What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a form of performance-based marketing where a partner (the affiliate) promotes another company's products or services and receives a commission as soon as someone buys something or performs an action via their link.

In short: the affiliate brings traffic and sales, the advertiser only pays for results. That makes it one of the most efficient forms of online marketing.

How does affiliate marketing work?

An affiliate places links, banners or product recommendations on their website or social channels. When a visitor buys something via that link, the click is registered with a unique tracking code (usually via cookies or a partner platform such as TradeTracker or Daisycon).

The reward? A pre-agreed commission per sale, lead or click. No sales = no costs for the advertiser, so win-win.

Affiliate marketing example

Let's say you run a blog about coffee machines and write a review about the best espresso machines of 2025. In the article, you add links to Bol.com or Coolblue.
If a reader buys a machine via your link, you will receive a percentage of the sales amount.

This creates a natural interplay between content, trust and conversion.

The impact of affiliate marketing on SEO

Affiliate marketing and SEO reinforce each other, when properly applied.
An affiliate that publishes valuable content (comparisons, reviews, guides) builds authority in search results. The better the content, the higher the ranking, and therefore more traffic via organic channels.

Conversely, web shops benefit from quality affiliate links that provide relevant references.
Please note: excessive linking without context or with “spammy” anchor texts can backfire.

In short: good affiliates build trust, bad affiliates break it down.

Rank Rocket's tip

Whether you're an affiliate or an advertiser, focus on quality over quantity.
Choose partners that match your target group and only add links that really add value. Combine affiliate marketing with strong SEO content for the best results: sustainable findability and extra income.