Overview: Affiliate marketing is a new marketing practice which is provided by the webmasters. The owners of web sites or publishers, popularly called as webmasters, promote and sell the products of traders and dealers on their web sites. It is done either by advertising the products provided by the merchant or by helping in generating leads.

Process and major players Affiliate marketing is a very promising industry in many parts of Europe and North America. It is also spreading to other countries where Internet penetration has been good. There are four major groups or parties involved in the process of affiliate marketing. They are – affiliates or web site publishers, advertisers or merchants, affiliate networks and agencies.

Web site publishers or affiliates are the main components of affiliate marketing. It is these people who are responsible for providing the marketing service. The publishers have their own web sites on which they market the products and services of the merchants. They place web site links, pictures and details about the products offered by merchants.

The merchants or dealers can be anyone who is interested in promoting the business online. As affiliates help in generating business leads and advertising the products and services, they are very important for the merchants. Merchants are the buyers, be it space on the web sites or business leads and it is them who spend the money. On one hand they deal with the affiliates and at the same time they cater to the users.

Affiliate networks are intermediaries that help in establishing the business terms between affiliates and advertisers. They provide third party service and are responsible for initiating the affiliate marketing process and managing the same till the completion of the tasks and disbursement of money.

Online advertising and brand promotion agencies also need vehicles to provide media exposure to their clients. Because affiliates can place their advertisements and content on their web sites, therefore they also play an important role in affiliate marketing.

Affiliates marketing is cheaper than other offline marketing methods. It is also effective and more to the merchant as he gets business leads. It is the merchant or the agencies that do the spending and networks and affiliate who do the work.