What is Affiliate Marketing?

In the age of the digital world, businesses have to continually evolve the ways they get their business out to the world through various forms of marketing. Gone are the simple days where a business would create a listing in a local directory and simply wait for customers to look them up. Today’s world requires much more sophisticated forms of marketing, with affiliate marketing now being one of the most effective methods in the online world.

 

Used by an incredibly wide range of industries, affiliate marketing is thought to generate a much higher ROI than other forms of marketing, likely because paid forms of marketing are becoming increasingly competitive. In addition, affiliate marketing programs require little work and great results when it comes to brand awareness and recognition.

 

Below, we’ll take a closer look at what exactly affiliate marketing is and the types of companies currently using this marketing strategy.

 

What is affiliate marketing

 

Affiliate marketing is a type of marketing channel where businesses work with an ‘affiliate’ to promote their business. The affiliate is usually a content creator, blogger, podcast host, social media influencer or other creator, who makes a commission from marketing other companies products and services.

 

The affiliate is rewarded with a payout when a specific action is completed for their client, such as new customers, website traffic, or increased sales.

 

What industries use affiliate marketing?

 

Many different companies and industries use affiliate marketing to boost their sales, however this particular type of marketing is most popular with large B2C companies, such as Amazon, Airbnb, and Skillshare. These companies are more robust and are able to offer large compensation schemes, as well as being flexible in how the affiliate can work and what products or services they can promote.

 

Below, we’ll take a closer look at some of the industries that use affiliate marketing and how it benefits such companies within each sector.

 

The Casino Industry

 

The casino industry is a well-known industry that now has a strong presence in the online world and is also one that operates in an extremely competitive space. By using affiliate sites, online casinos can reduce their paid marketing budget and attract traffic to their site, without the high costs that search engines like Google or Bing burden companies with.

 

Affiliate companies that work with casinos will usually categorise sites in terms of the best promotions and bonuses, sites considered as top casinos, and sites that are considered the safest and most reliable or trustworthy. They may also categorise sites for other features such as payment options, for example here you can see a list of all operators with Paysafecard payment options, so players can find a suitable platform for them.

 

Overall, affiliate marketing is a highly effective scheme for increasing online conversions, whether that be more traffic to a webpage, increased sales, or other desired website interactions. While traditional methods of paid marketing can be incredibly challenging for small and large businesses alike, affiliate marketing is an effective way of offsetting marketing costs, while creating a potentially bigger ROI than other traditional marketing methods.

 

E-Commerce

 

E-commerce is one of the most competitive industries out there, in which millions of online companies must fight daily to be heard over the rest of the digital noise. There are so many products available today that companies must utilise a range of tactics to get their business out there to the world.

 

Affiliates in the E-commerce space are able to promote products in their own content, while sometimes utilizing a particular platform or program that a business has put in place for affiliates.

 

One great example of affiliate programs in E-commerce is Amazon. Amazon are one of the world’s largest e-commerce giants, in which they work with many different affiliates to promote their products and services. Affiliates working for Amazon are able to earn commission when someone makes a purchase that originates from their content.

 

Amazon has two affiliate schemes. The first one is the Affiliate scheme, which allows other retailers, websites and blogs to link to specific products on Amazon, as well as adding specialised widgets on their site.

 

The other affiliate scheme is for large profile content creators, in which they are able to utilize their own unique URL where they can list all of the products they recommend. Both schemes generate an income that is effective for the affiliate, depending on their business and level of influence.

 

Insurance Services

 

Insurance services can be confusing, and not to mention, boring. While the subject is dull, the fact of the matter is that insurance can be critical. Insurance companies use a particular affiliate to promote themselves - comparison sites. Comparison sites are a place online where people can go to search and compare for the best insurance.

 

A great example of affiliate marketing within the insurance sector is Compare the Market. This site lists various insurance providers, from gadget insurance to vacation insurance, car insurance and much more. Customers are able to utilize the site to find the best fit and deal, based on their knees.