The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing: Strategy, Partnerships, and Long-Term Growth

When digital marketing strategies shift with the speed of light, few voices cut through the noise with as much clarity and insight as Olga Denisova, CMO at GotPhoto.

During the conversation hosted by Anton Zelenin, Senior Marketing Manager at Tapfiliate, the experts dive into the strategic evolution of affiliate marketing. Olga also shares her experience leading marketing at top digital brands, including SEMrush and now GotPhoto.

In this episode of Tapfiliate’s Podcast, she breaks down how affiliate marketing is shifting from a transactional model to one built on trust, long-term value, and true partnership.

Marketing Beyond Channels: Strategy Before Tactics

When businesses dream of scaling their marketing, they often jump to tactics or trendy tools. But Olga believes it all starts with the fundamentals: timeline, budget, and team bandwidth.

“Often when we think about scaling, we obsess over tools or trending tactics like AI,” she said. “But scaling effectively means understanding your timeline, your budget, and your internal capabilities.”

There are three core questions every business should answer before committing to any channel:

1. What timeline are you working with? Do you need quick wins, or are you building long-term growth?
2. What is your budget reality? Can you afford to invest upfront (as in brand campaigns), or do you need results-first spending (as in affiliate marketing)?
3. What is your internal bandwidth? Some channels demand more hands-on content production and management than others.

These questions will help you prioritize channels and also explain why affiliate marketing can be such a strategic fit.

Affiliate is one of the few channels where you pay for results. And in times of limited budget and big goals, that’s powerful.

Olga DenisovaCMO, GotPhoto

Affiliate Marketing: Not the Plug-and-Play Channel

Unlike paid media, which can be turned on and off like a tap, affiliate marketing requires a more upfront investment in relationships. Setting up an affiliate program is the easy part. The challenge is building strong, lasting relationships with the right partners.

What does it mean in terms of marketing strategy? Treating affiliate marketing as a plug-and-play solution is a way to nowhere. Instead, Olga sees it as part of a long-term game where partners effectively become an extension of your marketing team.

“It’s not just about reach; it’s about shared values and shared outcomes,” she said.

Avoiding the Vanity Trap: Focus on Revenue, Not Clicks

Many marketers still fall into the trap of tracking traffic or clicks. However, successful affiliate programs focus on deeper-funnel metrics, such as purchases, upgrades, and retention.

Programs should reward outcomes, not activity. Whether that means paying for completed sales or even win-back conversions, the key is aligning payouts with your business goals.

SEMrush: Lessons from Scaling a Powerhouse Program

At SEMrush, Olga inherited an already-successful affiliate program. Her challenge was to scale it beyond its saturation point. Her team tackled this by:

• Sharpened ICP targeting and vetted affiliates manually
• Stopped open recruitment in favor of direct outreach
• Focused on deeper collaboration with a smaller, curated partner list

This holistic approach turned affiliates into true partners.

GotPhoto: When Past Success Doesn’t Translate

When Olga joined GotPhoto, she applied her SEMrush playbook. However, it didn’t go as planned. Despite building a program quickly and elegantly, the initial rollout flopped. Why?

The specifics of GotPhoto’s ICP (for professional volume photographers) meant that even seemingly relevant affiliates failed to convert.

“We had traffic, we had trials, but no purchases,” Olga recalled. “It taught me how niche-specific affiliate success really is.”

The solution came through:

• Tightening ICP alignment, vetting affiliates manually.
• Shifting from broad to targeted outreach, favoring personal invitations over open networks.
• Treating affiliates as partners, rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

The Future is Creator-Driven

Currently, the affiliate landscape is evolving into what we now refer to as “creator marketing.”

Affiliates are no longer just blog owners with backlinks. They’re influencers, micro-creators, educators, and niche community leaders. Olga believes the most successful programs will be those that build trust, not just traffic.

Smaller voices with loyal followings will have more impact than traditional high-traffic publishers. And brands that embrace partnership, not just performance, will win.

Partner Marketing: A Mindset Shift

To reflect this evolution, Olga has rebranded her affiliate teams at both SEMrush and GotPhoto to “Partner Marketing.”

You don’t need a million affiliates. You need ten great ones who truly believe in your product.

Olga DenisovaCMO, GotPhoto

Whether you’re a startup launching your first affiliate experiment or a seasoned digital marketer looking to scale, Olga’s perspective offers a roadmap. Because Partner marketing is not just about changing the name, nor is it about just volume. This represents a completely new approach to thinking about growth, centered on mutual value and long-term success.

Watch the Full Episode on YouTube

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