payout system
• Dedicated affiliate managers
• Weekly payments

Top performing affiliates can also earn rewards points towards prizes like TVs, games consoles, and trips to Las Vegas.

1. ClickDealer

ClickDealer focuses heavily on mobile offers and has over 1000 campaigns worldwide. Some perks include:

• Low $100 payment threshold
• iOS and Android offers
• App promotion offers
• Dating offers
• Bonuses for top affiliates

They also provide a custom platform for building and hosting mobile offer links.

1. CPA Lead

As the name suggests, CPA Lead specializes in generating leads across various verticals. Some notable features:

• $50 payment minimum
• 300+ offers
• Mainly lead generation focus
• Lots of mobile content locking offers
• Weekly payments

CPA Lead has also paid out over $500 million to its affiliates, so they offer plenty of earning potential.

1. AdCombo

AdCombo provides offers in a huge range of verticals, including crypto, forex, gaming, dating, and more. Some key details:

• $50 minimum payment
• 2000+ offers
• Focus on quality over quantity
• Lots of gamified landers
• Good transparency

Their landers and creative are designed to boost conversions and keep your converting traffic.

1. CrakRevenue

As one of the largest ad networks globally, CrakRevenue provides affiliate offers in over 12 verticals. Some benefits:

• $100 payment minimum
• Great resources and tracking
• Mainly focused on dating,adult and sweepstakes.
• High payouts in competitive niches
• Generous referral commissions

They also provide publishers with creatives, landers, and banner builds help maximize earnings.

1. Admideal

Admitad operates globally and provides a bunch of tools to help affiliates be more successful. Some useful features include:

• $20 minimum payment
• Browser extension for finding offers
• Detailed analytics
• Lots of cashback offers
• Coupon and promo code offers

With over 2000 advertisers, Admitad makes it easy to find profitable CPA offers in any niche.

1. Affiliate

Affiliate has been operating for over 15 years, so they know the CPA game inside out. Some notable perks:

• $100 minimum payment
• 2,500 active campaigns
• Dating, sweepstakes and mobile offers
• Provide lots of creatives
• $2,000 sign up bonus potential

Their exclusive GEO-targeting options help ensure the right users see your offers.

1. Cpamatica

As a smaller CPA network, Cpamatica hand-picks many of their offers and provides publishers with VIP bonuses. Some key features:

• $50 minimum payment
• 700+ offers
• Focus on sweepstakes and dating
• VIP program rewards top publishers
• Good split testing options

Their personalized approach to supporting affiliates helps maximize conversions.

1. GlobalWide Media

GlobalWide Media focuses heavily on lead generation, which makes it easy for affiliates to get set up quickly. Useful perks:

• $100 minimum payment
• Email and zip submit offers
• Mainly lead gen and sweepstakes
• Provide lots of banner creatives
• 5% referral commissions

They also run sweepstakes globally, so lots of potential GEOs to target.

1. lemonads

Lemonads positions themselves as a “high paying” and “super fast” network with 65% of payments made in 24 hours or less. Some notable features:

• $50 minimum payment
• Top paying gaming, crypto and dating offers
• Focus on optimizing approval rates
• Self-service platform
• Pay within 24 hours in many cases

They also let you promote offers internationally to maximize earning potential.

How To Get Approved To Top CPA Networks

Now that you know the top CPA affiliate networks, how do you get approved to join them? Here are some tips:

• Have an active website or social media account with a decent following in a defined niche. This shows you have an audience to promote offers to.

• Be transparent about what you intend to do. Clearly explain you want to promote affiliate offers to your audience.

• Review network rules and stick to them. For example, don’t try cloaking links or fake registrations.

• Start with lower tier networks first. Once you prove yourself as a solid affiliate, you can apply to more selective premium networks.

• Follow up if you don’t hear back right away. Space is often limited, so sometimes networks take a bit to respond.

The keys are showing you take compliance seriously and already have an audience primed for the type of offers the network provides.

Over time, as you build up experience and sales volume, you’ll find it easier to get approved to top tier CPA networks.

Next Steps To Making Money with CPA Networks

Hopefully this guide gave you a complete overview of what CPA marketing is and how CPA networks help connect advertisers with affiliates like you.

Here are some next steps to get up and running:

• Research networks and offers that match your audience and niche.

• Build a website or social media account focused on a specific niche.

• Apply to a few beginner friendly CPA networks to start.

• Promote relevant offers to your audience and optimize based on performance.

• Reinvest earnings to grow your audience and traffic.

• Rinse and repeat!

The key is starting out laser focused on a niche then scaling up from there. CPA marketing takes some effort to master, but can be extremely lucrative if done right.

And joining a