An affiliate network sits between advertisers who want customers and affiliates who can send them. You sign the offers, bring the traffic, track every conversion and keep the margin between what the advertiser pays and what you pay out. Here is how to start one in India.
1. Pick a niche you can sell
General networks compete on volume. A focused network competes on knowing its advertisers and affiliates. Popular niches in India include finance (credit cards, loans, demat accounts), ecommerce, education, apps and gaming. Choose one where you already know advertisers or traffic sources.
2. Set up the business properly
Advertisers will ask for an invoice, and larger ones will want GST. Register your business, get a GSTIN when your turnover or your clients require it, and open a current account. Speak to a chartered accountant about TDS on affiliate payouts and the GST that applies to your services.
3. Sign your first advertisers
Start with three to five offers you understand. For each one, agree on:
- The payout model and amount (CPA, CPL, CPS, CPI or revenue share).
- Allowed and banned traffic sources.
- Caps per day or month, and target countries.
- How conversions are reported: an S2S postback with the click ID is best.
- When you get paid, and how rejected conversions are handled.
4. Set up tracking
You need software that creates tracking links, records clicks, receives postbacks, credits the right affiliate and shows revenue and payout side by side. Look for:
- Tracking links on your own domain, so affiliates see your brand.
- An affiliate portal where they sign up, get links and see their stats.
- Fraud checks on every click.
- Click ID formats that strict advertisers accept.
- Billing in rupees with a GST invoice, so the cost is easy to account for.
5. Recruit affiliates
Good affiliates come from communities you already know: media buyers, coupon and cashback sites, content creators, Telegram and WhatsApp channel owners, and app developers. Approve every signup yourself, ask about their traffic, and start new affiliates on lower caps.
6. Protect your advertisers from fraud
One bad affiliate can lose you an advertiser. Block or flag data center and VPN traffic on valuable offers, hold conversions that look wrong, and review them before you pay. Our guide on preventing affiliate fraud covers the checks.
7. Pay affiliates on time
Paying reliably is how small networks win good affiliates. Set a minimum payout and a schedule, collect each affiliate’s PAN, GSTIN and payment details, and ask them to invoice you for their earnings. Affiliates registered for GST add 18% to their invoice: CGST and SGST in the same state, IGST across states.
8. Watch the numbers every week
Look at profit by offer and by affiliate, conversion rate by sub ID, and how many conversions advertisers reject. Drop offers that don’t convert, raise caps for affiliates who perform, and ask advertisers for better payouts once you can show volume.
Affilix is built for networks starting out in India: see how it works for affiliate networks or check the plans.