Introducing LinkShare Lightning - The AD Network for e-Commerce

What is LinkShare Lightning?

LinkShare Lightning is performance marketing redefined. It's an ad network for e-commerce and was created to compliment Affiliate Marketing. Designed to save time, LinkShare Lightning automatically maximizes ROI for Advertisers and commissions for Publishers by serving optimized ads that payout dynamically based on performance.

How It Works?

LinkShare Lightning is not Publisher-Advertiser relationship focused. The network optimizes ad distribution and Publisher payouts dynamically based on advanced optimization techniques. LinkShare Lightning CPA optimization technology, dubbed Ad Fabric (tm), has been developed in partnership with the Rakuten Institute of Technology (RIT). RIT is Rakuten’s R&D Lab where researchers develop innovative next-generation technologies for E-Commerce. 

LinkShare Lightning provides Advertisers and Publishers with simple interfaces to manage their accounts. Advertisers use the interface to enter ad budgets, set commission ranges, create campaigns, upload ad creative and track results. Advertisers can also prevent LinkShare Lightning from serving ads to certain Publisher sites. Publishers use the interface to obtain ad units, set target commission or range of commission and track results. Publishers can prevent LinkShare Lightning from serving of ads from specific Advertisers.

Differences Between LinkShare Affiliate Marketing and LinkShare Lightning

For those who already know the concept of affiliate networks and have worked with LinkShare, this is GOOD NEWS in true-sense. Now, you will be able to serve ADs from LinkShare lightning AD network without really having to worry about signing-up with individual advertisers. But, remember the current model of LinkShare affiliate network stays the same, if you are intending to sell products for numerous merchants on your website.

	LinkShare Affiliate	LinkShare Lightning
Ad Filtering	Full Control	Limited Filters
Blended Commission Rate	Base or Higher	Base or Lower
Commission Potential	Tiered	Dynamic Range
Access to Ad Inventory	Limited to Relationship	All
Ad Display	Manual Placement	Manual Placement + Performance Optimized
Tracking	Clicks to Commission	Impressions to Commissions
API	Partial	100%
Reporting	Standard	Standard + Private Source Tracking
Ad Placement Restrictions	Advertiser Specific	Lightning Specific

Create your own AD UNITS & Select the advertisers you want to include / exclude

Isn't this wonderful that you will be able to decide and filter the advertisers you want to include/exclude from AD display on your website thru LinkShare Lightning AD Network.

Also, you can decide between "Best Performing" v/s "Most Popular".