How affiliate marketing works
- The business (the merchant) sets up an affiliate program with commission rates and rules.
- Affiliates join and get unique tracking links or codes.
- Affiliates promote the products to their audience, for example in reviews, comparisons or tutorials.
- When a visitor buys or signs up through the link, the sale is tracked and the affiliate earns a commission.
Affiliate networks and programs
Many programs run through networks that handle tracking and payments, such as Awin, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten Advertising and Impact. Amazon Associates is the best-known program run by a single merchant, and others run their own programs with software such as Partnerize or PartnerStack.
Rules and good practice
- Disclose it: affiliates must make clear that they earn a commission, under advertising and consumer protection rules.
- Mark the links: use
rel="sponsored"orrel="nofollow"on affiliate links, as Google requires for paid links. - Add real value: Google’s spam policies treat thin affiliate pages that only copy product descriptions as spam, so reviews and comparisons need original testing and insight.
Affiliate marketing example
A travel blogger writes a review of a luggage brand and includes a tracking link. A reader clicks the link, buys a suitcase and the brand pays the blogger a percentage of the sale. The blogger states near the top of the review that the page contains affiliate links and mentions the real strengths and weaknesses of the product.
How to start with affiliate marketing
- Pick a topic you know and an audience you can reach.
- Join programs for products you would recommend anyway.
- Create useful content first: comparisons, tutorials and honest reviews.
- Add disclosures and mark links correctly.
- Track clicks and sales per page, and improve the pages that bring buyers.
Affiliate marketing mistakes
- Publishing thin pages that only list products with a link, which Google may judge low quality.
- Not disclosing the relationship.
- Promoting products you have not checked.
- Relying on one program that may change its commission or close.
Affiliate marketing FAQs
How do affiliates get paid?
Programs pay a commission per sale, lead or action, usually monthly after a minimum balance. See cost per acquisition for how merchants think about the cost.
Can I do affiliate marketing without a website?
Yes, with a YouTube channel, newsletter or social account, if the program’s rules allow it. Websites still give the most control over organic search traffic.