If you are new to online marketing, you may be asking “how do I start in affiliate marketing online?
Affiliate marketing online is an extremely popular and economical way to make money.
With the many different options available it can be a little confusing to figure how to get started.
Therefore, in this article we’ll give you the information you need to get started on your own successful affiliate marketing business. So let’s get started.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is not as straight-forward as you may think, even though it is probably the most popular way of making money online.
To become a successful affiliate marketer, here’s what you need to know and understand.
- Website set-up.
- Content creation.
- Keywords and SEO.
- Affiliate programs and networks;
- Traffic generation.

So, here is a simple infographic that explains the process of affiliate marketing.

Consider this. If you want to start an online business in affiliate marketing, you will need to get some training
We recommend Wealthy Affiliate for all the training you need to accomplish success at affiliate marketing.
LEARN MORE ABOUT IT RIGHT HERE.
The Tools You Will Need.
You need a computer and access to the internet, as well as a website, to get started with affiliate marketing.
In addition, you should find training courses to learn about affiliate programs, SEO and keyword research, social media and other online marketing.
If you’re not sure where to begin, you can start by checking out the Wealthy Affiliate University right here.
Wealthy Affiliate is the platform we use for our online business.
Not only will you be able to get all the training you need to be successful, but also you can build a website (in a matter of seconds). And, even more, Wealthy Affiliate will host it for you as part of your membership.
What’s The Difference Between an Affiliate Program and Network?
When you’re getting started with affiliate marketing, you may be confused about affiliate programs and affiliate networks. So, here’s a brief explanation.
An Affiliate Program is run by one company, whereas an Affiliate Network is run for the benefit of many companies.
The Amazon Affiliate Program is the most well-known. Amazon has several million products. Members of the Amazon Affiliate Program can choose to promote any number of these products.
You can find some more information on the Amazon Affiliate Program here.
Many other companies find an Affiliate Network to join. These include CJ.com, Clickbank, Share-A-Sale, Rakuten, and there are a significant number of others.
These organizations manage the affiliate programs for their clients, and they are many. Therefore, if you join an Affiliate Network, you will have access to a huge range of companies and products.
What Are Affiliate Links?
Affiliate links connect your website to a product you are promoting. As an affiliate marketer you do not have to worry about maintaining inventory or shipping products to customers.
The merchant provides you with an affiliate link. It is a line of code that is personally identifiable to you, and is trackable. So, once inserted into your website, when a customer clicks on that link, they will be taken to the merchant site to purchase.
When a customer makes a purchase using your link, the merchant will pay you a commission.
Therefore, this is how you make money online with affiliate marketing.
Learning About Keyword Research.
Your affiliate marketing website will not earn you any money without traffic (visitors). The secret is keywords! Keywords drive traffic to your website.
During your training, you will learn about keywords and search engine optimization (SEO), and why it will be an important part of your strategy.
Keywords can be short (one or two words) or long-tail (up to 10 words). People search the internet for products or services, or even to ask questions, by using keywords.
While it’s hard to know what search queries people will use to find your products, there are tools available that can help with keyword research.
A great place to start is Google itself. You can type in a phrase related to your business and Google will give you suggestions of terms for which people are searching.
From here, you can do some additional research using a Keyword Research Tool, that will provide you with some useful statistics.
Jaaxy is our favorite Keyword Research Tool. Moreover, your membership of Wealthy Affiliate includes Jaaxy.
Creating Your Affiliate Marketing Website.
There is debate about which way is best to set up an affiliate marketing website.
However, if you want to make money from affiliate marketing, you need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes – if they can’t find or access information easily, they won’t buy from you.
The articles you write for your potential customers should be both informational and engaging. Aim to answer any queries they may have and solve their problems.
You research the products so they don’t have to and you will write some articles that are informational and some that are commercial. One thing you should avoid is the hard sell – it can be very off putting.
Nevertheless, please do not forget to include a Call-To-Action to encourage your visitors to click and buy!
Setting up a website can be an intimidating prospect. No need! Today it’s easy and affordable to get a website up and running.
There are several website-hosting companies that will help you to build your own website with a click of a button. These include Wix, Weebly, BlueHost, and there are even more.
We have talked to you above about Wealthy Affiliate, which is the best all-in-one platform. There you can learn the ropes of affiliate marketing, build and have your website hosted and that’s not all.
Why Should I Choose Wealthy Affiliate?
Here are some of the reasons why you should choose Wealthy Affiliate to take you through your online journey.
- All training is conducted online by video and text, so you can work at your own pace.
- There are 120 lessons in two training courses. Each lesson has follow-up tasks to complete to ensure you have learned the topic.
- Weekly Live Webinar Training at which students can interact with the presenter.
- Hundreds of recorded Video and Text Training topics prepared by experienced affiliate marketers.
- A Live Chat feature that can help you get questions answered almost immediately.
- Access to the Jaaxy Keyword Research Tool.
- Website building and hosting is included.
- A Site Support Team that is second to none!
- A huge community of online entrepreneurs all willing to assist you with problems and answer queries.
- A 7-Day Free Trial Starter Membership to assess whether this is the pathway for you.
These are certainly 10 very good reasons to choose the Wealthy Affiliate Training Platform.
Final Thoughts On How Do I Start In Affiliate Marketing Online?
There is not much more left for me to say. We have explained how affiliate marketing works, the tools you will need, affiliate programs and networks and affiliate links. In addition, we’ve covered keyword research and SEO, as well as how to build your own affiliate marketing website.
I hope this has given you a little insight into the world of online marketers. Furthermore, I hope you will consider joining us and signing up for your Free Starter Membership by clicking on the image below.
When starting affiliate marketing, it’s really confusing at first and you don’t understand anything. However you have good training on the platform, which you don’t have to pay right away until you see if it suits you or not. Then it will be easier for you to understand how to make money online.
Hello Bojana, Thank you for your comment on my article about starting in affiliate marketing. You are absolutely right. It is indeed confusing at the beginning, but the Wealthy Affiliate training is second to none. By following it step-by-step, all will soon be revealed. Thanks for stopping by. Best wishes, Jenni.
Hey thank you for sharing your post on Affiliate Marketing!
I appreciate the transparency and amount of value you shared! I’ve been doing affiliate marketing since 2016 and Wealthy Affiliate was the first platform i learned all i know now. 6 years later, I’ve been a very successful affiliate marketer and also trying to teach others how to become successful in the space. You are on the right track, Find a good niche and go all in!
Thank you!
Lorenz, I really appreciate your comment on my article about starting in affiliate marketing. It is great to know that you have achieved success with the Wealthy Affiliate platform. It’s great to encourage others to join. Best wishes, Jenni.