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Google has a new program going ...

It's an affiliate program in which they pay $20 CPA for anyone you refer to AdSense / AdWords. Unfortunately, it's currently - of course! - in beta, which means it's by invitation only.

Has anyone been one of the privileged few to have received an invitation into this program? Tested it out? How does it work? How do the banners look? What sizes are available?

I would love more information on this program if anyone has anything to share.

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Dani AI

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Short historical summary and what actually happened (so this thread isn’t left hanging): Google did roll out a referral/affiliate-style program in early 2005 as a limited beta — early coverage reported a $20 bounty per qualified referral and the initial beta was invite-only and focused on U.S. sites. (searchenginejournal.com)

How it worked and how the payouts changed: approved sites got unique referral buttons/links (managed from the AdSense/referrals area) and earnings were paid only after the referred account met conversion thresholds. Early reports and the public blog posts show the specifics shifted over time — some early descriptions listed modest thresholds for conversion, Google later offered a $100-style payout for certain AdSense referrals, and AdWords referrals were described as $20 when a referred advertiser hit a spend milestone. (adsense.googleblog.com)

Product evolution before it ended: Google rebuilt referrals as “Referrals 2.0” (more products, category/keyword targeting and CPA-style offers) and treated referrals as CPA units rather than regular CPC ads. That made them useful for niche sites that could drive qualified leads. (adsense.googleblog.com)

End of the line and alternatives: AdSense Referrals were officially retired (last week of August 2008) as Google folded affiliate/CPA activity into the Google Affiliate Network (and AdWords shifted toward conversion/optimizer tools). That affiliate network itself was later retired in 2013. If you’re revisiting this old thread to decide what to do today, don’t expect the old referral buttons to be available — use modern affiliate networks or Google’s conversion/PLA/remarketing tools instead. (adsense.googleblog.com)

Notes tying back to posts here: ’s experience (being blocked because sites weren’t US-based) matches the early, US-only beta restrictions; and were right to ask how banners and sizes looked — referral units were handled differently from standard ad sizes (they were specialized referral buttons/units inside the AdSense UI). If you have legacy referral code on a live site from that era, remove it and export any historic reports before they disappear — Google advised that when the product was retired. (adsense.googleblog.com)

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Member Avatar for Danny

Looks very interesting, but I'd think Google wouldn't have any problem finding publishers. Clearly Google needs more exposure...

Member Avatar for 2ndPlatform

Ooooh! I'd be interested to take a look to if anyone out there has any sort of additional information or an invite. Is this like that whole invite to Gmail thing again? :)

Funny comment Danny -- "Clearly Google needs more exposure..." I'm rolling on the floor. :)

Member Avatar for Danny

Ooooh! I'd be interested to take a look to if anyone out there has any sort of additional information or an invite. Is this like that whole invite to Gmail thing again? :)

Funny comment Danny -- "Clearly Google needs more exposure..." I'm rolling on the floor. :)

So you also see the pun?

To me, if Google really needed help finding publishers, they could save a bundle in commission fees and just post a link on their index...

Member Avatar for Tapanti

I applied 3 weeks ago but got a response saying that "This program is currently in limited release and available by invitation only.", and that they would contact me in the case they decide to expand the program in the future.

I know of some people who got accepted, but they can't send invitations themselves.

I guess I was rejected basically because they are currently only accepting sites from within the U.S., and mine aren't. They added this note after a few days of having the beta page online. Maybe to reduce the amount of registrations received while they’re in Beta.

Who knows... maybe it'll come out of the lab sometime during my lifetime. :rolleyes:

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