Affiliate Marketing Definition

The new uber-popular concept that is affiliate marketing has induced curiosity among all who have heard of it. This marketing sector grows continuously and steadily, increasingly piquing people’s interest as it does. “So, what is affiliate marketing?” You may be wondering. The basic definition of affiliate marketing would be that it is a marketing system in which businesses can boost the sales of their products or services by allowing outside individuals or companies to promote them for a commission. The individuals or companies who take a share of the profit are called affiliates. The process is pretty simple

1. The affiliate promotes the offering on a chosen platform
2. An interested customer clicks on the ad and is taken to the seller’s page
3. The customer makes a purchase
4. The purchase is confirmed as valid
5. A percentage of the sale is transferred to the affiliate

There are several types of payment structures, but they are all result-based. The methods include:

1) Pay per Click

This program aims to increase the merchant’s website traffic. All the affiliate has to do is be engaging enough and create enough interest for the consumer to click and enter the seller’s site. The affiliate receives payment for increased web traffic.

2) Pay per lead

The Pay-per-Lead system is slightly more complicated than Pay-per-Click. This agreement involves lead creation, which means that in addition to visiting the merchant’s site, the consumer must complete a pre-determined step, such as subscribing, submitting contact information, registering for a trial, or any other desired action. The affiliate only gets paid when the customer carries out the specific action.

3) Pay per Sale

This is the most popular payment structure. In order for affiliates to receive compensation, they have to secure a sale through their marketing efforts, or in other words, they only receive a percentage of the profit when a purchase is made by a customer they redirected to the seller’s website.