How to get approved by affiliate networks and shops
Affiliate networks such as Awin, Impact and Rakuten let each shop decide who it accepts. A person often opens the site on your account to decide, so what they find there matters. This guide covers what to set before you apply, why shops refuse, and when you can apply again.
The steps for opening each account are in Join Awin and Join Impact.
What to set before you apply
Do these first. On Awin, a refusal can lock you out of that shop for about a month.
- A site that is ready to be looked at. Products on the homepage and a few helpful articles about the kind of products the shop sells.
- The right site on your network account. Reviewers may look at the main site on your account, even when your message names another one. See below.
- A short message that names your site. Say which site you are applying with, what it covers and how you plan to feature the shop. Two or three sentences are enough.
- A close match. Apply with the site that sells what the shop sells.
HINT: Say how your visitors find you. Many shops refuse paid search on their brand name, coupon sites and cashback sites, so tell them if your traffic comes from search and your articles.
Check which site each network shows
Awin
Awin keeps a primary site on your account, separate from your promotional spaces. If you joined with one site and now run another, the primary site can still be the old one.
- Go to Account > Site Information and check Primary Site URL and Site Name.
- Change them to the site that best represents your account today, and click Update Site Details.
- Go to Account > Promotional Spaces and add each of your sites.
Do this before you apply. A shop that sells diagnostic tools and finds a site about something else may refuse you with a reason such as "URL is irrelevant to advertiser brand".
Impact
- Open your account menu, then go to Settings > Media Properties.
- Click Website and add each site you plan to use.
- Choose Verify by pasting Meta Tag on my website, and add the tag with How to add Meta Tags and Custom Scripts.
- Wait until the tag shows on your live homepage, then click Add Website.
Impact gives you a new tag value each time you open that panel, and again after a failed check. Use the value showing in the panel you have open.
Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten works by channels, and each channel has its own site and its own ID. Advertisers see the site on the channel you apply from.
- Go to Account > Account Details > Channels.
- Click Add channel, enter your site address, and follow the steps.
- Switch to the new channel using your name at the top right of the page.
- Apply to the advertiser while that channel is selected.
Applying
Each network shows you a different route.
- Awin. Click + Join on the shop, or Join Programme on its profile. Some shops accept straight away, and others review by hand.
- Impact. Go to Discover > Brands. Brands marked Pre-approved show a Join button and accept you straight away. The others show Apply and go to review.
- Rakuten. Open the advertiser, click Apply, accept the terms and click Send Request.
Check the network itself as well as your email. Some shops accept you without sending a message, so look at your joined list now and then.
Only use a shop's links after it accepts you. Clicks before then may not earn a commission.
Why shops refuse
Refusals are common with a new site, and most shops give a short reason or a standard list.
- "URL is irrelevant to advertiser brand" or "Site does not complement advertiser brand". The reviewer did not see a match. Check which site your account shows, then apply with a closer match.
- "Dead URL, page not found". The address on your account did not open. Check it in a private browser window.
- "Advertiser doesn't work with this publisher type". The shop limits who it works with. A better site will not change this, so look for a similar shop.
- Traffic or followers too low. Some programmes set a minimum, often for monthly visitors or social followers. Come back when your site has grown.
- Your website is not yet live or could not be opened. Rakuten's standard message lists this. Check which address it names, because that is the site the advertiser looked at.
When you can apply again
Awin
After a refusal, the shop's Join button turns grey for about a month. To see the date, hold your mouse over the button, or open the shop's profile, where it says "You can reapply from" followed by the date. Fix the reason first and name the right site in your new message.
Impact
Each brand decides for itself. Add content about the brand's kind of products, then apply again or try a similar brand. Some brands name an email address for appeals in their refusal, along with what they need from you.
If Impact refuses your partner account for the Marketplace, every brand shows "Not yet approved to apply" until that is cleared. To ask for another look:
- Complete your public profile, company details and Media Properties.
- Connect and verify your sites.
- Contact Impact support, quote your partner ID, ask them to review the decision, and list what you changed.
Rakuten Advertising
You can apply again once you have fixed the likely reason. If the refusal named the wrong site, add the right one as a channel and apply from that channel.
Test each link before you use it
A copied link can still fail. On Impact, the short link from a brand's Copy Link button may open a page titled "Dead End" for a new partner. If that happens, open the brand's Assets and copy the tracking link from there, or use Create a Link.
Open each new link once in a private browser window and check that it lands on the right shop page. You can also paste it into AffiliateLinkTest.com. Then add it to your site as a custom offer.
These steps follow what the networks showed as of November 2026. They change their pages from time to time, so a menu may have a new name.