PMA Member Resources

With responses from over 300 retailers, this study explores data such as:

• Network and Platform tracking options
• Age of affiliate program
• Number of approved publishers in programs as well as click and sale activity
• Publisher types
• and more

A Checklist for Brands and Retailers Creating and Updating Publisher Terms

Sections to consider include:

• Paid search and display advertising
• Software and toolbar advertising restrictions
• Social media advertising
• Represented use of trademarks and brand names
• Allowed, prohibited, and restricted publisher types
• Influencers and creators
• Subnetworks
• Order reversals and backorders
• Promo code distribution
• Program terms violations
• AI usage and content integrity guidelines
• and more!

AI is changing quickly, and so are the ways that affiliate marketers do their jobs. The PMA surveyed over 70 affiliate marketers about how they are using AI in their work. Questions included:

• How are you currently using an AI tool for affiliate marketing?
• How has your use of AI– and specifically AI-generated content or tools– changed in affiliate marketing over the last 18 months?
• How do you think the website citations that AI tools use for generating their responses will impact how affiliate is evaluated?
• If you could design an AI tool specifically for affiliate marketing, what would it solve?
• and more!

See the results plus read the top takeaways from questions posed.

The affiliate marketing industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past three years. From explosive growth that’s outpacing e-commerce to major shifts in how advertisers allocate budgets and publishers operate their businesses, the landscape looks fundamentally different from what it was just a few years ago.

This definitive study from the Performance Marketing Association examines the current state of performance marketing in the United States, based on data from eight leading affiliate networks, over 20,000 merchants, and more than 50 publishers across all major categories.

Get detailed breakdowns by industry sector, return on ad spend (ROAS) analysis, advertiser and publisher insights, and publisher sentiment.

• Google moves keeping publishers up at night
• Explosive growth – 49.8% in just three years
• How the industry is expanding beyond Retail
• Publisher types attracting more investment

Analysis includes:

• Rethink Attribution – Discover why affiliate attribution isn’t just about the last click—and why that mindset is holding your program back.
• Uncover Hidden Influence – See how affiliates contribute at every stage of the funnel, not just at the point of sale.
• Break Free from Last-Click – Learn why last-click models distort performance and undervalue key partners.
• Map the Full Customer Journey – Explore how data-backed models reveal the real paths customers take to conversion.
• Reward the Right Partners – Use smarter attribution to identify and compensate high-impact affiliates more fairly.
• Turn Insights into Action – Get practical tips on using attribution data to optimize commissions, content, and partner strategy.
• Real-World Results – Dive into case studies showing how advanced attribution boosts ROI and drives smarter decisions.
• Future-Proof Your Program – Prepare for a cookieless world with tools and models built for modern performance marketing.

Coupon and deal analysis includes:

• Unlocking Growth: Diversifying Your Affiliate Program
• Coupon and Deal Affiliate Strategies: Best Practices
• Navigating the Modern Consumer: Affluent and Price-Conscious
• Coupon Best Practices for Advertisers
• Coupon Creation and Formatting Guidelines
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Coupons Fueling Mobile Growth
• Holiday Season: The Impact of Coupons on Holiday Spending
• Coupons and Diverse Consumer Segments
• AI and Coupons
• and more!

Attribution options discussed in the paper include:

• First Click
• Last Click
• Coupon Code
• Preferred Publisher
• Custom Attribution
• Linear
• Time Decay
• Hybrid Attribution
• AI-Powered
• Privacy-First
• Event Attribution
• Email Attribution

This guide includes:

• What Are Subnetworks?
• Advantages for Advertisers in Working with Subnetworks
• Concerns and Considerations for Advertisers
• Pros and Cons for Affiliates in Working Through Subnetworks
• The Future of Subnetworks

The performance marketing industry can be complicated, with a large diversity of company types, marketing methods, supporting technologies and hundreds of thousands of people involved in the development of this emerging industry. Combine that with terms that may have different meanings in other areas of marketing, such as lead generation, display advertising, direct response, search, and interactive advertising, and it can be confusing. On top of grasping the sophisticated concepts, the performance marketing space has a lot of jargon, terminology and acronyms. The PMA’s Industry Advancement Council supports the standardization of terminology, or at least a common resource, to minimize confusion and enhance education.