Our first thought on the news of the Google Affiliate Network was of another affiliate network operator, and its legal battles. Amazon.com and the State of New York are in a nasty legal spat over whether or not an affiliate counts as a physical business presence, and requires Amazon to collect sales taxes from New York shoppers using those links.
Google isn't likely to tread the same ground, as they don't sell physical products outside of their search appliances and a few Google-branded souvenirs. They'll work to broker relationships between advertisers and publishers, while taking a piece of the action along the way.
The company promised advertisers a connection with "pre-screened publishers." For those publishers, affiliate deals mean either a commission on sales, or a fee when referring a qualified customers to the advertiser.
Some big names have been participants in Google's affiliate efforts already. Target, Barnes & Noble, and Bank of America all list among Google's clients.
Publishers will need to apply to be part of the Affiliate Network, even if they are already an AdSense client. Google also hinted at an AffiliateVIP status, with better visibility and presumably more lucrative ad spots for a qualified publisher's site.
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Google Network
Google better put a team of 100s on this project to build up their affiliate base to have a chance to catch up to CJ.
Good news
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