Background: Recently I had a question about an Affiliate Network and their/my control over links here is the question answer; plus a explanation that was provided me; which I thought made reasonable sense and decided to post the question and answer. The name of the affilate Network has been left out.
Publisher Question: Is it possible to have the links open in a new tab or window?
Affiliate Network: Currently we do not offer the option of opening link ads in a new window or tab since this usually lowers the publisher’s revenue.
Affiliate Network:
Also, from the advertisers’ point of view, when they pay for a click, they wish the visitor to arrive at the landing page with full attention. Opening an ad in a new window reduces the attention of the visitor and eventually lowers the chance for conversion and consequently your revenue.
It’s important to remember that every visitor eventually leaves your website; it’s just better if he clicked on an ad instead of simply closing the browser, so you shouldn’t think of these visitors as lost, but rather as successful monetization.