Affiliate marketing is essentially the promotion of goods or services by someone who is not actually offering them themselves. Affiliates are paid based on lead generation, sales generated (known as affiliate revenue), subscription signups, and other measurable results.

Affiliate marketing can be done via website links, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, or dedicated advertising.

The benefits of affiliate marketing are that it's generally lower risk than other types of promotion, and also shares costs between the two parties involved.

The major downside is that affiliates do not necessarily offer the best deal available, which is why you should always look for an affiliate program that offers added value beyond just a link.

Affiliate marketing is not typically a beginner's first choice of online business. It requires significant up-front costs, and as such you will need to be confident that the reward will outweigh those initial outlay.

The most common way to do affiliate marketing by far is via website links. This consists largely of placing a link within the site itself - often through the use of direct links, product photo embeds, or plugins.

As can be seen on some of the pages have included Amazon Affiliate links which allow the site owners to make a small commission when you purchase products via my links.

Both parties need to be able to track the traffic and conversions correctly for this system to work, however with suitable use it can generate significant revenue quickly and easily.

It's worth noting that if the affiliate console is not installed correctly then there is no way for either party to monitor affiliate activity.

For most types of affiliate marketing, you will need a wide network of affiliates to make it work for you. This is because their links will become your links, and as such, they need to be from sites with significant traffic in order not to affect the overall credibility of your site.

Some tips:

Ensure that affiliates fully understand what they need to do and when, and that they will be paid. Without this, you're setting yourself up for failure.

Ensure that the instructions on how to use your affiliate console or links are clear and concise - don't assume people know what you mean if it's not obvious!

Consider using one-to-one affiliate links in addition to website links. This will mean you can place your affiliate link on your own site, and direct others specifically to places where they may make a sale.

The affiliate console or plugin must be installed for affiliates to gather any useful information about their traffic via your website - don't just give them what they need.

You should try to offer as much value as possible with your affiliate links, such as adding banners or video reviews to help increase conversions. Make it easy for affiliates to see why people would want to purchase a product through their link.

If you're offering a commission-based service then ensure that the terms and conditions are very clearly laid out to avoid any complications or confusion.

Is it worth using social media in affiliate marketing?

Social media is a powerful ally in affiliate marketing, although not by directly linking to your site. This is because the majority of social media sites are free to use, which means that you can increase traffic without significant investment.

Twitter for instance allows users with large numbers of followers the ability to place "re-tweets" on their feed, which will automatically generate a link to any website you choose.

Similarly, Facebook allows users to put up easily shared links that may then direct people back to your site. If you're one of the first few affiliate marketers on the scene then this can be very effective, however, it becomes more difficult as you become less unique.

The most powerful of these is generally Pinterest because it has a wider interest-based audience. If you have a new affiliate site then this is likely where your main focus will be but do not neglect traditional website links which can still generate high volumes of traffic for new sites.

These types of links are easily identifiable by simply looking at the user's feed, so if you're looking to generate targeted traffic then this is one of your most useful options.

One thing to remember when using these types of links is that they will not generate sales in the same way that traditional affiliate links do.

Instead, this type of link should be used in conjunction with other traffic generation techniques, such as traditional website links, banner ads, etc.

You may ask, how to get more traffic and impressions on your website and social media? Well, content is the king.

Content marketing can be used for both website and social media traffic, by simply creating good, relevant content that people are interested in. This content should be informative to help solve a problem, or otherwise provide value to readers - if it doesn't then they will not share the content and as such you will not gain anything from it.

To make use of this type of link effectively you need to create really good content that people are interested in, but also know what your target audience will be looking for.

This way you can create specific pieces of content that speak directly to the issues they experience, and then use this as a platform to direct them back to your site where they can get more information or purchase something.

This is one of the most powerful types of link building because it is all about giving value to others and generating interest in your site.

Affiliate marketing can be a very powerful tool for generating targeted traffic for your website. However, if done incorrectly then you could end up alienating potential customers through spammy behavior, such as pushing affiliate links too strongly.

Targeted traffic is always going to be valuable, but you need to remember that affiliate marketing means providing value and selling a product. If people did not want the product then they would not click on your affiliate link in the first place.

If your content stands out from the crowd and provides valuable information then you will stand out from other affiliate marketers, and as such you should see a significant increase in traffic during your early days.