Glossary/Brand & Performance Marketing/Affiliate Marketing
Brand & Performance Marketing
Affiliate Marketing
Paying partners a commission for sales or leads they drive.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model in which a business pays partners a commission for sales or leads they drive. Affiliates include publishers, review sites, coupon sites, and creators, tracked through unique links or codes. Because payment follows results, it offers low-risk acquisition, though it requires monitoring for fraud and attribution overlap.