Affiliate Marketing has become a useful tool for advertising and exposure over the worldwide web. Through the use of web publishers (affiliates) utilizing formal advertising methods, merchants create traffic to their product or services. In return merchants reward the publisher sites with cash or other types of rewards.

Beginning in the early 1990’s, it is well chronicled that the adult industry were the first to employ such marketing. Cyberotica was an early innovator of affiliate marketing with a cost per click program. In 1994 CDNOW introduced its BuyWeb program. The idea behind BuyWeb was a click through program that allowed consumers to peruse reviews or a list of albums from music websites clicking on an artist or album they are interested in giving them the opportunity to purchase it. In coordination with Geffen Records the idea of remote purchasing was born. Geffen contracted CDNOW to create a program that could handle order fulfillment. CDNOW could directly link an artist on its website to Geffen’s website, bypassing the CDNOW home page and going directly to an artist’s music page.

In 1996 Amazon launched a program of banners and text links through affiliates for individual books to link to Amazon’s home page. Affiliates earned a commission for each click that led a consumer to their site. These first steps have led to rapid growth in this style of online marketing. Currently it is estimated that affiliates are earning billions of dollars in bounty and commissions from a variety of sources including retail, gaming, travel etc.

At its core affiliate marketing is using one website to drive traffic to another. Affiliate websites help steer potential customers to the merchant or brand seller. Methods used in affiliate marketing include search engine optimization; improving traffic via algorithmic search results, search engine marketing; promotion through paid placement and email marketing; a form of direct marketing. These methods have driven online marketing to new levels. Affiliate marketing offers a low-key approach to online advertisers but plays a significant role in the strategies of e-retailers. So much so that it has spawned the need for management agencies that specialize in the complexities of the approach.

Media Groups have helped fueled this industry practice, creating new avenues in which to steer consumerism to the supply of merchants. The formation of these companies and groups has enhanced the scope of affiliate marketing and will continue to do so as the Internet and its ever-changing market continues to grow.