SODP Dispatch - 13 March 2025

Top Affiliate Networks and Platforms to Boost Your Revenue in 2025

By Dakshita

As a publisher, your content is your currency. Now is the time to maximize your content’s earning potential. With the affiliate marketing industry projected to hit $36.9 billion by 2030, you should strategize to cash in on it.

Imagine turning your newsletter and website into a consistent revenue machine by earning commissions from brands targeting your audience.

However, remember that not all affiliate networks are high-value. You need an affiliate marketing network that offers fair payouts, real-time tracking, and multiple programs from premium advertisers.

To make it easier for you, we have tested and evaluated multiple affiliate networks for their commission structure, payouts, reputation, advertiser selection, and more. Based on these criteria, find a list of the top affiliate networks to boost your publisher revenue in 2025.

🎤 Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a FREE chrome extension and a powerful SEO tool that shows you keywords monthly search volume, CPC & competition data. See more ▸

🛠️ SEOquake

SEOquake is a free plugin that provides you with key SEO metrics, along with other useful tools such as SEO Audit and many others See more ▸

By Vahe Arabian

🔑 Unlock publishing success with analytics

Analytics aren’t just numbers; they’re your roadmap to publishing growth. Data isn’t power, it’s potential.

For publishers, the real value lies in transforming raw metrics into repeatable growth strategies that drive audience retention, revenue, and SEO performance. Too often, publishers collect vast amounts of data but fail to extract meaningful takeaways. The key is understanding what content resonates, how audiences engage, and where opportunities for growth exist. Collecting data is easy; extracting insights is not. Without clarity, metrics like pageviews and bounce rates become distractions. For example, a 40% drop in returning visitors isn’t just a traffic issue—it’s a retention red flag. By using the right tools and refining strategies based on real data, you can turn numbers into growth.

Here are actionable strategies to turn data into action:

1. Know your audience beyond pageviews

   Pageviews alone don’t tell the full story. Instead, track return visitors, time on page, and scroll depth to measure true engagement. Tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Parse.ly provide deeper insights. Cohort analysis can reveal trends—Millennials may prefer video, while Gen X engages more with newsletters. For example, if mobile traffic spikes by 20% after 8 PM, push breaking news via mobile notifications to capture that audience in real-time.

2. Optimise content performance with behavioural data 

   Understanding why some content performs well helps you replicate success. Use Google Search Console and Semrush to analyse search visibility and Hotjar to track user interactions. For example, if "AI in media" gets 3x more shares than "content trends," double down on AI-related content. Additionally, A/B test headlines (e.g., “5 Growth Hacks” vs. “Proven Tactics”) to see what improves click-through rates.

3. Track conversions, not just traffic

   Traffic alone doesn’t guarantee success—conversions do. Set up goals in GA4 to measure newsletter sign-ups, paid subscriptions, or product purchases. Identify which referral sources drive the highest conversion rates, and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, premium subscribers from "how-to guides" tend to have a 15% higher lifetime value than general news readers, meaning content type matters when driving long-term revenue. To scale what works, automate reporting with Power BI or Looker Studio to save 10+ hours per month.

Analytics only matter when they drive actions. The biggest mistake any publishers can make is to treat data as a report card instead of a playbook. Start by auditing one content category this week, setting up a conversion goal in GA4, and A/B testing a headline. Data doesn’t lie, but it won’t work unless you do something.

Is Compression A Google SEO Myth? | SEJ

I recently came across an SEO test that attempted to verify whether compression ratio affects rankings. It seems there may be some who believe that higher compression ratios correlate with lower rankings.
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As AI scraping surges, AI search traffic fails to follow: Report | Search Engine Land

AI-powered search engines (e.g., OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity) are failing to drive meaningful traffic to publishers while their web scraping activities increase. That’s one big takeaway from a recent report from TollBit, a platform that says it helps publishers monetize their content.
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Google Expands Site Reputation Abuse Policy Manual Actions Next Steps | Search Engine Rountable

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A Reminder That Google Gemini’s Best Features Are All Behind a Paywall | Gizmodo

Exciting news this week for folks who rely on the Google Workspace suite for everyday tasks: A new feature from Gemini in Gmail lets you quickly add the mere mention of an event to your calendar with just a button. It’s way easier than adding an event now, which requires manually adding it in another window.
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Google’s new AI button in Gmail automatically adds events to Google Calendar | The Verge

Google has announced a new AI feature that uses Gemini AI bot to add events to your Google Calendar based on emailed details in Gmail. Emails that Gemini thinks describe events will get a new “Add to Calendar button” that starts the interaction.
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