# What Is Affiliate Marketing? How to Start, Step by Step Canonical: [What Is Affiliate Marketing? How to Start, Step by Step](https://smtak.com/en/blog/affiliate-marketing-what-it-is-and-how-to-start) Locale: en Purpose: What affiliate marketing is, how a sale is credited to your link, how to pick a programme with clear terms, and common mistakes, with a software example. Content updated: 2026-10-19 Source revision: sha256-32c4eeed6947cdf6 Maintenance owner: SMTAK team, support@smtak.com [Topic map](https://smtak.com/llm/topics/affiliate.md) ยท [Complete scoped map](https://smtak.com/sitemap.md) Published: 2026-10-19. Affiliate marketing is a way of earning something when you point a person to a product or service and they actually buy. You do not make the product, sell it yourself or support the customer afterwards. You carry your recommendation in a link that is yours, and the product's owner pays you for what it produces. This article explains the idea from the start, how to begin, and how to tell a good programme from one that wastes your time. At the end is a real example from SMTAK's [affiliate program](https://smtak.com/en/affiliate.md), with its rules as published. ## What is affiliate marketing? Three parties are involved. The company that owns the product and writes the programme's rules. The affiliate who recommends it to an audience. And the customer who buys. The affiliate earns a commission, usually a share of the payment or a fixed amount, as the programme states. It is paid only when the result the programme defines happens, such as the customer buying, subscribing or making a first payment. Your audience is your capital. People who follow you, consult you or trust your opinion are the ones your recommendation helps. The more honest and fitting the recommendation is to the reader, the longer it lasts compared with any advertisement. ## How is a sale credited to your link? Many programmes work in one of two ways: - A link that is yours: it carries an identifier that belongs to you. When the customer opens it, the site keeps that identifier in the browser for a set period, and if the customer subscribes within it, the customer is credited to you. - A discount code in your name: the customer enters it at checkout and is credited to you even if they never opened your link. It helps when you post your recommendation somewhere that does not allow links. What differs between programmes is how long the identifier is kept, and whether a customer is credited to the first affiliate they came from or the last. Assume nothing: find this rule in the programme's terms before you publish any link. ## What kinds of affiliate programmes are there? - One-time purchases: your commission comes from a single sale. It suits recommending shops and physical products. - Subscriptions and software: the customer pays monthly or yearly, so the commission may apply to each payment for a period the programme sets. Here the affiliate cares about the customer's quality and staying power, not only a quick sale. - Commission on a sign-up or a request: paid for a lead who registered or asked for a quote, without a purchase. It is less common in subscription programmes. ## One-time commission or recurring commission? With a one-time commission your link with the customer ends at the first transaction. With a recurring commission it continues on each payment the customer makes during a period the programme sets, then stops. Recurring is a fairer measure of how good your recommendation was, but it is not steady income: if the customer cancels, payments stop, and in many programmes a refunded payment loses its commission. Always ask how long the commission runs and what happens on a refund. ## How do you start, step by step? 1. Decide who your audience is: who actually follows you, and what problem a tool or service could solve for them. 2. Pick a product you know or have tried. A recommendation of something you have not tried shows to the reader, and hurts your name before it helps you. 3. Read the programme's terms in full: what counts, when a commission is approved, how it is paid, and what is forbidden. 4. Apply if the programme requires approval, and wait for the answer before you publish anything. 5. Post your recommendation where your audience asks about this problem, and write why it helps and for whom it does not. 6. Say plainly that the link is an affiliate link you may earn a commission from. 7. Check your figures in the programme's dashboard and adjust what does not work. Do not judge from one week. ## How do you choose a programme? These questions separate serious programmes from the rest. If you find no written answer to one of them, ask the programme's owner before you start: - Are the commission terms published clearly, including the period and the rate or amount? - Does an application need approval, and how long does it take? - How is the commission paid, and when does it count as earned? - What happens on a refund or a cancellation? - How is a customer credited if they came from more than one affiliate? - Do you see your figures in a live dashboard, or wait for a statement from the company? - What is forbidden? Spam, misleading claims and bidding on the brand name in search ads are common bans. - Is the product itself good? Do not tie your name to a product you do not trust, whatever its commission. ## Common mistakes - Posting the link everywhere with no context. A link with no explanation convinces nobody, and a platform may block it. - Messaging people who did not ask. That is spam, many programmes ban it and it harms your name. - Promising results you cannot guarantee. If the product is about reputation or visibility, do not promise anyone a specific outcome. - Signing yourself up to collect the commission. Many programmes forbid self-referral and cancel what it produced. - Relying on one programme. Spread out if you can, because any programme's terms may change. ## Affiliate marketing for software subscriptions: the SMTAK example SMTAK is a Saudi platform that helps business owners connect their Google profiles and reply to customer reviews. It has an affiliate programme with rules published on the [programme page](https://smtak.com/en/affiliate.md) and in the [programme terms](https://smtak.com/en/affiliate/terms.md). In short: - The commission is a share of every payment your customer makes during their first year, the first 12 months from their first paid subscription, whether they pay monthly or yearly. After that their payments earn no commission. - The current rate and the earnings table for each plan appear live on the programme page, because the rate may change. A change applies only to payments made after it, and what was earned before stays as earned. - Applications are reviewed by hand. If yours is approved your link is sent to your email, and by agreement a discount code in your name. - A customer who opens your link and signs up within 90 days, or pays with your code, is credited to you, and to the first affiliate they came from. - SMTAK's administration approves each commission after review and pays it by bank transfer, and its status shows in your dashboard. - A refunded payment cancels its commission. - No self-referral: a workspace you own, or that uses your email, does not count. - No spam, no misleading claims, no promising customers a Google Maps ranking or a number of reviews, nothing offered in exchange for a review, and no bidding on SMTAK's name in paid search ads. We promise no particular income. What you earn depends on how many customers actually subscribe and pay, and how long they stay. The earnings table on the page is arithmetic for each plan, not a promise. Who is this kind of programme for? People who talk to owners of restaurants, clinics and shops with branches on Google Maps, and to consultants, agencies and content creators in local marketing. If you have no website, read [affiliate marketing without a website](https://smtak.com/en/blog/affiliate-marketing-without-a-website-saudi.md). If you are an agency, read [affiliate marketing for agencies and consultants](https://smtak.com/en/blog/affiliate-marketing-for-agencies-and-consultants.md). And to understand what you recommend before you recommend it, read [what Google Business Profile is](https://smtak.com/en/blog/what-is-google-business-profile.md) and [how to choose review reply software](https://smtak.com/en/blog/google-review-reply-software-saudi.md). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is affiliate marketing in short? You recommend a product or service with a link that is yours, and earn a commission if someone who came through your link or code buys, under the programme's terms. You do not sell or support the customer, but you answer for the honesty of your recommendation. ### Do I need a large following? There is no set number. What matters is that the people who read you actually need the product. A small fitting audience helps more than a large uninterested one. We promise no particular income from any audience. ### When is the commission paid? It depends on the programme, so read its terms. In SMTAK's programme every commission is approved after SMTAK's review and then paid by bank transfer, and its status (awaiting approval, approved, paid, void) shows in your dashboard. ### What is the commission rate at SMTAK? A share of every payment your customer makes in their first year. The current figure and the earnings table for each plan appear live on the affiliate program page, because the rate may change, and we do not write it into articles so that it does not go stale. ## Related articles - [Affiliate Marketing Without a Website: Promote Through Your Accounts and Network](https://smtak.com/en/blog/affiliate-marketing-without-a-website-saudi.md): Need a website for affiliate marketing? Channels that work without one, their limits, how to disclose and stay compliant, and where you see your figures. - [Affiliate Marketing for Agencies and Consultants: Earn From Tools Your Clients Need](https://smtak.com/en/blog/affiliate-marketing-for-agencies-and-consultants.md): For agencies serving restaurants, clinics and shops: recommending a reputation tool honestly, Google's review rules, and how recurring commission works. - [Replying to Google Maps Reviews: Steps and Ready Replies in Saudi Arabic and English](https://smtak.com/en/blog/replying-to-google-maps-comments-saudi-dialect.md): How to reply to Google Maps reviews from your phone or computer, with ready replies to positive and negative reviews in Saudi Arabic and English. - [Auto-Replies to Google Maps Reviews: How to Set Them Up Step by Step, and When Not To](https://smtak.com/en/blog/auto-reply-google-reviews-guide.md): How to switch on auto-replies to Google Maps reviews safely: the steps, what publishes on its own and what waits for you, when to pause, and how to audit it.