# What Is Affiliate Marketing? Explained | RevenueWorks

> Affiliate marketing explained simply: roles, flow, compensation and tracking. For stores and publishers.

Source: https://revenueworks.ai/guides/what-is-affiliate-marketing
Language: en

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[RevenueWorks](https://revenueworks.ai/)/[Guides](https://revenueworks.ai/guides)/What is affiliate marketing?

# What is affiliate marketing?

**In short:** In affiliate marketing a partner (publisher) recommends a product and receives a commission from the store when a purchase results. A tracking link or code attributes the purchase to the partner.

Last updated: 2026-11-07

## The roles

-   Store (advertiser): offers the product and pays the commission.
-   Publisher: website, blog, newsletter or social channel that recommends.
-   Network or own system: measures and settles.

## The flow

The publisher places a link, a visitor clicks and buys, tracking records the purchase and the store pays the commission after the review period (for example because of returns).

## Frequently asked questions

Who pays in affiliate marketing?

The store pays the commission, not the customer. The price for the customer stays the same.

## Work it out with your numbers

The matching calculator runs in your browser. No sign-up, nothing is saved.

[Affiliate Commission Calculator](https://revenueworks.ai/tools/affiliate-provisions-rechner)

## More reach for your store, without chasing partners yourself

We build partner and traffic infrastructure for stores. You get everything in writing.

[More about traffic infrastructure](https://revenueworks.ai/infrastructure-as-a-service)

## Keep reading

[Affiliate Commission Calculator](https://revenueworks.ai/tools/affiliate-provisions-rechner)[Affiliate commission models compared](https://revenueworks.ai/guides/affiliate-commission-models)[Product data feed explained](https://revenueworks.ai/guides/product-data-feed-explained)[All guides](https://revenueworks.ai/guides)[Glossary](https://revenueworks.ai/glossary)

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