Understand how publishers, networks, and advertisers work together — and how to build a scalable, low-risk performance channel.
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based acquisition model where an advertiser pays a commission to a publisher (the affiliate) only when that publisher drives a measurable result — a lead, a sale, an app install, or another agreed conversion event. The key word is performance: unlike display advertising where you pay for impressions or clicks regardless of outcome, affiliate marketing means you only pay for results you actually get.
Three parties make the ecosystem work. The Advertiser (e.g., BankBazaar) defines the offer and pays commissions. The Publisher / Affiliate (a finance blog, comparison site, coupon platform, or YouTube channel) promotes the advertiser's products to their audience. The Network (Commission Junction, Impact, Admitad) sits in the middle — hosting the tracking infrastructure, managing payments, and providing the marketplace where advertisers and publishers find each other.
BankBazaar works with 1,000+ affiliate publishers — finance blogs, product comparison sites, and YouTube personal finance channels — who earn a commission every time a user they refer successfully applies for a credit card or loan. The advertiser pays only on approved applications, making it one of the highest-ROI acquisition channels in Indian fintech. There is no wasted spend on unqualified traffic — every rupee pays for a verified outcome.
Affiliate Flow
Advertiser sets offer → Affiliate promotes → User clicks tracked link → Converts → Network records event → Commission paid to affiliate
The three most common models define how and when affiliates get paid. CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) pays a fixed amount for each conversion — ideal for lead generation (e.g., ₹500 per approved credit card application). CPC (Cost Per Click) pays per click regardless of conversion — less common in performance marketing, higher risk for the advertiser. Revenue Share pays the affiliate a percentage of the sale value — common in e-commerce and SaaS, where the lifetime value of a customer is predictable and worth sharing.
The cookie window defines how long after a user's first click the affiliate gets credit if that user converts. A 30-day cookie means if a user clicks an affiliate link today and applies for a credit card 28 days later, the affiliate still earns the commission. Longer windows favor affiliates and encourage content publishers. Shorter windows (7 days or less) favor advertisers and suit high-intent, fast-converting products.
Most affiliate programs use last-click attribution — the affiliate whose link was clicked most recently before conversion gets 100% of the commission. This is simple but can undervalue content affiliates who introduce users early in the journey. Some sophisticated programs use assisted attribution or multi-touch models to share commission across all contributing publishers. Understanding attribution is critical when evaluating which affiliates are truly driving value vs. those winning on last-click alone.
Affiliate fraud is a real risk in performance marketing. Common tactics include click stuffing (firing fake clicks to steal last-click credit), cookie dropping (setting affiliate cookies without a genuine user interaction), and fake leads (submitting fabricated form data). Reputable networks provide fraud detection at the network level — but advertisers should also monitor for unusual conversion patterns and validate lead quality independently.
An in-house program (using Post Affiliate Pro or similar) gives you full control and lower costs but requires you to recruit and manage affiliates yourself. A network (Impact, CJ, Admitad) provides instant access to thousands of publishers and handles tracking and payments — better for scale, but comes with network fees.
Set a commission that makes economic sense. For leads: calculate your average customer value and decide what percentage you can pay as acquisition cost. For revenue share: 5–30% is typical depending on margin. Set performance tiers — top affiliates earn higher commissions — to incentivize your best publishers.
Use the network marketplace to list your program and attract publishers. Supplement with direct outreach to niche sites in your vertical — finance blogs, comparison sites, and review channels that already have your target audience. Personalize your outreach; the best affiliates receive dozens of program invitations daily.
Equip affiliates for success: branded banner ads in multiple sizes, text link copies, product data feeds (for comparison sites), and deep links to specific product pages. The easier you make it for affiliates to promote you accurately, the better your conversion rates and brand consistency.
Review affiliate performance monthly. Identify your top 20% of publishers driving 80% of conversions. Invest in those relationships — offer exclusive commission boosts, co-branded landing pages, or early access to new products. Let underperforming affiliates churn naturally. Quality of publisher relationships beats raw volume every time.
Read the blog for deep-dives into performance marketing, SEO strategy, and the data-driven thinking behind BankBazaar's growth channels.
Read the Blog →