The role of Affiliate Marketing in Digital Space: A Conceptual Approach

Abstract

Modern day marketing had gone through lots of changes and disruptions. Some of the changes are created lots of positive impact on conventional business model. The usual revenue generation model has been gone through lots of forward and backward integration. Marketers started adapting those changes positively and they are trying their best to respond to those changes. Change has become the only constant of the marketplace. In business world, it has observed that most of the advertisers are trying to employ affiliate network to track their various affiliate campaign. Measurement of affiliate campaign is important to strengthen the revenue generation model and would help to monitor other business related activities. Monitoring of E-commerce platform will become practically impossible without the inclusion of affiliate network. At the same time digital marketers cannot ignore the role of advertisers to track various affiliate campaign as well. The role of network is to offer specific tracing link to various affiliates so that they can link the text with affiliate’s website which could be effectively beneficial for the customer at the same time. Since the time of consumer 2.0, the roles of affiliates are redefined and they are helping customers’ click on the websites. It depends on the number of times customers’ click on cookie when its dropped on their computer and it is registered by the affiliate network. So, whenever the whole process would be completed from customer end, a confirmation reached at advertiser’s page and the tracking of affiliate’s network can be completed. Affiliate network plays a crucial role to find the sales recorded in their platform. Affiliate’s network is responsible for recording and publishing such data. With the help of a common platform advertiser and affiliates both able to find the sales process and tracking could be done effectively. At the same time, commission will also be tracked during the procedure. Commission structure can be traced well. The performance of the campaign can be evaluated with the help of Price tag, order ID, information about sales, promotion code and product stock keeping units (SKUs). Despite of lots of measures taken in advance still there are different types of complications and various options to improve the overall tracking model. The research paper is basically focusing on the online or e-marketing and the role of Affiliate marketing. As affiliates play a major role in online marketing platform, it is explained in different contexts as well. One thing is quite evident by analyzing the modern marketing platform that the e-channel would be the next trendsetting thing in the field of marketing.