The Affiliate and Partner Marketing Association is seeking feedback on its proposed Code of Conduct for subnetworks active in the UK affiliate marketing industry.The Code of Conduct will be a detailed set of rules that subnetworks will be asked to sign up to.
The Code covers a range of operational areas, with a specific focus on transparency. The Code is currently in draft form, and the APMA is seeking feedback and commentary from the wider industry ahead of a Q2 2026 launch.
Subnetworks account for around one in ten pounds that is spent on affiliate marketing activity in the UK, and the category is among the fastest-growing of affiliate classifications.
That growth, however, has created concerns about some of the traffic sources and the quality of the activity that some subnetworks represent.
In 2025’s Voice of the Affiliate Nation, 76% of agencies and 67% of brands picked transparency with subnetworks as one of their biggest concerns about affiliate traffic, and it topped the list of all concerns.
The APMA released a guide and matrix last year (updated in December 2025), which includes a brief history of subnetworks, followed by an explainer on how to work with subnetworks.
The second part of the document features a comprehensive matrix of 25 subnetworks’ responses to 16 questions devised by the APMA Compliance and Standards taskforce.
As the questions were self-reported by the subnetworks, questions remain about the data’s reliability.
The next stage of the subnetworks project, defined by the APMA’s Compliance and Standards Taskforce, includes three elements:
- A Code of Conduct for subnetworks.
- A statement of commitment from industry businesses to support the Code.
- An additional guide about how to work with subnetworks.
THE DRAFT VERSION OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT IS AVAILABLE HERE.
Please fill in the form below to submit your feedback on the Code. Submissions close on April 30th 2026.
