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Affiliate programs and networks allow merchants and affiliates to benefit each other mutually. In return the affiliate network gets a share of the revenue generated. Affiliate networks perform functions similar to brokers. They bring advertisers and publishers together. Affiliate networks usually list large number of merchants and businesses that want their products to be promoted by affiliates (or publishers). This is referred to as affiliate marketing.

A publisher or a website owner can apply to become an affiliate of one or many merchants associated with that particular affiliate network. Once approved, the publisher can start promoting the product. Some merchants "auto-approve" affiliates, i.e. the merchants do not manually approve any new affiliates and any member of that network can become an affiliate. As an affiliate, you must follow any terms and conditions of the program that you are promoting. Failure to follow guidelines may result in losing of any commission earned and might lead to your account being banned.

Affiliates should check how the commissions are paid and what the minimum payout amount is. Most affiliate network pay via cheque. Some pay using online payment processors such as PayPal, while some other offer direct deposit when the commission amount is large.

Another factor to look out for is the type of campaigns or programs available. Some networks, such as BidVertiser, Google Adsense, etc mostly cater to pay-per-click campaigns while other networks, such as ClickBank fall under pay-per-sale category, where affiliates can earn commissions for each valid sale that occurs due to their promotional efforts. Availability of promotional materials or creatives such as banners, data-feeds, etc is yet another thing to consider while choosing an affiliate program or network.