The mechanics, the money, and the bits nobody explains until you've already got it wrong.
Rui Correia Posted
You write about a product. Someone reads it, clicks through to a retailer, buys the thing. The retailer pays you a share.
That’s the whole idea. Everything else is plumbing, and the plumbing is where it gets confusing.
What sits between you and the retailer
You could in principle deal with every retailer directly. Almost nobody does, because it would mean a separate contract, a separate payment schedule and a separate tracking system for each one.
Instead most retailers run their programme through a network — Awin, Impact, CJ, Rakuten and others. You join the network, apply to the retailer's programme within it, and the network handles the tracking and the money.
Which network a retailer uses is their choice, not yours. That is why publishers end up with six accounts rather than one, and we have written a guide to joining each of them.
How the tracking works
Your affiliate link carries an identifier. When a reader clicks it, the retailer drops a cookie, and if they buy within the cookie window the sale is attributed to you.
Three things about that are worth knowing early.
Cookie windows vary enormously. Thirty days is common. Amazon's is twenty-four hours. Some are seven days. It materially changes what a programme is worth and it's rarely on the front page.
Last click usually wins. If your reader clicks your link and then clicks somebody else's before buying, the other publisher gets paid. This is why voucher sites are contentious.
Commission is on the sale, not the click. A page with excellent traffic and no purchase intent earns nothing. A small page where people arrive ready to buy can earn a great deal.
What the rates look like
Anywhere from one per cent to twenty, depending almost entirely on the category. Electronics is thin because retailer margins are thin. Fashion, beauty and homeware pay considerably better. Financial products can pay a flat fee that dwarfs both.
Rates are also negotiable once you’re sending real volume, which is the part most publishers discover late. If a retailer is one of your top earners, ask.
Getting started, in order
- Work out what you already link to. Most publishers already send more traffic to retailers than they realise. That list tells you which networks are worth joining first.
- Join one network, not five. Awin is the most forgiving of smaller sites and covers a lot of UK retail.
- Apply to the specific retailers you actually write about. Network membership is not programme membership; they are two separate approvals.
- Automate the linking before it becomes a chore. Maintaining affiliate links by hand is the thing that quietly stops happening in week three.
The mistake almost everyone makes
Chasing the highest commission rate rather than the best fit.
A twelve per cent rate on a retailer your readers have never heard of is worth less than four per cent on the one they were going to buy from anyway. The click-through rate difference swamps the commission difference, every time.
Write about what people actually want. Then monetise it properly.
Where to go next
What publishers actually earn, and how goes further into the money. The network guides cover joining each one.
And if you already have links on your site, a free audit will tell you which are earning, which are being monetised by someone else, and which are doing nothing at all. It usually surprises people.
Common questions
How do affiliate links work?
Your link carries an identifier. When a reader clicks it the retailer records the referral, and if they buy within the cookie window you earn a share of the sale.
What is a cookie window?
The period after a click during which a purchase is still credited to you. Thirty days is common; Amazon’s is twenty-four hours.
How much do affiliate links pay?
Typically one to twenty per cent depending on category. Electronics pays least, fashion and homeware pay more, and rates become negotiable once you send meaningful volume.
Do I need to join a network?
Usually, because most retailers run their programmes through one. Which network depends on the retailer, which is why publishers often hold several accounts.
Do I have to disclose affiliate links?
Yes. Disclosure is required by advertising rules in the UK, US and EU, and by the terms of every affiliate network.