How PartnersWatch verifies partner program data

Two kinds of listing

A native listing is published by the brand itself from its PartnersWatch workspace. The brand writes its own terms, reviews applicants and answers them in the same thread. A native brand gets a verified mark once it proves it owns its domain.

A directory listing is a program we list from the brand's public page because the brand isn't on PartnersWatchyet. These carry a “not on PartnersWatchyet” label and never get the verified mark. We aren't affiliated with those brands, and the listing says so. The rest of this page is mostly about directory listings, since those are the ones we research.

Where each fact comes from

One source per listing: the brand's own program page. Not a network's merchant profile, not a review site, not another directory. We store that page's address with the record and link it on the listing as the source. When a brand runs its program through a network such as Impact or PartnerStack, the application link can point there, but the terms still come from the brand's page.

Each record holds the same fields:

• the company, the program's name, the brand's website and the source page;
• an industry (one of 13 categories) and the partner types it accepts, such as affiliate, reseller, agency or franchisee;
• the commission as the brand words it, plus the model: recurring, one-time, revenue share, royalty or flat fee;
• cookie window, regions, requirements to join, franchise investment or fees, and listed partner perks;
• ecosystems the program sits in (HubSpot, Shopify, Salesforce and so on) and a direct application link where there is one.

We keep the commission in the brand's own words rather than turning it into a single number, because “30% for 12 months” and “30% lifetime” aren't the same offer. Where we compare programs by rate, we read the largest percentage stated in that text and say so.

What we leave blank

If the source page doesn't state a fact, the field stays empty. We don't estimate a commission, borrow a cookie window from a forum post or fill a region with “worldwide” because nothing says otherwise. On the page you'll see “Not published” or the row won't appear at all.

That makes coverage uneven, and we'd rather show it than hide it. Of the 412 directory programs as of 2 October 2026, this many state each field:

So when a guide says “the median cookie window is 90 days”, it means the median of the programs that state one, and the page gives that count. Any figure built on fewer than 15 programs is labelled indicative.

As-of dates

Every directory listing shows the date we read its source page, in the same line as the source link: “Facts from <brand>'s own program page, checked <date>”, followed by a reminder that terms can change. The same date goes into the page's structured data as its modified date and into the sitemap, so search engines see when the facts were last read rather than when the site was last built.

The 412 directory records currently published were all read in one pass dated 2 October 2026. That means they'll age together, which is a weakness: when a listing is re-checked, its own date moves and the rest stay put.

Programs change terms without telling anyone. Treat the date as “this is what the brand's page said then”, and check the brand's page before you build a campaign around a rate.

Descriptions and logos

Taglines and descriptions on directory listings are written by us, in our own words, from the source page. We don't paste the brand's marketing copy, and we don't copy text or data from other directories or review sites.

Logos are the brand's own icon, saved once and served from our domain (under /network-logos/) instead of loaded from the brand's site or a logo service. That keeps the page from making third-party requests when you open it, and a brand redesigning its site doesn't leave a broken image. 397 of the 412 directory listings have one;where we couldn't get a clean icon, the listing shows the brand's initials.

How a record gets onto the site

The researched records live in one file in our codebase, and a curator imports them into the directory. The import matches on the program's slug, so running it twice doesn't create duplicates, and it skips any record that doesn't name at least one partner type we support. Two kinds of listing are never touched by an import: one the brand has claimed (it's theirs now) and one the brand asked us to remove. A removed program doesn't come back because someone re-ran a script.

Demo and test workspaces can publish listings too, so we can show what a native listing looks like. They're filtered out of every public directory page, the sitemap and our machine-readable files, and aren't indexed.

Disclosure on every page

Directory listings say the facts come from the brand's page and that terms can change. Their FAQ answers “Is PartnersWatchaffiliated with <brand>?” with a plain no. Alternatives pages carry “PartnersWatchis not affiliated with these brands” under the heading, and comparison pages say the same about both programs. We never present a directory brand as a customer or partner of ours.

How listings are ordered

No one pays for placement. In the directory, native listings come before directory listings (a brand that runs its program here can answer you here), then newest first. The “trending” sort counts page views over the last 30 days, deduplicated per visitor per day on the server without cookies, and an application counts for ten views.

Alternatives and head-to-head pages are generated from the same fields. An alternative has to accept at least one of the same partner types; after that we favour the same industry, a similar product and the same commission model. A head-to-head page only exists when both programs publish terms. Rows with no terms and no requirements are left out of comparison tables. Categories with fewer than 12 programs can only produce near-identical lists, so their alternatives and comparison pages stay available but are marked for search engines not to index.

Applying to a program that isn't here yet

You can apply to a directory listing. You confirm your email address and agree to be introduced; until you confirm, nothing is sent. A curator then forwards confirmed applicants to the brand's published partnerships contact in one email, by hand, at most once a week per listing. That email includes a link to claim the listing and a one-click opt-out. A brand that opts out isn't emailed again.

Corrections, claims and removal

A brand can claim its listing from the link in our email by signing in to its PartnersWatchworkspace. The listing becomes a native one the brand edits itself, and anyone who was waiting moves into the brand's own applications list. The same link lets a brand stop our emails or remove the program from the directory; when it's removed, waiting applicants are told.

Anyone can report a wrong fact through the contact form. Name the listing and, if you can, link the page that shows the correct terms. We check reports against the brand's own page, and a corrected listing shows the new checked date.

Statistics built on the directory

Figures in our research reports and guides (median rates, cookie windows, how many programs pay recurring) are computed by a script from the same records, so anyone on the team can rerun them and get the same numbers. Each figure is shown with how many programs it's based on. Our wider writing rules are in the editorial standards, and a shorter summary for brands is on how we list programs.

Want to see the result? Start with the full directory or a category such as software partner programs.