Affiliate and PPC in 2025: A synergy that sells.

It wasn't always like this, but today, for many companies, affiliate and performance marketing work as a perfect synergistic duo. One brings scalability and precise targeting, the other creativity and new audiences. Together, they maximize sales and ROI. Let’s see how this combination works in practice and what trends are shaping the most successful campaigns.

Key Numbers and Predictions for 2025

• Forecast for global digital advertising spending: 650 billion USD (precedenceresearch.com)
  
  

• According to Dentsu, digital advertising budgets will increase by 7.9% in 2025
  
  

• Affiliate marketing is expected to grow from approximately 18.5 billion USD to approximately 31.7 billion by 2031 (Hostinger)
  
  

• Brands that combine influencer + affiliate activities see up to a 46% increase in sales from the affiliate channel.  designrush.com 

New Roles and Trends in Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is no longer just about discounts and cashback portals. Today, it encompasses a wide range of partners and formats – from influencers to content websites to purely performance-driven tools. For e-shops, it has thus become a fully-fledged performance channel that brings reach, creativity, and clearly measurable results.

New Types of Partners

• Influencers and micro-influencers: combine authentic content with trackable performance. 44% of B2C marketers identified micro-influencers as the most effective form of collaboration (HubSpot, 2024).
  
  

• CSS Partners (Comparison Shopping Services): promote products through Google Shopping Ads, take over part of PPC campaigns, and work purely on a performance basis (PNO, ROAS). Payment is always for real results, not upfront.
  
  
  

AI and Automation

Automation is the standard. Affiliate platforms and CSS leverage AI for:

• campaign management and bidding optimization
  
  

• conversion prediction
  
  

• content generation with affiliate links (product descriptions, personalized recommendations)
  
  

Emphasis on Quality and Transparency

Strategies with a large number of partners are no longer sufficient. E-shops are selecting quality partners who deliver real performance and added value. Transparent data, fair conditions, and reliable collaboration are the foundations of success.

New Payout Models

Alongside traditional CPS, hybrid models are emerging: a combination of fixed fees and performance components motivates partners for long-term cooperation and minimizes risk for advertisers. For CSS partners, compensation based on PNO or ROAS metrics is standard, closely resembling traditional performance marketing.

Trends in Performance Marketing 2025

Performance marketing is no longer just about turning on ads and watching CTR or CVR. In 2025, it is primarily about smart data management, strategic scaling, and precise performance optimization.

Hyper Testing Creatives

Performance marketing is fundamentally changing due to the rise of hyper testing and Meta's new Andromeda algorithm. The key success factor is no longer micro-targeting strategies but rather the diversity of creatives and a broad audience that AI has room to work with. Hyper testing means deploying many different concepts simultaneously and leaving the decision-making to the algorithm, which optimizes performance more precisely, faster, and with less need for manual intervention.

AI Campaigns on the Rise

In 2025, AI is driving entire campaigns. Tools utilizing machine learning create hyper-personalized content, optimize budgets in real-time, and streamline decision-making. Examples include systems like Performance Max from Google or Advantage+ from Meta, which decide where and to whom to show ads.

First-party Data as the New Foundation

With the decline of third-party cookies, we enter the era of first-party data. Companies are investing more in CRM systems, loyalty programs, and interactive formats to obtain quality data directly from customers. This information is then used for more precise targeting and building lookalike audiences.

Short Videos Dominate

Short-form video remains the most powerful format for engaging audiences. Formats like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts allow brands to deliver actionable messages quickly and efficiently, often with the help of AI tools for content creation and optimization.

Synergy of Performance and Affiliate Marketing

In 2025, affiliate and performance marketing are no longer separate channels; they complement each other and deliver maximum impact.

Affiliate as a Performance Channel

Affiliate is becoming an integral part of the performance mix. All conversions are measurable, evaluable, and optimizable. Brands can include affiliates in ROAS reports or performance channel management.

Testing New Strategies and Markets

Instead of large budgets for Google or Meta campaigns, affiliates can be used for quickly testing a new market or product. If it yields a positive ROI, it can then scale through traditional performance channels.

Dynamically Combining Campaigns

• Affiliate partners promote long-tail or content products.
  
  

• Performance campaigns target brand phrases and high-intent users.
  
  

• Remarketing captures visitors who came through affiliates but did not convert.
  
  
  

Data Sharing and Optimization

Data from affiliates (top-performing partners, conversion paths, pages) serves as input for performance campaigns. In turn, performance campaigns can support affiliate partners with coupon codes, exclusive offers, or dynamic creatives.

Use Case A – Entering a New Market with Minimal Risk

An e-shop in the fashion segment wanted to test the market in Norway, which had not yet been a priority. Instead of high investments in their own Google Ads, they utilized a CSS partner through affiliate, who launched PLA campaigns from their own account. The e-shop only paid for actual results – clicks or conversions – and quickly found out whether expanding marketing activities in this market was worthwhile.

Data from Selltoro, collected from July 1 to August 31, 2025. 

Use Case B – Supporting Seasonal Campaigns

During Black Friday and Christmas, competition in search is extreme. CSS partner increased product coverage in Google Shopping and brought additional performance that the e-shop could not cover with its budget alone. The affiliate model ensured that the e-shop paid only for actual results, minimizing the risk of ineffective spending.

Data from Selltoro, collected from November 1 to December 15, 2024.

Despite ideal scenarios, there are certain pitfalls in practice. Fragmented data streams, such as affiliate tracking through cookies combined with performance tracking through other tools, can cause errors or overlaps. Additionally, the risk of partner conflict arises, where performance campaigns may