What are affiliate programs in e-commerce?

Written by Fernando Maciá

Affiliate programs are becoming a very popular system in e-commerce, as small businesses can access resources that were previously only available to large companies with high revenues.

Affiliate programs in e-commerce are a marketing tool that have the purpose of generating more traffic to your own online store, thanks to the use of buttons, banners or any link located on your affiliates’ websites, among others. After all, affiliate marketing is a great promotional tool for your online store.

For example, if a user visits a web page with an ad for a product from your online store, if the user clicks on the ad and makes a purchase, the site from which the user accessed the site will receive a commission. It is a very interesting system, since all the companies that are part of this affiliation network will benefit from it.

In short, it is a network of websites that join together and agree to pay a certain amount previously agreed upon for each visit, registration, etc. that is made.

How do e-commerce affiliate programs work?

Each of the affiliates has a code that identifies it in order to be able to pay the corresponding commission in each case. It should be noted that in addition to increasing visits to a website, being associated with an affiliate program is also an interesting source of income.

The commissions received will vary according to what has been contractually agreed upon by the affiliates.

For affiliate marketing to be effective it is very important to determine exactly what your online store strategy is going to be. If you have not taken into account aspects such as comfortable navigation in the development of your strategy, users will quickly abandon your online store without carrying out any type of transaction. If, on the other hand, your prices are competitive, you know exactly what your target audience is and the type of products you want to sell, so you select affiliates that match it (of course, in exchange for a commission)… congratulations! your participation in an affiliate program will be a success for your online store.

It should be noted that belonging to an affiliate program is not a panacea, the best option is to combine it with other types of actions to promote yourself. It may be the case that even if you reach the customer there is no conversion, even so you should not be discouraged, since the user already knows your online store and can remember it if at any given moment he needs something of what you offer.

Types of affiliate programs

• Sales commissions: If a sale is made, the affiliate will receive a commission for that sale. This is the most common type for those websites that focus on selling to the final consumer(B2C “Business to consumer” ). It should be noted that the commission to be paid for this type of affiliate program is higher than in the case of commissions per visit or per specific action that we will explain below.
• Commissions for visits: You would pay a commission for each visit. This affiliate marketing alternative is usually well received, as it can be very profitable if appropriate measures are taken to mitigate fraud.
• Commissions per specific action: In this case you would pay the commission if, for example, they subscribe to your online store or fill out any form.

If you bet on affiliate marketing, it would be interesting, for example, to give your affiliates the possibility to get a symbolic commission for visits and a higher commission for specific actions and sales. In this way, you will be able to considerably increase your affiliate network in a short period of time and quickly find out which websites provide a higher CR (conversion ratio of visits to sales). So you can choose those who are more profitable, rewarding their work with a higher commission for their success.

How to join an affiliate program?

There are two ways to join an affiliate program, either by doing it yourself or by hiring an outside company.

Creation and self-management

Your online store can develop its own affiliate program by outsourcing it to an IT specialist. When the program is being built it is a good time to look for affiliates interested in joining. Of course, you should also establish how commission payments would be made.

This option is only viable if you have previous contacts with potential affiliates. that bring a lot of traffic to your online store or have a large audience that will help you contact more potential affiliates and, your online store to be recognized or offering products that are usually successful.

External company

Another option if you decide to use affiliate marketing is to hire an external company to manage everything (affiliates, commission payments, necessary software…). Make sure it is a reliable and experienced company. A point that you must take into account is to plan your strategy together with this company, since you understand the operation of your business better than anyone else.

The cost is higher than if you do it yourself, but in counterpoint, it offers two very important advantages:

1. They have a portfolio of websites interested in participating in affiliate programs, making it much easier to attract affiliates.
2. You will receive advice, they will help you in the creation and management of strategies… In other words, they will facilitate the whole process to achieve the best results.

Affiliate programs are a very promising tool for the ultimate e-commerce boom.

This is why more and more companies are turning to affiliate marketing. Its pay-as-you-go formula is a very effective option that allows you to avoid making large capital investments.