Global Savings Group vs Awin

Atolls Wins Best Publisher at the European Affiliate Awards

Atolls has been awarded Best Publisher at the European Affiliate Awards in Berlin, as announced on September 22, 2026.

Coupon Whitelabels: 4 Experts on Google Site Reputation Policy

Google has adjusted its Site Reputation Policy in the European Economic Area (EEA), effective August 30, 2026. Manual actions are no longer applied to search results in the EEA, and Google can now evaluate affected sections of a website independently of the main domain's reputation. This change is highly relevant for affiliate publishers, especially coupon providers. Four industry experts – Bernd Vermaaten (Checkout Charlie), Torsten Latussek (Coupons.de), Yekta Kücük (Bravogutschein), and Thomas Punzel (Atolls) – provide their assessments. Opinions vary: some see a chance for a whitelabel comeback (Checkout Charlie, Coupons.de, Atolls), while Bravogutschein prefers focusing on its own portal. The key issue is how much the publisher domain's authority will still benefit the coupon section, as Google may decouple these areas. Experts agree that pure domain authority will lose importance, making content quality, exclusivity, and user experience crucial. Strategies for reactivation differ, with some being cautious and testing first.

• Google's Site Reputation Policy change applies to the EEA since August 30, 2026.
• Manual site reputation actions are no longer applied in EEA search results.
• Google can now evaluate affected website sections independently of the main domain's reputation.

Travel Affiliate Marketing 2026: Why Last Click No Longer Suffices

MAI xpose360 has released a whitepaper arguing that affiliate marketing in the travel sector must move beyond last-click attribution. As travel customer journeys become more complex, bookings often result from multiple touchpoints including search engines, social media, creators, comparison portals, blogs, and AI-based search systems. According to the MAI xpose360 Affiliate-Marketing-Trendreport 2026, 71% of surveyed advertisers rank affiliate among their strongest sales channels. However, a survey of nine travel advertisers shows incrementality is often only estimated rather than precisely measured. An analysis of about 5,000 'Best Product' prompts reveals that affiliate and product review pages are highly visible in AI-generated answers. The report recommends measuring assisted conversions and incrementality, managing publishers by function, monitoring AI visibility, providing publishers with better data, and integrating creators into affiliate programs.

• MAI xpose360 published the whitepaper 'Travel – Affiliate-Marketing: Mehr als der letzte Klick'.
• 71% of surveyed advertisers in the MAI xpose360 Affiliate-Marketing-Trendreport 2026 count affiliate marketing among their strongest revenue channels.
• A survey of nine travel advertisers found that incrementality is considered but often based on estimates.

AffiliateBLOG Breakfast Cologne: AI Insights and New Perspectives

The AffiliateBLOG Breakfast in Cologne brought together around 25 affiliate and digital industry professionals on October 1, 2026, at Salon Schmitz for networking and knowledge exchange. Two keynote presentations focused on AI's impact on the customer journey and the interplay between affiliate marketing and user experience. Steffen Grunwald from Awin discussed how generative AI is changing product search, shifting focus from SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and the importance of affiliate and review content in AI-generated answers. Martin Rausch-Beschnitt from MAI Group highlighted that more traffic does not solve poor user experience, citing a case where improved experience increased conversion rates from 4.43% to 6.12%, a 38% uplift. He advocated for integrating affiliate, UX, and customer experience strategies. The event also facilitated personal discussions and was sponsored by Vodafone, Awin, lead alliance, and Sage. The next AffiliateBLOG Breakfast is planned for March 19, 2027, in Munich.

• AffiliateBLOG Breakfast took place on October 1, 2026, in Cologne with around 25 guests.
• Steffen Grunwald from Awin highlighted the shift from SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
• Martin Rausch-Beschnitt from MAI Group showed a 38% increase in conversion rate through better user experience (4.43% to 6.12%).

Awin Newsroom: New Executive Appointments, Major US Investment, and Platform Innovations

The Awin newsroom page has been updated with several new press releases, including the appointment of Varun Aggarwal as Chief Product & Technology Officer, Anna Jones joining the Supervisory Board, a multi-million dollar US investment announcement, and new platform features. These updates reflect significant corporate developments and product launches.

BuildLab Competition: Seven Affiliate Firms Build AI Time-Saving Tools

At PI LIVE Europe, the BuildLab competition brings together seven affiliate marketing companies to develop next-generation partnership tools that address time-consuming manual tasks, approval chasing, and data fragmentation in the affiliate channel. Teams from Tradedoubler, Awin, Impact.com, Optimise, Everflow, Adtraction, and Bravo Savings Network will build working prototypes in a single day, using AI tools, models, and MCP integrations. The winner will be announced at the AIP Summit on October 21. This initiative highlights the industry's focus on leveraging AI to streamline operations and enhance strategic work.

• PI LIVE is hosting BuildLab, a competition to create next-gen partnership tools.
• Seven companies participate: Tradedoubler, Awin, Impact.com, Optimise, Everflow, Adtraction, and Bravo Savings Network.
• Each team builds a working prototype in one day using AI tools and MCP integrations.