Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a marketing arrangement in which <a href="/facts/Affiliate_(commerce)/flRjH5Iw">affiliates</a> receive a commission for each visit, signup or sale they generate for a <a href="/facts/Merchant/bPb8WTBb">merchant</a>. This arrangement allows businesses to <a href="/facts/Outsourcing/qa3WgJ7u">outsource</a> part of the <a href="/facts/Sales/4pINUvTJ">sales process</a>. It is a form of <a href="/facts/Performance-based_marketing/6tfDPuPW">performance-based marketing</a> where the commission acts as an <a href="/facts/Economic_incentive/eWAy7odC">incentive</a> for the affiliate; this commission is usually a percentage of the price of the product being sold, but can also be a flat rate per referral.
Affiliate marketers may use a variety of methods to generate these sales, including <a href="/facts/Organic_search/zkpKY3v0">organic</a> <a href="/facts/Search_engine_optimization/RNzIbb62">search engine optimization</a>, paid <a href="/facts/Search_engine_marketing/eXmAwcKY">search engine marketing</a>, <a href="/facts/E-mail_marketing/7twn8FMg">e-mail marketing</a>, <a href="/facts/Content_marketing/eml7BlLM">content marketing</a>, <a href="/facts/Display_advertising/1wscYn31">display advertising</a>, organic <a href="/facts/Social_media_marketing/WpNJrL3S">social media marketing</a>, and more.
Though the largest companies run their own affiliate networks (for example Amazon), most merchants join <a href="/facts/Affiliate_network/w7lQCDAS">affiliate networks</a> which provide reporting tools and payment processing.

Affiliate marketing open-in-new

Affiliate marketing