200+ Affiliate Marketing Statistics 2024

Whether you’re looking to get started in affiliate marketing, or already a seasoned professional earning 6-figures, these affiliate marketing statistics will give you an insight into just how lucrative the industry is. I have broken these stats down into different areas such as affiliate marketing revenue stats and affiliate marketing social media stats to help you find the answer to any questions you might have.

Top Affiliate Marketing Stats

Affiliate marketing is expected to reach a value of $40 billion by the year 2030. It’s a sought-after venture by not only individuals but also global brands, and considering the average earnings of an affiliate marketer is roughly $8,038 per month, it’s no surprise. Affiliate marketing has a low barrier to entry and comes with high rewards, in fact, currently, affiliate marketing contributes to around 15% of all revenue generated online.

Here are some of my top affiliate marketing statistics:

• 20% of brand marketers say affiliate marketing is their most successful channel.
• 49% of brands work with affiliate marketers.
• 16% of all internet orders in the US are a result of affiliate marketing.
• 2.8 years is the average experience of an affiliate marketer.
• Affiliate marketing contributes to around 15% of all revenue generated online.
• $8,038 per month is the average earnings of an affiliate marketer.
• 1 in 6 affiliate marketers make $50,000 a year.
• 42.9% say affiliate marketing brings more revenue than ad monetization.
• 44% of all affiliate revenue is generated by the retail sector.
• 8 out of 10 brands (80%) use affiliate marketing programs.

Global Affiliate Marketing Stats

The beauty of affiliate marketing is that it’s not just restricted to one country, it spans across the globe. Although the USA holds the majority market share with 39%, there’s plenty more to go around in other countries where the global market value is expected to reach $40 billion in the next 6 years! Here are some global affiliate marketing statistics:

• Affiliate marketing is worth more than $17 billion as of 2023.
• Affiliate marketing has increased market value by $4 billion ($13 billion in 2016).
• By 2030, the value of the affiliate marketing industry is predicted to reach $40 billion.
• The global affiliate marketing industry is expected to grow to a market size of $27.8 billion by the end of 2027. 
• Affiliate marketing is growing at a rate of 10% every year.
• The global affiliate marketing industry is predicted to increase by 63% over the next 4 years.  
• America has a 39% stake in the worldwide affiliate marketing sector, higher than any other country.
• Google Searches for “Affiliate Marketing” doubled between 2015 and 2021.

General Affiliate Marketing Stats

This selection of general statistics on affiliate marketers didn’t apply to the other sections and they focus on affiliate marketing professionals:

• Google searches for “Affiliate Marketing” have more than doubled since 2016.
• 50% of people who visit affiliate sites use phones or tablets.
• 16% of all internet orders in the US are a result of affiliate marketing.
• 40% of digital marketers see affiliate marketing as a critical skill.
• 63% of affiliate marketers are worried about fraud.
• 30.9% have experienced affiliate marketing fraud in past campaigns.

Affiliate Marketer Age & Location Stats

The majority of affiliate marketers are located in the USA and are male. However, 75% of affiliate marketing managers are female. Managers usually work on behalf of a brand, facilitating affiliate partnerships or programs, whereas affiliate marketers could refer to solopreneurs. Here are some stats on age and location:

• 24% of affiliate marketers are aged between 25 to 34.
• 10% of affiliate marketers are aged between 45 to 54.
• 54% of affiliate marketers are male.
• 43% of affiliate marketers are female.
• 75% of affiliate marketing managers are female.
• 32% of the affiliate marketing industry is between the age group 35 to 44.
• 57% of affiliate marketers are located in the United States.
• 10% of affiliate marketers are located in Canada.
• 2% of affiliate marketers are located in India.

Affiliate Marketer Product & Promotion Stats

Product choice is a big deal in affiliate marketing, after all, this is what you are effectively trying to ‘sell’. This is why it’s surprising that 35.1% of affiliate marketers choose products based on personal interest and experience. For the other 65%, trying to ‘market’ products with no interest or experience can be an incredibly challenging task, if not completely ineffective. Here are some stats on products and promotions:

• 35.1% of affiliate marketers choose products based on personal interest and experience.
• 25.1% choose products based on commission rates.
• 63.9% promote physical products and services.
• 51.9% promote digital products and services.

• 79.3% of affiliate marketers are embracing or using AI content creation.
• 75.5% of affiliate marketers say that time-sensitive promotions have little to no impact.
• Affiliate marketers who use email marketing earn 66.4% more than those who don’t.
• Affiliate marketers who are experienced are using email marketing 47.8% more than beginners.

Affiliate Marketer Teams & Experience Stats

Did you know that most affiliate marketers work from home? As a popular solo venture for many entrepreneurs, bloggers, creators, and influencers, it’s no surprise that home working dominates when it comes to affiliate marketing. However, this can come with its downsides, for example, 64.4% of affiliate marketers do not socialize with other marketers, which can lead to isolation, lack of networking, and reduced learning. Here are some affiliate marketing statistics on teams and experience:

• 55% of affiliate marketers work from home.
• 26% switch between working at the office or home.
• 20% and under have a regular commute to an office.
• 49% of brands work with affiliate marketers.
• 83.1% of affiliate marketers say that they are optimistic about the future of affiliate marketing.

• 2.8 years is the average experience of an affiliate marketer.
• 64.4% of affiliate marketers do not socialize with other marketers.
• 77.1% of affiliate marketers are solopreneurs.
• 2.3 people is the average affiliate marketing team size.
• Affiliate marketers that earn over 6 figures annually have 6.17x more team members.
• 31.3% of affiliate marketers earning 6+ figures annually considered giving up affiliate marketing at some point.
• 26.9% of marketers report a lack of support from affiliate managers as a major challenge.

Affiliate Marketing Brand Stats

Brands are heavily involved in affiliate marketing, some even go as far as partnering with competitors as it can drive revenue for both parties. However, the most effective form of affiliate partnerships for brands is to partner with influencers and creators, according to 40% of brands. Here are some more stats on brands and partnerships:

• Affiliate marketing companies have received funding from investors for over $1.5 billion.
• 65% of CFOs planned to increase their investment in affiliate marketing after COVID.
• 57% of brands who use technology partners, use them as affiliate partners.
• 22% of brands were unaware they could recruit affiliates in this way.

In a survey about the types of affiliate partnerships brands made in 2022:

• 40% of survey respondents said they mostly partner with influencers and creators.
• 39% said they partnered with media houses.
• 36% said price comparisons.
• 35% said bloggers.
• 34% said technology partners.
• 33% said discounts and coupons.

Affiliate Marketing Budget & Revenue Stats

One of the main benefits of affiliate marketing is revenue, it’s one of the primary reasons businesses and individuals get started in affiliate marketing – for the money. When 80% of affiliate marketers earn up to $80,000 per year, who can blame them? Even 17% of brands claim to spend 80-100% of their marketing budgets on affiliate marketing, showing that there has to be a positive ROI there!

• Affiliate marketing contributes to around 15% of all revenue generated online.
• 31% say that affiliate marketing is one of their top three sources of revenue.
• 9% say that affiliate marketing is their top revenue source.
• 16% of e-commerce sales in Canada and the US come from affiliate marketing.
• Affiliate marketing has been making 10% more revenue every year since 2015.
• Affiliate marketing makes $1.4 billion every year – with more than 50 million people using it.
• 5% to 25% of overall online sales for major brands come from affiliate marketing. 
• Marketers lost $1.4 billion in revenue in 2020 alone due to affiliate marketing fraud.
• In one case study of an affiliate marketing campaign, a brand experienced an increase in revenue by $330,000.

34% said affiliate marketing will become more significantly important as a revenue source.

• 46% said, “it will become more important.”
• 4% said it will become less important as a revenue source.
• 4.3% of companies use product-level payments in affiliate marketing.
• 4.3% of companies use tiered incentives in affiliate marketing.

Salary & Earnings

Most people want to get started with affiliate marketing because of the huge earnings associated with it. Unfortunately, only 1% of affiliate marketers achieve 6 to 7 figures monthly and only 15% of affiliate marketers earn between $80K and $1 million per year. That’s not to put people off, but affiliate marketing is incredibly challenging and requires, knowledge, experience, and dedication. Here are some stats on salary and earnings:

• $55,000 is the average base salary for an affiliate marketer in the US.
• $8,038 per month is the average earnings of an affiliate marketer.
• Affiliate marketers earn 9.45x more with 3+ years of experience compared to beginners. 
• Affiliate marketers earning $10k+ per month are 1.5x more likely to socialize with other affiliate marketers.
• Affiliate marketers earning $10k+ per month are 7x more likely to attend in-person conferences.
• 66% of affiliate marketers earning $10K+ per month have taken affiliate marketing courses.
• Beginners with less than 3 years of experience who take affiliate marketing courses earn 57.7% more than those who don’t.
• High-earning affiliate marketers, those over $10K per month diversify traffic sources 21.56% more than the average.

• 81.2% of affiliate marketers are making over $20K per year.
• 15% of affiliate marketers earn between $80K and $1 million per year.
• 1% of affiliate marketers achieve 6 to 7 figures monthly.
• $54,251 is the average yearly salary of an affiliate marketer working in the USA.
• 57.5% of affiliate marketers earn less than $10,000 from affiliate marketing (2021).
• 1 in 6 affiliate marketers make $50,000 a year.
• 4% of affiliate marketers earn over $150,000 from affiliate marketing.

Affiliate income can be categorized into four groups:

• Beginner: $0 to $1,000 per month.
• Intermediate: $1,000 to $10,000 per month.
• Advanced: $10,000 to $100,000 per month.
• Super affiliate: over $100,000 per month.

80% fall into the beginner to advanced categories, earning anywhere from $0 to $80,000 annually.

Commissions & Platforms

Some affiliate programs offer very generous commissions (high-ticket affiliate marketing) – in particular, the programs with recurring commissions are very lucrative. However, some commissions can be very low, depending on the type of product and the platform, for example, SaaS products can offer some of the highest affiliate rates with up to 70% commissions.

• Affiliates of Bluehost products can earn about $65 to $130 for each sale.
• 99% of affiliate programs use the CPA (cost per action) payment model for affiliates.
• SaaS products can offer some of the highest affiliate rates with up to 70% commissions.
• Amazon made $1.28 billion in revenue through affiliate programs in the first quarter of 2023. 
• Some SaaS products offer commissions for affiliates as low as 20%.

Brands & Publishers

Just because brands are earning money through affiliate marketing, it doesn’t mean they can’t monetize in other ways, for example, 69.4% of affiliate marketing websites use ads for extra monetization. It’s important to distinguish between affiliate revenue and other revenue when reporting though! Here are some stats on brands and publishers:

• 20% of yearly affiliate marketing revenue 20% is reported by 65% of retailers.
• 69.4% of affiliate marketing websites use ads for extra monetization.
• 82% of websites earning 6+ figures annually monetize with both display ads and affiliate products.
• 42.9% say affiliate marketing brings more revenue than ad monetization.
• 62% of publishers state that e-commerce is one of their top revenue sources.
• 56% of affiliate advertisers and agencies increased their affiliate channel revenue from March 2020.
• 17% of brands say they spend 80 to 100% of their marketing budgets on affiliate marketing.
• 34% of brands say their affiliate marketing spend falls between 21-40% of their marketing budgets.
• 80% of advertisers reserve around 10% of their marketing budget for affiliate marketing.

Stats by Industry

Every industry is different when it comes to affiliate marketing, it will have different audiences, commission rates, and revenue. This can help newcomers with choosing a niche, for example, 44% of all affiliate revenue is generated by the retail sector and only 16% is generated by the travel and leisure industry. Check out these industry-related affiliate marketing stats:

• 44% of all affiliate revenue is generated by the retail sector.
• 25% is generated by the telecom and media sectors.
• 16% is generated by the travel and leisure industry.
• The home and garden industry had the highest growth rate in affiliate marketing of 209.72% between 2021 and 2022.
• The fashion industry had a growth rate of 63.87%.
• The food industry had a growth rate of 59.57%.
• The child industry had a growth rate of 35.06%.

Affiliate Marketing Program & Platform Stats

In order to start with affiliate marketing, you must join a program or a network (marketplace). A program is an individual affiliate structure set up by a brand whereas a network is a collection of brands where everything is managed in one dashboard. For example, in the USA alone, there are 11,400 affiliate programs. Here are some general stats on platforms and programs:

• 83% of brands and publishers get new affiliates via network dashboards.
• 8 out of 10 brands (80%) use affiliate marketing programs.
• 94% of publications use a number of different affiliate marketing programs.
• 46.6% of affiliate marketers have no preference for affiliate networks or in-house programs.
• 24.46% of affiliate marketers find out about affiliate programs on merchant websites.
• 71% of affiliate publishers in the USA operate with 3+ networks. 

• In the USA there are 11,400 affiliate programs. 
• B2C affiliate programs account for 59.32% of all affiliate programs. 
• 48.9% of affiliate programs pay a flat rate. 
• 42.4% of affiliate programs pay affiliates a percentage of sales. 
• Only 27% of influencers prefer joining affiliate networks.
• 73% prefer joining in-house programs that operate themselves.

Affiliate Platform & Network Stats

Amazon Associates is the most popular affiliate marketing program used by 58.5% of affiliate marketers. However, the commissions are fairly low and users are required to make 3 sales in the first 90 days to qualify for the program. Choosing the right program is essential and can impact your revenue, for example, Bluehost paid out $5 million to affiliates in just one year! Check out these stats on platforms:

• Amazon Associates is the largest global affiliate program with a 43.7% market share.
• C.J. Affiliate has a market share of 7.67%.
• Rakuten has a market share of 7.24%.
• ShareASale has a market share of 6.97% (Acquired by AWIN).
• AWIN has a market share of 5.47%.
• Amazon Associates, used by 58.5% of affiliate marketers is the most popular affiliate network.
• Affiliate marketers that earn $10k+/month use an average of 3.03 affiliate networks.
• 24.6% of affiliate marketers use Clickbank.
• 21.8% of affiliate marketers use ShareASale.
• 20.5% of affiliate marketers use CJ affiliate.
• 15.7% of affiliate marketers use Impact.
• 11.7% of affiliate marketers use Awin.
• Bluehost paid out $5 million to affiliates in just one year.

• 84% of online publishers are using Amazon Associates.
• 94% of publishers that use Amazon Associates are involved in 2 or more affiliate programs.
• 39% of publishers that use Amazon Associates use 3 or more affiliate marketing programs.
• 20% of publishers that use Amazon Associates use 5 programs simultaneously.
• Over 900,000 marketers have joined Amazon Associates.
• Over 700,000 marketers have joined ShareASale in second with over 700,000 members.

Affiliate Marketing Niche Stats

Choosing a niche is essential when getting into affiliate marketing. It’s the only way you can stand out from the competition and get your foot in the door. It will also inform your content, product choices, and revenue. For example, the fashion industry is responsible for 19% of all affiliate marketing programs. Take a look at these affiliate marketing niche statistics:

• 25% of all affiliate programs are in the fashion industry.
• The most profitable niche in affiliate marketing is health and wellness, worth over $5.5 trillion.
• The 3 most profitable affiliate marketing niches are Education/E-Learning, Travel, and Beauty/Skincare.
• 14% of Instagram affiliate marketers are in the lifestyle niche.
• The beauty industry is the slowest-growing affiliate marketing niche, with 17.24% growth YOY.
• The fashion industry is responsible for 19% of all affiliate marketing programs.
• Sports and outdoor products are responsible for 15% of affiliate marketing programs.
• Health and wellness products are responsible for 11% of affiliate marketing programs.
• Toys are the fastest-growing product category for affiliate marketing with 109% growth in the last year.

• Software is the second fastest-growing product category for affiliate marketing with 103% growth.
• Home improvement is the third fastest-growing product category for affiliate marketing with 86% growth.
• The retail industry has the highest share of affiliate marketing revenue with 43%.
• The telecom and media industry has the second-highest share of affiliate marketing revenue with 24%.
• The travel industry has the third-highest share of affiliate marketing revenue with 16%.
• 13.8% of Instagram influencers who earn affiliate income are in the lifestyle niche.
• The lifestyle niche makes up the highest market share of Instagram affiliate marketers with 11.59%.

Affiliate Marketing Niche Revenue

The niche you choose for affiliate marketing can affect the revenue that you generate, although it’s not that visible on the ground level. According to one report, the highest average monthly income is $15,551 in the education and e-learning niche whereas the lowest is $555 in the sustainability & environment niche. Take a look at these other revenue niche stats:

• Affiliate marketers in the education and e-learning niche earn an average monthly income of $15,551.
• Affiliate marketers in the travel niche earn an average monthly income of $13,847.
• Affiliate marketers in the beauty and skincare niche earn an average monthly income of $12,475.
• Affiliate marketers in the finance niche earn an average monthly income of $9,296.
• Affiliate marketers in the technology niche earn an average monthly income of $7,418.
• Affiliate marketers in the digital marketing niche earn an average monthly income of $7,217.
• Affiliate marketers in the health & fitness niche earn an average monthly income of $7,194.
• Affiliate marketers in the e-commerce niche earn an average monthly income of $5,967.
• Affiliate marketers in the home & garden niche earn an average monthly income of $5,095.
• Affiliate marketers in the sports & outdoors niche earn an average monthly income of $4,849.
• Affiliate marketers in the entertainment niche earn an average monthly income of $4,416.
• Affiliate marketers in the food & nutrition niche earn an average monthly income of $3,015.
• Affiliate marketers in the fashion niche earn an average monthly income of $2,049.
• Affiliate marketers in the personal development niche earn an average monthly income of $1,566.
• Affiliate marketers in the parenting & family niche earn an average monthly income of $1,145.
• Affiliate marketers in the arts & crafts niche earn an average monthly income of $1,041.
• Affiliate marketers in the pets & animals niche earn an average monthly income of $920.
• Affiliate marketers in the sustainability & environment niche earn an average monthly income of $555.

Affiliate Marketing Social Media Stats

Social media is one of the primary channels for affiliate marketing promotion, especially with influencer partnerships. For example, the average affiliate marketer uses 3.02 social platforms simultaneously and 10.59% of brands use influencers for affiliate marketing. Here are some affiliate social media stats:

75.8% of affiliate marketers use Facebook for affiliate product promotions:

• 61.4% use Instagram.
• 42.2% use Pinterest.
• 36.9% use YouTube videos.
• 31.1% use Twitter.
• 29.6% use TikTok.
• 19% use LinkedIn.

• 85.8% of affiliate marketers who use social media to drive traffic have under 10,000 followers.
• 20.3% of affiliate marketers network with other marketers through social media.
• The average affiliate marketer uses 3.02 social platforms simultaneously.
• 10.59% of brands use Influencers for affiliate marketing
• 67% of affiliate marketers engage with customers through social media.
• 29% say affiliate marketing is an effective marketing strategy when working with influencers.
• 74% say that brands compensate them with discount codes or affiliate links, which they can use to generate commissions.

Affiliate Marketing Performance & Metrics Stats

Tracking the performance of your affiliate marketing campaigns is the only way to understand, refine, and improve them. For example, affiliate marketers have seen an increase of up to 240% in revenue by providing valuable content. See these other general stats:

• 20% of marketers say affiliate marketing is their most successful channel.
• Marketers earn 47.16% more with trend-based product selection than choosing based on commissions or experience.
• Affiliate marketing links receive over 5 billion clicks per year.
• 25.1% of affiliate marketers have been impacted negatively by Google’s algorithm updates.
• 47.4% of affiliate marketers affected by algorithm updates changed their content strategy.
• 63% of marketers are concerned about affiliate marketing fraud. 
• 74% of U.S. consumers visit several affiliate websites before purchasing.
• Affiliate marketers have seen an increase of up to 240% in revenue by providing valuable content.

Traffic & Promotion

One of the key challenges, according to 45.3% of affiliate marketers, is getting traffic. For beginners without an audience, this can be an incredibly challenging task. Here are some stats on affiliate marketing traffic and promotion:

• 69% of affiliate marketers rely on SEO to get traffic to their websites.
• 67% of affiliate marketers use social media to connect with possible customers.
• 65% of affiliate marketers use blogging to get traffic.
• 78.3% of affiliate marketers use SEO as a primary traffic source.
• 56,673 is the average monthly website traffic for affiliate marketers.
• 35.5% of affiliate marketers use organic social media as a primary traffic source.
• 22.8% of affiliate marketers use email marketing as a primary traffic source. 

• Marketers with 6+ years of experience rely 26.7% less on organic social media traffic when compared with beginners. 
• 45.3% of affiliate marketers say their biggest challenge is getting traffic. 
• 50% of affiliate traffic originates from mobile devices.
• 28% of affiliate marketers use blogs to promote affiliate links.
• 18.7% use review sites.
• 14.8% use coupon sites.
• 59% of brands say that affiliate marketers generate traffic and leads for landing pages.

Tracking, Acquisition, Conversions

Did you know that 54% of brand marketers claim that affiliate marketing is in their top three customer acquisition channels? Affiliate marketing can help brands in many ways, other than driving revenue. Take a look at some of these stats:

• For 40% of US businesses, affiliate programs are the most important client acquisition method.
• Brands get an average ROI of $15 for every $1 in affiliate marketing (1400% return).  
• $149.76 is the average affiliate website RPM. 
• 0.5% to 1% is the average affiliate marketing conversion rate.
• 64.8% of marketers use Google Analytics to track affiliate conversions.
• 20% of brand marketers say that affiliate marketing is the most important customer acquisition channel.
• 54% of brand marketers say that affiliate marketing is in their top three customer acquisition channels.

Brands were asked to choose the attribution models they use for partner marketing campaigns:

• 44% of brands use first-interaction attribution in affiliate marketing campaigns.
• 36% use last-click attribution.
• 28% use last non-direct click attribution.
• 28% use linear attribution.
• 25% use multi-touch attribution.

Brand Stats

Finally, I have some brand affiliate marketing stats that link to performance outcomes:

• 58% of brands use affiliate marketing to increase their sales volume, however, it mostly helps with increasing brand awareness.
• 50% of brands say affiliate marketing helps with sales volume.
• 50% of brands say affiliate marketing helps with new customer acquisition.
• 13% of brands say affiliate marketing helps to improve on-site customer experience.
• 17% of brands say affiliate marketing does diversify their marketing spend.
• 60% of brands find affiliate marketing to be an effective way to increase conversions from landing pages.
• 35% of brands say that affiliate marketing boosts customer loyalty.
• 59% of brands struggle to understand how affiliate marketing impacts other marketing channels.
• 81% of brands use affiliate programs to boost brand awareness and drive sales.

SOURCES

• Proficient Market Insights
• Uniqodo
• Streamline
• Amazon
• BloggingX
• Google Trends
• Mediakix
• Backlinko
• Affise
• Statista
• Pepperjam
• Aspire
• Zippia
• Crunchbase
• Digiday
• AWIN
• Impact
• Authority Hacker
• eMarketer
• Cleverbridge
• Forrester
• Wonder
• Knometrix
• Refersion
• SaaS Scout
• Finances Online
• CyberCash Worldwide
• CallHippo
• IAB
• ISSUU
• Blogging Wizard
• Google Trends
• DemandSage
• Influencer Marketing Hub
• Kinsta
• Affise