Commerce in Cyberspace has significantly expanded from the very first time the Internet has been introduced to consumers all over the world. These days, virtually all entrepreneurs in their right mind have already made efforts to make themselves known online by means of one online marketing strategy or another. During the Internets infancy, businesses would promote themselves through online ads and email campaigns. Now, more strategies for Internet marketing have emerged and perhaps the best example of such development is the creation of the associate program.

Associate marketing, in the form of associate programs, have significantly increased in popularity as the leading strategy for endorsing online businesses. An associate program works by tasking people, known as associates, to help invite visitors, potential subscribers, and ultimately, paying clients to the website being promoted. Associates are rewarded through special privileges which may include services or even cash.

A parallel practice to an associate program would be the act of rewarding finders with money for referring potential customers to a store or an agent in the physical world. With associate programs rewards are accounted for using schemes that are based on predetermined values such as per visitor, per subscriber, or per actual buyer. These schemes are popularly referred to as pay-per-click, pay-per-lead- and pay-per-sale, respectively. Many online entrepreneurs want as much as possible to use associate programs that require them to pay only when there are actual sales, however, the other arrangements can be more effective because they can attract more people, who may potentially become paying clients.