If you have not heard, Google Affiliate Network is shutting down in a few months. Yup, and it isn’t Google’s Pigeon Rank joke. It was announced on Google’s blog by the head of GAN at about 6pm CST on BlogSpot.
So if you are a merchant, what should you do?
1) Pull out your contract
Don’t go high and mighty, or be a jerk and start calling your lawyer. I am pretty sure there is an out clause for GAN and vice versa. Make sure you are not caught in a clause where you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, so look over the contract.
Write down a list of questions for GAN, from the contract to things such as the last day of operation, support provided during and after closure, invoicing, exporting your affiliate list out, exporting reporting, etc. Affiliate are current reporting a sluggish reporting system as of 4/16/13.
2) Contact your network rep at GAN
I am sure he/she will be expecting your call and if you are lucky, you will get through as there might be a few dozen merchants calling that person. If you get through, bring up the questions wrote earlier. Don’t forget to ask for a migration work plan from them. I assume that GAN should have that in place for migration off their network. Ask about their API as I know that GAN does have an API which you might be able to tap into, or have other networks tap into. Get some commitment from your account manager to get on the phone every other week, or at a certain interval.
3) Notify your affiliates
Start with your super affiliates, and then follow with an email to everybody with the program. Give them the assurance that your program is not going away and give them the ability to contact you via email, or phone. As you are not sure of your next move within the next few days, tell them that GAN is not going away tomorrow but in a few months, so don’t run for the hills yet.
4) Shop around for a new network
There are quite a few good networks around from Commission Junction, Linkshare, ShareASale, AvantLink to name a few. Identify your needs and segment it between, BARE minimum to GREAT to have when it comes to a network. Get some proposals and construct a matrix of what you are looking for and what are differences between those networks.
Other than pricing, technology and service, ask the potential network about additional help:
a) Support to help transition links, creative, data. Ask the network, if I can get a data dump from GAN, can they load it into their system? Can they tap into GAN’s API, or have a CSV import feature? Most networks will say No, but the sharper network will distinguish themselves from the competitors and might have that tool build before GAN goes away. For example, Bing AdCenter concept where Bing is able to take in Google Adwords’ data file.
b) Onboarding for affiliate as migration between networks will always result in affiliates dropping off. What can the new network do to help mitigate that?
c) Lead time to go live. If your program generates $MM/month in revenue, you want to make sure you find the right partner/network ASAP. Some networks might take a longer time to launch, so timing is critical.
5) Close the loop
Once you nail down the new contract, notify your affiliates. Notify your account manager at GAN and see if they have any existing tools that will help making integrating easier. Do a constant communication schedule with your affiliate and offer whatever assistance that they need. Make sure that your affiliates are taken care of when it comes to commission, payout, etc as you don’t want to burn bridges with GAN and in turn, your affiliates don’t get paid.
Remember, one door closes, another will open. If you are a publisher, check Tricia’s blog for some tips.
If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let us know.
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