What is an affiliate program

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What is an affiliate program

An affiliate program is a marketing technique that aims to create a partnership between a commercial site and a content publisher or influencer. The publisher site, or affiliate, will promote in its content the goods or services sold by the commercial site, also known as the affiliate or advertiser. In exchange, the affiliate receives a commission based on purchases made on the commercial site from a click on his personal site. Here are some pointers on what an affiliate program is and how to consider it in your SEO strategy.

Affiliate Program Networks

Affiliate networks, or “affiliate brokers,” act as mediators between affiliates and merchant websites with affiliate programs. They track all activity, arrange all payments and help affiliates create the necessary links on their websites. They also recruit affiliates by including an online merchant’s affiliate program in their directory. Different affiliate networks offer different additional features, but most have a help center and a place where affiliates and merchants can view reports on their traffic.

It is growing

If the principle of affiliation was initially developed by merchant sites and affiliation platforms for editorial sites (press, blogs, comparison sites, cashback sites, shopping guides, etc.), the technique is gaining interest in the field of influence marketing on social networks. Influencers, especially micro-influencers, can monetize social media posts without having to enter into contractual collaborations with brands. All they have to do is to go and find a link or a discount code on a specialized platform.

Amazon is the best example

Amazon’s affiliate program is so successful because it effectively links commerce and content and leverages the respective strengths of Amazon and its affiliates. All kinds of people can buy books online because there are books on a wide range of topics. Amazon.com alone can attract many of these people, but there are many more readers who surf the Internet but wouldn’t think of shopping at Amazon.com. Either they haven’t heard of it, or the appeal of books doesn’t appeal to them.

When learning what an affiliate program is, remember: an affiliate program is a kind of alliance between two parties. For a company, it represents an ideal opportunity to increase traffic to its website and thus increase its sales. As for the affiliate, the best affiliate program will be the one to which the affiliate’s audience will be the most sensitive.