Affiliate marketing is an online concept of something that has been followed in traditional marketing for years. It is just that this concept has been adapted to the Internet and is being used extensively by Internet marketers to create wider awareness of their products and services.
In traditional marketing manufacturers sometimes employed the services of independent marketing people who would create catalogs or other promotion material to market the products of the manufacturer. In return for the services, the marketer would get a certain commission based on the sales that emanated from him.
In the Internet world, merchants or manufacturers recruit affiliates who are responsible for marketing the products and services of the merchant online. These affiliates create various kinds of sites like content sites, comparison sites, membership sites, discount sites or voucher sites and attract online customers to their sites.
When a customer clicks on the affiliate site and goes on to the merchant site and makes a purchase, the specific affiliate is compensated for the customer on the basis of a certain percentage of the revenue that comes with the customer. The tracking of the affiliate from whom the customer has come on to the merchant site is done using software that enables these calculations.
While the compensation methods used earlier in affiliate marketing included pay per click (a method in which the affiliate was compensated for every click that came in from the affiliate site on to the merchants site), this is a method that has almost been dropped by most merchants due to pay per click frauds that were becoming rampant.
The most common form of payment for affiliates is now pay per sale that ensures that the affiliate gets paid for actual sales that a customer makes, thereby reducing any chances of a fraud.
Affiliate marketing is extremely convenient for the merchant since it allows them to focus on other strategic issues leaving the task of attracting customers on a day to day basis to the affiliates. There are also large affiliate networks like Commission Junction and LinkShare that help merchants get in touch with affiliate and vice versa. These affiliate networks also assist in recruiting, training and managing affiliates for the merchant for a monthly fee.
Good article on affiliate marketing! It explains the term simply and clearly
The concept of affiliate marketing has seen a tremendous growth in the recent years that is briefly revealed in the article.
Becket is very right! With the explosion of online market, affiliate marketing is immensely increasing and gaining fame among online marketers.
As advertising methods like SEO are often used by the affiliates, affiliate marketing has some common characteristics with internet marketing methods to some extent.
It reduces the burden of targeting the customers. Hence it is much privileged by Merchants.
The article on affiliate marketing helps the beginners to start the home based online business, as the concept of working from home is in top level.
Significant amount of work and maintenance are required for a thriving affiliate program.
We should also accept the fact that there are few cons in addition to some of the benefits of affiliate marketing, like sharing the profits with a third party.
Nice article!
Affiliate marketing is one of the most excellent ways to earn money online. But it should be chosen wisely.
Affiliate marketing requires smartness in business. Good article!!
Nice to read this article! I do go with you my friend. Affiliate marketing brings you good revenue.