Affiliate marketing is a sales strategy that enables companies to boost their website traffic and sales by providing commissions to individuals (affiliates) who promote their products.
Who are the Participants in the Affiliate Marketing?
Campaign Manager (also known as Merchant) – The campaign manager is responsible for managing the affiliate program and paying affiliates their commissions.
Advertiser (also known as Vendor) – The advertiser is the company that sells the products or services that are being promoted through affiliate marketing.
Affiliate (also known as Publisher) – The affiliate is the person or company that promotes the advertiser’s products or services through affiliate marketing.
Customer (also known as Buyer) – The customer is the person who purchases the advertiser’s products or services through an affiliate’s link.
How the Affiliate Marketing Work?
- Affiliate joins the program – The affiliate signs up for the advertiser’s affiliate program, providing their information and agreeing to the program’s terms and conditions.
- Unique affiliate link – The advertiser provides the affiliate with a unique tracking link or affiliate link. This link contains a special code that identifies the affiliate as the source of the traffic or sale.
- Promotion by the affiliate – The affiliate promotes the advertiser’s products or services on their platform using various marketing methods, such as writing reviews, creating content, sharing banners, or recommending products to their audience.
- The consumer clicks on the affiliate link – When a consumer visits the affiliate’s platform and clicks on the affiliate link, they are redirected to the advertiser’s website.
- Tracking and cookies – The affiliate link contains tracking mechanisms, such as cookies or pixels, which help identify the source of the traffic. These tracking methods enable the advertiser to track the consumer’s activity, including clicks, purchases, or other desired actions.
- Consumer makes a purchase – If the consumer makes a purchase or completes a desired action on the advertiser’s website, such as filling out a form or signing up for a service, the tracking mechanisms associated with the affiliate link record this activity.
- Commission and attribution – Based on the tracking information, the advertiser attributes the sale or action to the specific affiliate who referred the consumer. The affiliate earns a commission for the successful referral or sale, as predetermined in the affiliate program’s terms.
- Payment and reporting – The advertiser calculates the commission earned by the affiliate and provides payment according to the agreed-upon terms. Detailed reports may be provided to both the advertiser and the affiliate, showing the traffic, conversions, and commissions generated.
This process continues as long as the affiliate promotes the advertiser’s products or services and generates successful referrals or sales. Affiliate marketing benefits both parties involved: the advertiser gains exposure and potential customers, while the affiliate earns a commission for their promotional efforts.
Now that you know what affiliate marketing is, it is time to learn how to use the Tracknow platform.
Learning how Tracknow works inside the affiliate marketing environment is the first step in putting it into practice.
Check out the information to get started in the next article ‘Introducing Tracknow: The First Steps‘.
If you have any additional questions about Affiliate Marketing, please contact the ‘Tracknow’ Support Team by clicking ‘here‘, we will do our best to answer all of your inquiries.