The word combination "affiliate  marketing" has been a very hot topic in  economic disputes since the end of the 20th century. This phrase appeared due to the wide spread of the Internet. But the concept is considered to be as old as hills.  An  "affiliate" means a child or an offspring. As a child derives from and remains connected to the parents, so does an affiliate.

Today property for sale is a highly competitive sphere with the increase in house costs and profits an agency is able to make by purchasing. Real estate marketing is also an area where not only real estate agencies are trying to close a sale, there are also affiliates earning commissions from every agency for each deal.

Affiliate marketing is the online equivalent of a classic practice known in business world. It implies paying a fee for the attraction of new customers to a business. In the terminology of affiliate marketing a real estate agent is called a merchant. And the network of online websites that a real estate agent is advertising on are known as the affiliates.

After founding a network, affiliates will be paid when they send traffic in order to generate leads. Payments are usually based on a certain amount for each visit, registrant or for each sale. Very often affiliate marketing is called a no-lose strategy. This is because contrary to other real estate marketing techniques, no payment is made to affiliates till actual results are generated.