Affiliate marketing is an advertising method used by retailers.
Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Target and thousands of other online stores are willing to pay a commission to website owners (affiliate marketers) who mention their products on their website when a sale results from the mention of the retailer’s products.
Affiliate marketers help retailers sell more products by creating content online that attracts buyers and sends those buyers to the retailer to make a purchase.
Content may include:
- website articles,
- blog posts,
- videos or
- posts on social media websites.
Embedded in the content or on the same page as the content are special links called “affiliate links” that, when clicked, take the site visitor to the retailer’s website.
People who want to be an affiliate must apply to the affiliate program of the retailer they want to promote.
Upon approval, the affiliate can then access the affiliate program’s tools to create the affiliate links that need to go into their content.
If a consumer visits an affiliate’s content, clicks an affiliate link to go to the retailer’s website and then purchases something, the affiliate gets credit for the sale and receives a commission.
The terms of affiliate programs vary by retailer.
Take a look at the commonly used terms related to Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate Link – These are the special links provided to you by a retailer. These links are coded to identify you and your account. If you don’t use the links provided by the retailer, you may not get credit for sales you make.
Affiliate Tracking ID – This is a piece of code inside the affiliate link that tells the retailer who made a sale.
Cookie – This is a set of information that is stored on a browser regarding details of a visit to a website. When a consumer clicks an affiliate link in your content, a cookie with your tracking ID is placed on that consumer’s specific browser. Affiliates only receive credit for a sale when the cookie is “live”. This means the consumer must use the same computer/browser to make their website purchase as was used when they clicked the affiliate link. Otherwise, there’s no cookie in place to give you credit for the sale.
Cookie Length – Every retailer determines how long their cookie lasts before it expires. Amazon’s cookie lasts 24 hours. This means the consumer must purchase something within 24 hours of clicking an affiliate link in order for the affiliate to get credit for the sale. Some retailers have longer cookie times (30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc.).
Return Period – Although an affiliate may have made a sale, they are often not paid for that sale until some period of time has passed that allows the consumer to return their purchase. If the product is returned, the commission for that sale is deducted from the affiliate’s earnings. Return periods are generally 30-60 days.
Terms – Every affiliate program has a unique set of terms. These are the rules that tell affiliates what they can and cannot do with their affiliate links. You should read and understand the terms of each retailer you apply to promote as an affiliate.