LinkShare vs Commission Junction: Comparing Q3 2010 Results

On Tuesday (November 2, 2010) LinkShare affiliate network announced its Q3 2010 progress and highlights:

LinkShare in Q3 2010

…more than 110 new advertisers joined the LinkShare Network in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 25 percent compared to the same quarter in 2009. More than 1,000 advertisers are now part of the LinkShare performance marketing network as the company continues to outpace e-commerce growth. Sales in the LinkShare Network were up more than 30 percent in the third quarter of 2010 compared to overall e-commerce growth of nine percent. [source; underlining mine]

Yesterday (November 4, 2010) ValueClick Inc, owner of Commission Junction affiliate network (LinkShare’s main competitor), has had data on its Q3 results published as well:

ValueClick & Commission Junction in Q3 2010

ValueClick Inc. reported $106.8 million in total revenue for the third quarter, up 1.5% from a year ago, when revenue was $105.2 million. Revenue for its owned and operated web sites, however, declined 13.5% year over year to $35.9 million.

…The company’s affiliate marketing segment, which includes Commission Junction fared better. Affiliate marketing revenue was up 13.3% from $26.3 million a year ago and contributed $29.8 million to total revenue during the third quarter. [source; underlining mine]

Three main points stand out for me:

  1. Close to one-third of ValueClick’s Q3 revenue came from its “affiliate marketing segment”
  2. While ValueClick saw a third quarter decline in revenue from “its owned and operated web sites”, the decline didn’t affect Commission Junction, which, on the contrary, grew.
  3. While LinkShare hasn’t disclosed the actual revenue numbers, it’s quarter-on-quarter Q3 2010 growth seems to be considerably more impressive than that of Commission Junction (~30% vs 13.3%)

Related post:

6 thoughts on “LinkShare vs Commission Junction: Comparing Q3 2010 Results”

  1. I would stay away from Commission Junction. What they don’t tell you is the decline rate of the advertisers. I spent one week building a website for medifast diets. By the time I had finished the website I was already getting emails from the Medifast affiliate manager saying my click through rate was not what they were looking for…sign up if you want advertisers stating your website is not a good fit with their marketing plan. They only want affiliate marketers that can supply major click through…major advertising budgets.

  2. I am presently seeking to work with CJ and/or LinkShare for my smartphone app. It remains to be seen if I will be accepted into the advertisers that I am seeking.

  3. I agree that these affiliate networks are geared for publisher websites driving traffic to the advertiser. My smartphone app is pushing the envelop and challenging the established methods. However, if advertisers can optimize their purchase pages for smartphone access (display size, speed of loading), it can work for my smartphone app. So far, I’ve been accepted into the Barnes&Noble affiliate program through LinkShare and discussions are underway with others. I am now working on deploying my app for Barnes&Noble. I suspect that with its successful deployment, others advertisers may open their doors.

    1. David, it seems that I misunderstood you. I thought that you’re looking to become an advertiser. But you’re a publisher. And, oh, by all means, value-added smartphone apps work very very well as publishers. I’ve seen more than a few turn into super-affiliates. So, best of luck with it!

  4. Geno, Thanks for your encouragement. It is a work-in-progress and a challenge. I have your site bookmarked and will be consulting it as a reference.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *