An increasing number of SMEs are recognising the opportunities the web offers for promoting and selling their products and services, both domestically and in international markets. However, they often report slow growth in online contacts, particularly at the international level.
In most cases, one of the core issues is low brand awareness: the company is not yet well known, and — more critically — its positioning is unclear, which from the customer's perspective translates into uncertainty about what is being offered and at what level of quality.
To address stagnating leads and flat sales, one particularly effective technique is affiliate marketing.
What Is Affiliate Marketing and What Results Can It Deliver for Exporting Companies?
Affiliate marketing is a technique based on agreements with third-party websites (known as publishers) which commit to publishing content on behalf of the company. This content includes one or more links directing visitors to commercial pages where they can take up an offer and complete a purchase.
The key advantage lies in contextual relevance: content published on a partner's website is tailored to the interests of that site's visitors, guiding user intent and giving them specific reasons to click the link and potentially make a purchase. This makes it a highly targeted form of promotion — meaning that for the same level of investment, the company reaches a more relevant audience and generates higher-quality leads.
The agreement is typically based on either a Pay per Conversion model — whereby the publisher receives a fee once the lead completes a purchase — or a Pay per Lead model, which rewards the publisher for directing a user and establishing a connection between that user and the company (for example, when the user submits their email address). The publisher receives their fee even if the user does not convert immediately, provided they do so within a defined time window, as a tracking code is generated at the point of the first click.
This model can account for up to 20% of international revenue, thanks to its ability to reach users who are already in the decision-making phase. By partnering with review portals, local comparison sites, or blogs and content creators, affiliate marketing has been shown in numerous cases to generate leads at costs 30–40% lower than traditional paid campaigns.
International Affiliate Platforms and Networks
Globally, this sales channel surpassed $37 billion in value in 2025, with annual growth approaching 15%. It is estimated that over 80% of international brands use affiliate programmes to expand their digital presence.
The opportunity is highly compelling; however, companies often struggle to plan and manage contacts with publishers, as building a partner network requires time that is not always compatible with export development timelines. To address this, businesses can leverage existing networks managed by specialist platforms.
The four largest and most effective international platforms include, at the top of the ranking, Awin: born from the merger of Zanox and Affiliate Window, it offers one of the broadest and most comprehensive performance marketing programmes in the affiliate space, attracting 230 new affiliates per day and hosting over 6,000 affiliate programmes across multiple sectors. Its advertiser roster includes Zalando, Kiko, Carrefour, and Fastweb.
Also noteworthy is TradeDoubler, a Swedish company founded in Stockholm in 1999, which today also has an office in Milan. TradeTracker, founded in the Netherlands and now headquartered in Dubai, is a platform with a strong focus on performance marketing and a presence in nearly thirty countries, including Italy. Worldfilia, based in San Marino, rounds out the selection with close to three thousand active publishers and a track record dating back to 2012, specifically supporting Italian companies seeking to grow their online sales.
In total, there are over 70 international affiliate networks — including, in addition to those already mentioned, CJ Affiliate, Impact, FlexOffers, Adtraction, ClickDealer, Admitad, AccessTrade, and ClickBank, among others.
In essence, affiliate marketing is a methodology that opens doors to a vast number of websites (the publishers) and enables companies to activate quality leads with a higher degree of contextual relevance, connecting exporting businesses with commercial profiles that demonstrate a stronger propensity to spend.