Affiliate and Digital PR: How These Channels Work Together to Drive Brand Growth
The affiliate marketing channel, with its diverse range of partner types, frequently intersects with many areas of digital marketing. A common area of exploration for brands is the blurred line between affiliate marketing and digital PR. While brands often leverage affiliate programs to support digital PR teams, the relationship between the two can be unclear. Many brands believe that affiliate programs will automatically generate hundreds of links, but the relationship between affiliate marketing and PR is more nuanced.
Below are some FAQs that can help brands better understand how these two channels interact. Our goal is to provide a starter for 10 on why both areas are vital for brands looking to grow in today’s ever-changing digital landscape.
Skimlinks is a subnetwork—essentially a network within a network. Editorial publications join the Skimlinks platform to access a wide range of partner brands and automate the process of adding affiliate tracking to relevant links within editorial content on their sites.
Instead of signing up for multiple affiliate programs across different networks (e.g., Rakuten or Awin), publications only need to join Skimlinks. Skimlinks then facilitates the partnership, adding tracking to the content links of brands featured in articles. The publication earns a commission whenever a sale is made through these affiliate links.
Skimlinks plays a significant role in digital PR, as many large media houses use it. Today, commercial agreements, such as those facilitated through Skimlinks, are increasingly used to secure media exposure. PR teams are frequently asked whether the brand they represent is utilising platforms like Skimlinks to manage these relationships.
While links without affiliate tracking generally carry more SEO value, it's still beneficial to include affiliate links when necessary. At Genie Goals, our stance is that if you can secure the same PR exposure without using an affiliate link, you should. However, when the affiliate link is required to gain media coverage, it still adds significant value.
The link may not offer the same SEO benefits, but it associates your brand with a prominent publication, boosting brand awareness and exposure. In a holistic marketing strategy, this is still valuable. For example, one of our clients was able to secure a feature in The Independent’s IndyBest guide after providing an affiliate link—something that PR hadn’t been able to achieve in isolation.
This is a common question, and the answer is more complex. Skimlinks is an automated tool that monetises links at scale. While it may append affiliate tracking to existing editorial links, brands can curate their Skimlinks list to exclude specific publications if desired. However, this should be approached cautiously, as some publications may be commercially sensitive to such requests. But it's also worthwhile as a brand to understand that the tracking could be added to links that previously had no affiliate tracking attributed to them.
Ultimately, it’s up to brands to weigh up the potential exposure opportunities Skimlinks combined with PR outreach brings. If you are getting a significant amount of PR coverage and your contacts aren’t asking if you are using Skimlinks, then yes, maybe there is a case for not paying for exposure you are already getting. However, if your PR efforts are slower in gaining traction, it may be beneficial to integrate affiliate tracking into some of those relationships for added commercial benefit.
It’s important to note that securing exposure through affiliate links is not an automated process. You still need outreach to ensure your products are placed in the right editorial content. While some placements may be driven by commission-based links, achieving broader media coverage requires proactive PR engagement.
Focus on building relationships with editors, sending relevant products for testing, and providing expert commentary on hot topics. Listicles and other editorial placements can offer long-term value, particularly when they target high-ranking keywords. Additionally, paying for inclusion can help initiate valuable relationships that may lead to more exposure on a commission-based model later on.
However, effort is still required at multiple levels to secure coverage, whether through editorial relationships or commercial agreements.
In many cases, the PR and affiliate teams engage with different contacts. PR teams typically interact with editors directly, while affiliate teams often engage with commercial editors or affiliate managers. To make the most of each channel, both teams must communicate effectively.
Sharing PR outreach targets, highlighting strong existing relationships, and identifying areas where you want to improve relationships can help both teams work together. The affiliate team can offer insights into which publications are already working with your brand through platforms like Skimlinks, providing valuable information to optimise your affiliate program and enhance PR outreach.
Brands succeed when they foster collaboration between their affiliate and PR teams. Digital marketing channels rarely operate in isolation, and the affiliate channel can significantly support your digital PR strategy. Rather than viewing the crossover as a challenge, embrace it to maximise exposure and growth for your brand.
