Everything about API and its Usage in Affiliate Marketing

Fancy learning everything regarding API? Are you interested in Affiliate API and its usage? Let's go then!

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There is hardly a person who can disagree with the opinion that today, API is all around and has already turned into integral compound the sphere of technology, business in affiliate marketing, and something that we cannot do without.”

Nevertheless, you are not still sure what it is. Perhaps, you would like to know what apps are applied for the API, how to apply them, and how they will affect the future work of affiliates! Stop worrying! This piece of writing is what you've been looking for! We will explain everything about an API, give examples, stop on the varieties of APIs, and their usage API in your daily work. On finishing reading this post, you will feel yourself an expert on this topic!

Let’s finish with introductions and start, at last!

Basics of API

We are sure that your first issue interested you is the meaning of the abbreviation API. API is Application Program Interface, i.e., a specific package of tools, routines, and protocols for building software apps. API allows customizing the procedure for efficient interaction of various program components.

A proper API simplifies and facilitates the process of a certain output development for programmers.

Practical Usage of APIs

Initially, API was applied as a means to transmit commands and info of a certain format from one program to another. To put it clearly, it ensures an efficient communication process between programs via each other's features and resources. APIs are supplied by those programs that allow communication with other programs.

Let’s suppose you are planning an app development. You write some code and app professionally. And then? You are also hoping to apply reciprocal functions aiming at communicating with other programs. So, how to realize this? Easily!

Consider the API documentation to gather information efficiently and look through the provided features’ list.

Times prior to API

API didn't always exist. Its appearance at the market caused a technological revolution and brought many modifications in the online world.

However, up to this point, publishers simply aggregated many various paragraphs of certain content and some images of affiliate programs that presented the advertiser or the merchant.

So, what was wrong with this? Such content might have been ideal, nonetheless, it came with the risk of turning into obsolete and containing invalid links.

In case there are old links in the content, updating of the info without the need to browse the whole web-site and changing the specific info manually would be impossible.

Thanks to API, the procedure is made easier because it can synchronize info between software apps.

Usage of APIs in the WWW

On the net, APIs permit you access quickly multiple portals provided on another software app, on another server.

Sample of API Usage:

Do you know why registration in various apps using just a Facebook account is possible? Thanks to a special Facebook API. Organizations use a code and APIs to guarantee clients quick and simple access to their portals.

What occurs without API? The app can, for instance, find out about the new Mobidea Academy post by visiting academy.mobidea. The app will scan the web-page as people do and recognize the page content, in our example the Academy.

The situation with API app is alike: the app learns info about the www.academy.mobidea.com webpage by directing a query to the Mobidea Academy API. The transmitted query uses JSON format.

JSON format: What’s this?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format is an open typical file with info objects and associated attributes. For instance, when we check out new posts in Mobidea Academy, the JSON file sent would look like this:

post {

title: “New Post”,

date: 01/01/2021,

content: "A lot of text.",

author: "John White"

}

Further, upon directing the query in JSON format, API of the www.academy.mobidea.com web-page returns a structured response identical to the above sample.

Why are the ways of transmitting information so important?

Because when you apply API, the webpage documents the response’s certain structure and query. This signifies that the information remains unchanged, regardless of whether the webpage alters its appearance and design or not. Without API, an app should definitely believe in the imprecise fact that the site won't alter its appearance.

What occurs if the web-site alters and API was not applied? Most likely, the app will cease operating! Because of the modifications in the structure, design and customer experience of the web-site, the app will no longer identify it. It will be unable to comprehend the info transmitted from this website.

As a result, API is a securer and more trustworthy variant. Thanks to it, you may be confident that the app will proceed operating with the web-site. No matter if the web-site suddenly determines to alter its design or structure - API will understand it in any case.

API Varieties

Several APIs’ varieties for apps, web-sites, and operating systems exist. Among them, the key and in demand are Java APIs and interfaces that permit certain entities to exchange info in the Java language.

Another variety is a Web API.

The main API kinds include:

• Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
• Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
• Representational State Transfer (REST)

Is it not enough? Do you need more samples?

Let’s take Windows, the OS from Microsoft to run on PCs. Windows runs several varied APIs packages applied by apps and system hardware. Besides, Windows is not a single OS providing APIs. Most OS perform the same.

What is the goal? To guarantee that programmers can build apps suitable for their particular working environment.

Web APIs are applied by third-party software creators too to help subsequently develop software solutions for clients.

API Samples

To find API samples is no problem. Why? Nowadays API is a typical thing, a technology in demand throughout the Internet, facilitating information exchange processes.

Technology giants like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook use APIs too. Twitter uses REST APIs to offer programmatic access for reading and writing Twitter info. Programmers gain access to key Twitter info. Furthermore, search APIs supply developers with means for interacting with trend data and Twitter searches.

YouTube applies the API too. Thanks to Google API software developers get a possibility to integrate YouTube videos and apps functionality or sites. Such APIs as YouTube Analytics API, YouTube APIs as YouTube Data API, YouTube Player API, YouTube Live Streaming API are available.

And what about Facebook and its APIs? Mind that you can leave Facebook comments anywhere and sync them with your Facebook webpage thanks to API! This can serve as a good instance of benefitting from API usage greatly and simplifying blogging. Bloggers can post their comments via API. Their comments will be shared on the Facebook webpage linked to this blog. Convenient for all!

API Advantage

There are several pluses of API usage. We could not form an ABC list, but just highlighted the key ones:

• They are available to affiliate programs and operate with programs that act directly with buyers;
• APIs function with pre-formatted links that are loaded in advance together with the publisher ID, thereby offering the publisher's commission from customers' redirects to the proposal;
• They present real-time info, which is up-to-date and incredibly precise;
• They transmit response info in XML or JSON format, so the publisher can integrate the desired content with no problems.