Entrepreneurs are invaluable for The Netherlands. They are the engine of the Dutch economy. Dutch people owe their jobs, prosperity and development opportunities to a large extent to creative self-employed people, innovative startups, proud family companies and global companies that decided to set up their headquarters in The Netherlands, like ClickDealer.

ClickDealer, originally a Ukrainian company, was founded in 2012 and has since its inception as an affiliate network working in several niche verticals evolved into a leading global marketing company ranked as the best CPA Network based in Europe in the Blue Book’s first European top 20 table. In June 2016, ClickDealer and MobAir joined together to form a new digital marketing company, Global Digital Marketing Group (GDM Group). They still remain independently led and managed as a wholly owned subsidiary. ClickDealer is offering comprehensive optimization tools with their in-house built platform for successful performance marketing on a global scale. Today I had the pleasure to sit down with ClickDealer's CEO Taras Kiseliuk, to discuss his experience building ClickDealer, how he started in digital marketing, his values in leadership and who helped him along the way.

1. Judy: Taras, thank you so much for taking your time to sit down with me today and talk more about ClickDealer and yourself. Could you please start by introducing yourself and the company that you manage and tell us a bit more how it all started and how you got into digital marketing?

Taras: Hello Judy, thank you for having me and for giving me the opportunity to give you my story. My digital marketing story started almost 20 years ago back in the days when I was still in high school. My first brush with affiliate marketing was in IRC channels promoting a company that does not exist anymore – AllAdvantage. After that I was literally hooked for life, I made money promoting dating and various products for the good portion of my time in high school and that continued into my university. Those were the simpler times of MySpace, before Facebook and Youtube craziness, times when email marketing and SEO were the kings of affiliate marketing. After I graduated, I decided to see the other side of the business and joined my first affiliate network, Mundo Media. It was really a great experience, but it was not enough, as I wanted more freedom. I left the company and joined a new, exciting start-up and joined a network out of Ukraine called Clickdealer as a consultant for three months. Eight years later, here we are…

2. Judy: What is special about ClickDealer compared with the other companies and what takes ClickDealer ahead of the competition?

Taras: ClickDealer stays ahead of our competition by focusing on two main areas: our Team and our Technology.

We make sure our team is knowledgeable, responsive and cares about our partners’ results - meaning they succeed when our partners succeed. To go hand in hand with that pursuit of excellence we launched our own internal tracking and affiliate platform, meaning we can adapt to change and stay on top of changes in the industry.

3. Judy: What are your plans and ambitions for ClickDealer? How do you see it evolving over the next two to five years?

Taras: Our goal is always to better ourselves day by day to not only meet the needs of our partners but exceed their expectations. Looking to the next two to five years, we will continue to develop our technology, while driving into new verticals and opportunities. Our success at growing our Lead Generation project in the last 18 months has shown how quickly our team can pivot and grow new opportunities. We will continue developing technology for our lead generation project, as we see great opportunities in that space.

4. Judy: What makes ClickDealer Network distinguishable amongst the other affiliate marketing programs? What kind of strategy do you use to separate yourself from your competitors?

Taras: One of the key factors that distinguishes our company from everyone else is that we are not afraid to try new things. Our team is open minded, flexible and I think it reflects in the plethora of offers and products that we have developed under GDM brands.

5. Judy: Would you describe the primary characteristics of a successful affiliate program in 2021?

Taras: To sum it up simply I think transparency is one of the most important pieces to include in 2021 and looking ahead. Users are more and more interested in how their data is being recorded and used, while regulatory guidelines continue to add more depth to protections. For an affiliate program that means you need to focus on driving high-quality leads, while also focusing on transparency for the user, affiliate driving leads and the client on the product side.

6. Judy: Which one of the services you offer is most popular among your customers and why?

Taras: Currently, our most popular service offered right now is our SmartLink program, one that currently focuses on the Dating market but continues to grow. We’re rapidly growing our team to support demand and the results for our partners have been incredible. We combine our years of experience with leading edge technology to provide an automation solution to fully maximize every click and every dollar spent. However, I believe that in the next couple of years, our new lead distribution and tracking platform will be our top product/service as it is gaining a lot of momentum.

7. Judy: What does ClickDealer do to retain its existing customer base and how would you recommend the company to potential clients?

Taras: Affiliate networks are in the business of being the intermediary between advertiser and publishers, taking care of publishers is always top priority, while making sure that our advertiser is satisfied with results. Our focus on customer service excellence speaks for itself with a focus on transparency and working with our partners on all sides of the business. We know when new clients find us or are referred, that we can provide them the highest possible support for their needs.

8. Judy: How do you estimate the development of affiliate marketing during the past few years and what are your expectations for the future? What will be ClickDealer's Network’s role and contribution in it?

Taras: We’ve seen a lot of companies leave and enter the market. We’ve seen new trends, such as ecommerce powered by Shopify sweeping the market, influencer marketing taking over with TikTok and Instagram. It has always been a bumpy ride as affiliate marketing is at the mercy of Facebook, Google and Apple. Our company believes that through working on inhouse products and services that resonate within this ecosystem, we will bring further success to our partners and ourselves.

9. Judy: How important is technology and innovation to the success of your network? Does ClickDealer offer any sort of optimization or offer rotation features, for example?

Taras: Technology is at the heart of everything we do, which is why we developed our own platform for ClickDealer and continue to roll out updates regularly. We offer an endless number of features, including but not limited to:

• a. SmartLink
• b. Offer Rotator
• c. Lead distribution platform
• d. Customer Domains
• e. Built in Rewards Portal

10. Judy: What’s a general overview of the programmatic landscape in North America and Europe from your perspective?

Taras: I think compliance and moderation from Google, Apple, Facebook will continue to be the hottest topic in the future. The iOS 14 IDFA changes have shaken up the market and I am sure we will see more of the same in the future. It seems that these big whales are trying to keep the market share of advertising budgets within their ecosystems, so it is quite possible that there will be more changes that will make it hard for affiliate marketers.

11. Judy: ClickDealer was ranked as the best CPA network based in Europe in the Blue Book’s first European Top 20 table during 2020. What are your key success factors and big ad tech mission?

Taras: Outside the previous points that I have made about technology, I would say that human resource is another big challenge that no doubt every company faces, and we are no different. I am personally proud that we are one of the few networks that can truly call ourselves international. With offices in Canada, USA, Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, China, Brazil and multiple other remote locations, we have been able to create a great environment for people to work in. I would say that our diverse and awesome team is a key to many years of our successes! For those that are reading this, a quick reminder – we are always hiring! If you think that you have what it takes, don't be afraid to drop us a line!

12. Judy: Something more personal: what is your morning routine that sets you up for success?

Taras: My morning routine is quite simple. I start my day by going for a walk with my 1 year old and my dog, no matter what the weather is. It helps me unwind before the busy day and spend some quality time with my kid.

13. Judy: When leadership becomes too much, how do you like to unwind and recharge your batteries?

Taras: One word - Freediving. I was introduced to this sport by my dad who tried to tell me about the dangers of scuba diving, so now I learned to dive without the oxygen tanks and hold my breath for five minutes. Freediving is a dive into the depths of your own mind. It helps me find total peace and tranquillity.

14. Judy: Any final words that you would like to give to our readers?

Taras: Live, enjoy and do things that scare you, time passes really fast! Thank you, Judy.