Affiliate (associate) programs connect merchants, affiliates, and customers in performance-based marketing. Common models include pay-per-sale, pay-per-click, and pay-per-lead. Platforms such as Awin, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten Advertising, Impact, and Amazon Associates support program operations and tracking. Privacy rules and platform changes have pushed the industry toward first-party and server-side attribution while preserving measurable payouts.

What affiliate programs are

Affiliate programs (also called associate programs) let online merchants pay partners for traffic or sales they refer. Amazon's Associates program, launched in 1996, helped popularize the model. Today, affiliate marketing remains a performance-based channel that helps e-commerce and content sites reach new audiences without upfront ad spend.

The three parties

Every affiliate program involves three parties:

  • Merchant: the business that sells a product or service.
  • Affiliate: an individual or site that promotes the merchant in exchange for a commission.
  • Customer: the visitor who clicks a link, signs up, or makes a purchase.
Affiliates act as marketing partners. They may build dedicated pages, publish product reviews, run email promotions, or use social and influencer channels to send traffic to merchants.

Common commission models

Merchants choose commission structures based on their goals. The most common are:

  • Pay-per-sale (CPS): the affiliate earns when a referred user makes a purchase.
  • Pay-per-click (CPC): the affiliate earns for clicks that reach the merchant's site.
  • Pay-per-lead (CPL): the affiliate earns when a referred user registers, requests information, or completes another qualifying action.
Other arrangements include two-tier (affiliates earn on referrals plus a commission on sub-affiliates) and recurring or residual commissions for subscription or repeat purchases.

Running a program and tracking

Merchants can run affiliate programs themselves or use networks and platforms to manage recruitment, links, and payouts. Prominent platforms and networks in the marketplace include Awin (which includes ShareASale), CJ Affiliate, Rakuten Advertising, Impact, and Amazon Associates.

Tracking typically relies on affiliate links, cookies, and server-to-server postback (also called S2S) systems. Deep links and sub-IDs help affiliates send visitors to specific product pages and attribute conversions precisely.

Privacy, tracking changes, and best practices

Data-privacy rules (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and platform changes such as Apple's App Tracking Transparency have constrained third-party cookie and cross-app tracking. Merchants and networks now lean more on first-party tracking, consent management, hashed identifiers, and server-side attribution to preserve tracking accuracy while respecting privacy.

For merchants, the value of affiliate programs remains their performance focus: you typically pay for measurable outcomes rather than impressions. For affiliates, transparency in tracking, clear terms, and reliable payouts determine long-term partnerships.

Bottom line

Affiliate programs are a practical, performance-driven way to extend reach and acquisition for online businesses. With evolving privacy rules and tracking techniques, successful programs combine clear commission models, reliable tracking, and compliance with data-protection requirements.

FAQs about Afiliate Programs

What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where merchants pay affiliates a commission for referred actions such as sales, clicks, or leads.
Who participates in an affiliate program?
Three parties participate: the merchant (seller), the affiliate (promoter), and the customer (visitor or buyer).
What commission models are common?
Common models are pay-per-sale (CPS), pay-per-click (CPC), and pay-per-lead (CPL). Variants include two-tier and recurring/residual commissions.
How do merchants track affiliate referrals?
They use affiliate links, cookies, server-to-server postbacks, deep links, and sub-IDs; many now supplement with first-party or server-side tracking to improve accuracy.
How have privacy rules affected affiliate tracking?
Regulations like GDPR and CCPA plus platform changes such as Apple's App Tracking Transparency have limited third-party tracking, encouraging consent-based, first-party, and server-side approaches.

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