This week in FMTC’s Affiliate Roundup: AvantLink marks 20 years by emphasizing that its people-first, transparency-driven approach remains its competitive backbone. Meta signs data deals with major publishers to bring real-time, linked news directly into Meta AI. Small businesses face growing risk in affiliate marketing unless the industry strengthens safeguards and levels the playing field.
• AvantLink marked 20 years in business with a “people-first” reminder that even in a highly automated affiliate world, it’s their human-driven approach, transparent tech, and long-term relationships that have kept them relevant and trusted.
• Meta signed commercial data deals with major publishers to bring real-time, linked news updates into Meta AI.
• Walgreens has partnered with Rokt to expand its retail-media offering — integrating Rokt’s AI-powered tech to gain smarter targeting and stronger post-purchase monetization across Walgreens’ retail media network.
• Many publishers are missing out on meaningful organic-search growth and should reassess their keywords, rankings, and search intent to better capture existing demand.
• Walmart is testing a new Pinterest-powered shopping experience that lets users buy ingredients directly through recipe content — blending inspiration and checkout in one seamless flow.
• Adweek reports Google has told advertisers to expect Gemini ads in 2026, a claim Google is now publicly disputing.
• Small businesses are at growing risk in affiliate marketing, industry leaders warn, arguing that without stronger safeguards and fairer standards, large players will increasingly dominate the channel and shut smaller merchants out.
The post Affiliate Roundup: AvantLink’s 20-Year Vision, Small-Biz Safeguards, Meta’s Real-Time News Push, & More appeared first on FMTC.
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