What Is Affiliate Marketing and How Is It Reshaping Marketing Trends in 2025?

Have you ever seen phrases like "Refer a Friend, Get a Discount" on a shopping app? Or come across a link to a product recommended by an influencer on YouTube or Instagram?

These are what ‘affiliate marketing’ is about: selling products through affiliate links. Affiliate marketing is emerging as a key trend in the competitive mobile marketing landscape, gaining recognition as a strategic method to boost ROI (Return on Investment).

In this post, we will explore the basic concepts of affiliate marketing, explain why you must get involved in 2025, and provide tips on how to get started. 

Understanding Affiliate Marketing

💡 What is Affiliate Marketing? 
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where businesses compensate third parties (affiliates) for generating traffic, leads, or sales for their products or services. 

Affiliates (companies, individuals, and influencers) earn revenue and commissions for successful referrals through unique tracking links.

In turn, advertisers pay partners for results, making affiliate marketing cheaper and more effective compared to traditional ads. Notable examples of affiliate marketing platforms include Amazon Associates, Walmart Affiliate Program, and Rakuten Advertising. 

Examples of Affiliate Marketing

Case A) Affiliate earns commission
A YouTuber posts a video reviewing a product  and attaches a link for viewers to purchase them. When viewers buy the product through this link, the YouTuber earns a commission.

Case B) User earns rewards
A shopping app is running an “Refer a Friend” campaign. Users get rewards when their friends use the unique referral link to install the app or make a first purchase . 

Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is rapidly emerging as a powerful trend in mobile marketing, offering several key advantages:

1. Efficient Cost Management
   Pay for advertising only when conversions (purchase, app installs, etc.) occur, minimizing budget waste.
   
   
2. Diverse Channel Utilization
   Implement campaigns across blogs, social media (Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, etc.), apps, and more.
   
   
3. Rapid Scalability
   Quickly expand marketing reach by increasing the number of partnered affiliates.
   
   
4. Maximized ROI
   Manage budgets effectively through accurate performance measurement.

So, where do we start?

1. Find the ideal partner and develop the optimal model to achieve your goals

Successful affiliate marketing begins with identifying the right target audience and selecting an appropriate affiliate partner. Look for a partner that aligns with your specific goals, such as driving sales for particular products, increasing category performance, boosting membership numbers, and enhancing subscription conversion rates.

2. Design a performance-based compensation system

Establish a clear and fair compensation standard based on the results. You can choose from examples such as CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per acquisition), or CPS (cost per sale).

3. Create and distribute affiliate links

Once you determine the goal, partner, and compensation system, create an affiliate link to help the affiliate partner promote it. Creating a unique tracking link is crucial; if the affiliate link doesn't work properly, you won't be able to measure the conversions generated through it.

4. Monitor performance using performance tracking tools

Once you launch your affiliate marketing campaign, track performance closely to ensure accurate compensation. Use performance tracking tools to monitor the number of conversions occurring through partner links and compensate your partners accordingly.

Start with Airbridge today!
Streamline your affiliate campaigns with Airbridge. The Airbridge DeepLink Plan helps you optimize affiliate marketing by efficiently creating and managing affiliate links. We provide seamless user experiences through deep linking, ensuring both users and affiliates enjoy a frictionless interaction. With Airbridge DeepLinks, you can track affiliate performance in real-time, ensuring accurate commission distribution and maximizing campaign ROI.

• Auto-generated API-based tracking links
• Universal compatibility across all systems and platforms—iOS, Android, web, and offline.
• Razor-sharp performance tracking and real-time analytics 
• Competitive MAU-based pricing (pay as you grow)