Affiliate Marketing: Programme Management
Affiliate marketing pays external publishers (affiliates) a commission for driving traffic or sales to a merchant. It is a performance-based channel — cost is incurred only when a defined action (sale, lead, click) is completed — making it highly efficient when well-managed. The challenge is building a quality affiliate network, preventing fraud, and ensuring brand-safe promotion.
Programme Structure
- Affiliate network vs in-house: networks (Awin, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten) provide an existing pool of affiliates and tracking infrastructure; in-house programmes (Impact, PartnerStack) offer more control and lower fees
- Commission models: percentage of sale (most common for e-commerce), flat CPA (cost per acquisition), cost per lead
- Cookie window: how long after a click a conversion is attributed to the affiliate. Longer windows benefit affiliates; shorter windows benefit merchants.
Quality Management
Affiliate quality varies enormously — premium content publishers, comparison/voucher sites, cashback sites, and coupon affiliates all behave differently. Coupon and cashback affiliates may cannibalise customers who would have purchased anyway (incremental value debate). Regularly audit affiliate promotion methods; reject affiliates using brand bidding, trademark infringement, or misleading promotions.