Google announced that it is shutting down the Google Affiliate Network. The news came in an email to users, as well as in a post on the Affiliate Network blog.
“Our goal with Google Affiliate Network has been to help advertisers and publishers improve their performance across the affiliate ecosystem,” writes Google Affiliate Network head J.J. Hirschle. “Cost-per-action (CPA) marketing has rapidly evolved in the last few years, and we’ve invested significantly in CPA tools like Product Listing Ads, remarketing and Conversion Optimizer. We’re constantly evaluating our products to ensure that we’re focused on the services that will have the biggest impact for our advertisers and publishers.”
“To that end, we’ve made the difficult decision to retire Google Affiliate Network and focus on other products that are driving great results for clients,” Hirschle added.
Google says it will continue to support customers as the product winds down over the next few months.
“And there are other products that can help you achieve your goals,” says Hirschle. “Affiliate publishers can continue to earn AdSense revenue through the AdSense network. And marketers can take advantage of other CPA-oriented Google tools like Product Listing Ads, remarketing and Conversion Optimizer to drive valuable online sales and conversions. These areas are growing rapidly and we’re continuing to invest heavily in them.”
Google will disable publisher relationships from advertiser programs on July 31, according to the email. Publisher payments will be disbursed for network activity generated through that date, and Google will continue to make “certain functionality” available through the end of October. This includes retrieving reports, reconciling orders, and processing payments.
Google has killed its affiliate network in the past, before opening the current one.