Affiliate Marketing is when one Web site (an affiliate) promotes another Web site's products or services (a merchant) in exchange for a commission. The merchant provides ads for the affiliate to place on their Website, and if an ad (which links to the merchant's website) results in a sale, a sign up or a click, then voila! the affiliate earns a commission!

The best part about it for affiliates is that, hey, it's free and easy; you refer your Web site visitors to something they like, somebody else does the hard work of providing the product or service, you simply take the money and run!

The best part for merchants is that you only have to "pay for performance" (clicks, sign ups or sales, depending on how you set up your program) and it removes the risk of paying for advertising and just hoping it will result in sales...

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