The market has grown in complexity, leading to the emergence of a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates, and specialized third party vendors.
Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to a point because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic program optimization (SEO), paid program marketing (PPC – Pay Per Click), e-mail marketing, content marketing, and (in some sense) display advertising. On the opposite hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, like publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.
Affiliate marketing is usually confused with referral marketing, as both sorts of marketing use third parties to drive sales to the retailer. the 2 sorts of marketing are differentiated, however, in how they drive sales, where affiliate marketing relies purely on financial motivations, while referral marketing relies more on trust and private relationships.
Affiliate marketing is usually overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail, and internet site syndication capture much of the eye of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a way lower profile. Still, affiliates still play a big role in e-retailers’ marketing strategies.