Digital marketing takes many forms. As a Utah digital marketing agency based in Salt Lake City, our services include things like SEO, content marketing, PPC (pay-per-click) advertising, and even web development. They are all individual parts of digital marketing as a whole. But how about affiliate marketing? How does it fit in?
Affiliate marketing is considered a form of digital marketing due to its dependence on digital technologies and the internet. But it is not normally discussed within the context of classical digital marketing. That’s a shame because affiliate marketing is not only the oldest form of digital marketing out there, but also a very profitable way to build a business or earn a living.
The Basics of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based strategy designed to encourage third-party partners to market on behalf of another business. One of the most visible examples in the 2020s is Amazon’s affiliate marketing program. Amazon actually pays individuals to market for them using their own websites, blogs, etc.
Here’s how it works, in a nutshell:
- Companies like Amazon partner with influencers, content creators, etc.
- Acting as affiliates, the partners promote Amazon’s products through their own channels.
- When a purchase is facilitated through the third party’s activities, that party earns a commission.
Have you ever seen those websites that review a variety of products all in the same category? If the links to those products all direct you back to Amazon, it is a good bet that the website owner is an Amazon affiliate.
Amazon does very well with affiliate marketing. However, they are not the only company that does it. Affiliate marketing has proved incredibly attractive to small and large companies all over the world. Any company can do it.
The Digital Marketer’s Role
Just like any company could launch an affiliate marketing program, any digital marketing agency could either assist with that program or work with third-party partners to help them market better. Let’s focus on the latter to better understand the digital marketer’s role.
Imagine an influencer choosing to join Amazon’s affiliate marketing program. How could we help here at Webtek? We could:
- Improve SEO – In order for the influencer to succeed, they also need to crush SEO. Without strong SEO performance, potential buyers are not going to find the influencer.
- Create Content – We could assist by creating SEO-friendly content that drives traffic and boosts conversion rates. Maybe the influencer is strong with videos but weak on written content. We could manage blog posts and informational articles.
- Develop a Website – The influencer may not have a suitable website that’s up to the task. Once again, Webtek can help with web development services that meet SEO standards, engage with users, and effectively market products.
- Improve Analytics – Amazon’s affiliate program does come with a limited set of analytics to help partners better understand how they are doing. But those analytics don’t dive nearly deep enough into SEO and content marketing. A digital marketing agency like ours could step in to improve analytics.
There are lots of ways to market online. Thanks to today’s digital technologies, agencies like Webtek are capable of reaching ever larger audiences with more targeted messaging. Affiliate marketing is just one way to do it.
We are not directly involved with a lot of affiliate marketing at this time, but we do offer a long list of digital marketing services covering everything from content marketing to social media marketing. If you would like to know more about how Webtek can help boost your marketing efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.
