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Commission Junction

- Star Review

Last Updated: 10/27/2008

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Commission Junction Star Rating

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Member Reviews (1)

Affiliate marketing programs have become very popular in recent years due to the fast-paced nature of the e-commerce industry. Commission Junction, one of the first affiliate networks to establish a presence on the Web still seems to lead the pack. That's why, when the Star Reviews team jumped in to compare affiliate networks, we knew we'd have to check out the CJ.com website. Is this long-standing leader in affiliate marketing keeping up with current trends? Here's the scoop...

What's New?

Industry-specific advertising solutions for finance, retail, and travel businesses.
Commission Junction University available, providing users with educational materials.
Access to a global network of publishers and advertising avenues.

Star Reviews' Favorite Feature:

Our favorite feature of the Commission Junction website was Commission Junction University, which provides users with information on advertising strategies and training, publisher tricks, and up-to-date news on advertising links and offers. Those who register for Commission Junction University 2008 get entered into a contest win a free Mini Cooper. That’s what we call a win-win situation!

The Commission Junction Experience:

At first glance, we mistook the Commission Junction website to be one of those catch-all pages that pop up when the web address you enter can’t be found. When we finally realized that we had come to the right place, we couldn’t believe how stale and industrial the Commission Junction website was! The homepage is designed with a drab green and gray color scheme, and the site content will probably just look like a bunch of industry jargon to those who are not well-versed in Internet marketing.

Once we got past the Commission Junction homepage, we continued to explore the site contents and we did find a number of helpful articles discussing affiliate marketing, publishing, and online advertising. We really liked the fact that the site provides a “University” for those looking to learn more about the business. Unfortunately, a membership and password are required to access this information, but you can register for membership for free.

When we tried to set up an account with Commission Junction, we were told that we would need to fill out a long form to apply for an advertiser account, which was a bit of a put-off. We found the process to be quite trying and cumbersome and feel it needs improvement, although you're going to want to deal with it if you want access to the thousands of affiliate programs offered through its network.

We feel that it is unfortunate that Commission Junction does not try to make its website more welcoming and user-friendly to those who may not have much experience in the affiliate marketing business.

Commission Junction Features:

Different levels of service for affiliate advertisers
Thousands of affiliate programs offered through its affiliate network.
Helpful affiliate marketing information and Commission Junction University.

Commission Junction Pricing:

It's free to be an affiliate with CJ.com and you get paid commission on each affiliate sale you make. Commisions vary depending on the exact company you're promoting. Some were as low as $1 or $2 per sale while others were $100 or more. It seemed the average was between 20 and 30 percent. Payments are made twice a month and affiliates are paid via either check or direct deposit.

Commission Junction Customer Service:

Commission Junction's customer service includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions on its site, but you must be a member in order to contact customer service via email form, which we found to be a bit odd. We did get a response to our inquiry within two business days when we sent one via the member's help section.

Commission Junction does provide a toll-free phone number to call for support, but we were on hold for almost ten minutes before giving up. In our opinion, a hold time of longer than ten minutes is not worth pursuing.

Upside:

Minimalist site, Commission Junction University, Frequently Asked Questions page.

Downside:

Definitely not intuitive or user-friendly.

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