Most affiliate programs are Cost Per Action. That means you are paid a commission every time someone you refer performs some action on the sponsor’s site. Generally “Action” means “Sale” or “Lead.” A sale is when someone makes a purchase — a lead is a non-sale action such as submitting a form for more information or starting a free trial. The affiliate is paid either a flat fee per lead/sale, or a percentage of a sale.
Google Adsense now has a “Referrals” program — a Cost Per Action (CPA) network. With Google Adsense Referrals, you choose the specific products in a variety of categories to promote in your Google Ad units. These ad units then earn you money per sale/lead as opposed to the traditional Adsense Per Click.
Here are some of the Top CPA Networks with High Conversions. Check them out!:
AffiliateFuel: AffiliateFuel gives you access to a wide array of individual affiliate programs covering all niches. You’ll get a monthly check from AffiliateFuel (usually around the 20th of the month) for all your affiliate activities. You’ll find all sorts of great affiliate programs here — including the seasonly appropriate affiliate programs for TurboTax, TaxAct, and TaxBrain, as well as the VistaPrint affiliate program, and Experian free Credit Reports affiliate program. Many of the offers you’ll find on this site are free sample/free trial offers — and you’ll get a commission every time one of your referrals takes advantage of the free offers! AffiliateFuel is a high quality network and does not accept all affiliates — they claim to only accept 5% of applications.
LinkShare: The Linkshare affiliate network has great statistics and great advertisers. At LinkShare, you’ll find high paying, high quality programs such as the Netflix affiliate program, as well as the Autos.com, Hotwire.com, 1-800-Pet-Meds, and Babies R Us affiliate programs.
ClickBank Clickbank is a digital products retailer. As an affiliate you can promote a wide range of products mostly including software and eBooks. You can also, very inexpensively I might add, begin to market your own digital products (such as an eBook you’ve written). If you put your own digital product on Clickbank, other affiliates will market your product and make sales. The affiliate will get a commission, and you’ll get paid.