Affiliate Marketing
Definition updated April 2026
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where a publisher earns a commission for directing traffic or sales to a merchant's website. The affiliate places tracked links on their site, and when a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a percentage of the sale.
Product data APIs are central to affiliate marketing content. Price comparison sites, review sites, and coupon platforms all depend on accurate, up-to-date product pricing and availability to ensure their links lead to products still in stock at the advertised price.
For affiliate publishers, using a live data API significantly improves content quality compared to manually updated price tables. Real-time prices, stock status, and deal data ensure the content a visitor sees matches what they will find at the destination.
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Retail APIs