Affiliate Marketing Glossary
Master the language of affiliate marketing. From CPA to EPC, learn all the essential terms and concepts.
A
- Above the Fold
- The portion of a webpage visible without scrolling. Placing affiliate links and calls-to-action above the fold typically results in higher visibility and click-through rates.
- Affiliate Disclosure
- A statement informing readers that content contains affiliate links and the author may earn commission from purchases. Required by FTC guidelines and builds trust with audiences.
- Affiliate Link
- A unique URL containing your affiliate ID that tracks clicks and conversions. When someone clicks your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.
- Affiliate Manager
- A representative from an affiliate program who helps affiliates optimize their campaigns, provides promotional materials, and addresses questions or concerns.
- Affiliate Network
- A platform that connects merchants with affiliates, handling tracking, reporting, and payments. Examples include CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, and Impact.
- Affiliate Program
- A marketing arrangement where a company pays affiliates commission for driving sales or leads through promotional efforts. Also known as partner programs or referral programs.
- Attribution
- The process of identifying which marketing touchpoint or affiliate should receive credit for a conversion. Common models include last-click, first-click, and multi-touch attribution.
- Average Order Value (AOV)
- The average amount customers spend per transaction. Higher AOV typically means higher affiliate commissions for percentage-based programs.
B
- Banner Ad
- A graphical advertisement displayed on websites to promote products or services. Affiliates use banner ads provided by merchants to attract clicks and generate conversions.
- Bounty
- A fixed one-time payment for a specific action, typically a new customer signup or sale. Common in subscription services where bounties can range from $50 to $500+.
- Buyer Intent
- The likelihood that a visitor intends to make a purchase. Keywords and content targeting high buyer intent typically convert better for affiliate marketing.
C
- Chargeback
- When a customer disputes a credit card transaction and the payment is reversed. Chargebacks can result in commission reversals for affiliates.
- Clawback
- The practice of reclaiming commissions that were previously paid to an affiliate, typically due to refunds, cancellations, or fraudulent transactions.
- Click Fraud
- The practice of artificially inflating click counts on affiliate links, either through bots or manual clicking. Most programs have systems to detect and prevent click fraud.
- Commission
- The payment an affiliate receives for generating a sale, lead, or other desired action. Can be a percentage of the sale price or a flat fee.
- Commission Rate
- The percentage or fixed amount an affiliate earns for each qualifying action. Rates vary widely by industry, typically ranging from 1% to 50% or more.
- Comparison Content
- Content that compares two or more products or services, helping readers make informed decisions. Highly effective for affiliate marketing due to high buyer intent.
- Conversion
- When a referred visitor completes a desired action such as making a purchase, signing up, or filling out a form that results in affiliate compensation.
- Conversion Rate
- The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (such as making a purchase) after clicking an affiliate link. Calculated as conversions divided by clicks times 100.
- Cookie Duration
- The length of time a tracking cookie remains active in a visitor's browser. If the visitor makes a purchase within this window, the affiliate receives credit for the sale.
- Cookie Stuffing
- An unethical practice of placing affiliate tracking cookies on visitors' browsers without their knowledge or consent. This violates most affiliate program terms.
- CPA (Cost Per Action)
- A commission model where affiliates earn a fixed amount for each specified action completed, such as a form submission, app download, or account registration.
- CPC (Cost Per Click)
- A payment model where affiliates earn money for each click on their affiliate links, regardless of whether a conversion occurs.
- CPL (Cost Per Lead)
- A commission structure where affiliates earn payment for each qualified lead generated, such as email signups, quote requests, or trial registrations.
- CPM (Cost Per Mille)
- A payment model based on impressions, where affiliates earn a set amount per 1,000 ad views. Less common in affiliate marketing but used in some display advertising programs.
- CPS (Cost Per Sale)
- The most common affiliate commission model where affiliates earn a percentage or fixed amount for each sale generated through their referral links.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate)
- The ratio of users who click on an affiliate link compared to the total number who view the link. Calculated as clicks divided by impressions times 100.
D
- Data Feed
- A file containing product information (names, prices, images, descriptions) provided by merchants for affiliates to display products on their websites.
- Deep Linking
- Creating affiliate links that point directly to specific product pages or content rather than the merchant's homepage, typically resulting in higher conversion rates.
- Direct Affiliate Program
- An affiliate program run directly by a merchant without using a third-party affiliate network. Often offers higher commissions but requires individual account management.
- Disclosure Statement
- A clear notice informing visitors that a website contains affiliate links and may earn commissions from purchases. Required by FTC regulations in the United States.
E
- EPC (Earnings Per Click)
- A metric that shows the average earnings generated per 100 clicks on affiliate links. Used to compare the profitability of different affiliate programs.
- Evergreen Content
- Content that remains relevant and valuable over time, continually attracting traffic and generating affiliate commissions without frequent updates.
- Exclusive Affiliate
- An affiliate who has negotiated exclusive rights or special terms with a merchant, often including higher commission rates or unique promotional opportunities.
F
- First-Click Attribution
- An attribution model that gives full credit for a conversion to the first affiliate link or touchpoint that introduced the customer to the product.
- FTC Guidelines
- Rules from the Federal Trade Commission requiring clear disclosure of material connections between affiliates and the products they promote. Non-compliance can result in penalties.
- Funnel
- The path a visitor takes from initial awareness through to completing a purchase. Affiliates optimize funnels to maximize conversions at each stage.
G
- GDPR
- General Data Protection Regulation, an EU privacy law affecting how affiliates collect, store, and process visitor data including tracking cookies and email addresses.
- Geo-Targeting
- The practice of showing different affiliate offers or content based on a visitor's geographic location, often used to promote region-specific products or services.
H
- High-Ticket Affiliate
- An affiliate who focuses on promoting expensive products or services with higher commission payouts, often requiring fewer sales to achieve significant income.
- Hybrid Commission
- A commission structure combining multiple payment types, such as an upfront bounty plus recurring commissions, commonly used by SaaS companies.
I
- Impressions
- The number of times an affiliate link, banner, or promotional content is displayed to potential customers, regardless of whether they interact with it.
- In-House Affiliate Program
- An affiliate program managed directly by a company using their own software, rather than through a third-party network. May offer better rates but less support.
- Influencer Affiliate
- A content creator with a significant social media following who promotes products through affiliate links, often combining sponsorship deals with affiliate commissions.
L
- Landing Page
- A dedicated web page designed to receive traffic from affiliate links and convert visitors into customers or leads through focused messaging and clear calls-to-action.
- Last-Click Attribution
- The most common attribution model that credits the final affiliate link clicked before a conversion with the full commission.
- Lifetime Commission
- A commission structure where affiliates earn ongoing payments for as long as the referred customer remains active, common with subscription-based products.
- Lifetime Value (LTV)
- The total revenue a customer generates over their entire relationship with a business. Important for evaluating recurring commission programs.
- Link Cloaking
- The practice of disguising affiliate links using shorter, cleaner URLs. Improves aesthetics, enables click tracking, and protects commissions from theft.
M
- Merchant
- The company or individual that creates and sells products or services and pays affiliates commissions for referred sales. Also called advertiser or vendor.
- Micro-Niche
- A very specific, narrow market segment within a larger niche. Micro-niche sites can rank more easily but have limited traffic potential.
- Multi-Touch Attribution
- An attribution model that distributes credit for a conversion across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey, rather than crediting a single click.
N
- Native Advertising
- Promotional content designed to match the look and feel of surrounding editorial content. Often used by affiliates to integrate recommendations naturally.
- Niche
- A specific topic, market, or audience segment that an affiliate focuses on. Successful niche selection balances competition, traffic potential, and commission opportunities.
P
- Payment Methods
- The ways affiliate programs distribute earnings to affiliates, commonly including PayPal, direct deposit, wire transfer, check, or cryptocurrency.
- Payment Threshold
- The minimum earnings an affiliate must accumulate before they can withdraw or receive payment from an affiliate program.
- Payout Threshold
- The minimum earnings an affiliate must accumulate before they can withdraw or receive payment from an affiliate program.
- Performance Bonus
- Additional commission or rewards offered to affiliates who exceed certain sales targets or performance metrics within a specified period.
- PPC (Pay Per Click)
- A model where affiliates pay for advertising based on clicks received. Often used to drive traffic to affiliate offers through platforms like Google Ads.
- Product Review
- Content that evaluates and recommends products, typically including affiliate links. One of the most effective content types for affiliate conversions.
R
- Recurring Commission
- Commission earned on an ongoing basis for as long as a referred customer remains a paying subscriber, common with SaaS and subscription products.
- Referral
- A visitor or customer who arrives at a merchant's website through an affiliate's link and can be tracked for commission purposes.
- Refund Rate
- The percentage of purchases that are returned or refunded. High refund rates reduce affiliate earnings and may indicate product or offer quality issues.
- Residual Income
- Ongoing earnings from past efforts, typically from recurring commission programs where affiliates continue earning as long as customers remain subscribed.
- ROI (Return on Investment)
- A measure of profitability calculated by dividing net profit by the cost of investment. For affiliates, this compares earnings to promotional expenses.
S
- SaaS Affiliate
- An affiliate specializing in promoting software-as-a-service products, often benefiting from recurring commission structures and high customer lifetime values.
- Search Intent
- The purpose behind a user's search query. Understanding search intent helps affiliates create content that matches what users are looking for and converts better.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- The practice of optimizing content to rank higher in search engine results, driving organic traffic to affiliate content without paid advertising.
- Split Testing
- Also known as A/B testing, this involves comparing two or more versions of content, landing pages, or calls-to-action to determine which performs better.
- Sub-Affiliate
- An affiliate recruited by another affiliate in a two-tier program. The original affiliate earns a percentage of the sub-affiliate's commissions.
- Sub-ID
- Additional tracking parameters added to affiliate links that help identify traffic sources, campaigns, or content pieces for optimization purposes.
- Super Affiliate
- A top-performing affiliate who generates significantly higher sales volume than average affiliates, often receiving special commission rates and support.
T
- Text Link
- A hyperlinked piece of text that serves as an affiliate link, typically more effective than banner ads due to natural integration into content.
- Tracking Cookie
- A small file stored in a visitor's browser that identifies them as being referred by a specific affiliate, enabling commission tracking for future purchases.
- Tracking Pixel
- A small piece of code placed on a merchant's website that records when a conversion occurs and attributes it to the correct affiliate.
- Traffic Source
- Where visitors to an affiliate's content originate from, such as search engines, social media, email, or paid advertising.
- Two-Tier Program
- An affiliate program that pays commissions on two levels: direct sales you generate and a percentage of sales made by affiliates you recruit.
U
- Unique Clicks
- The number of individual visitors who click on an affiliate link, counting each person only once regardless of how many times they click.
- Upsell
- When a customer purchases a more expensive version or additional products after clicking an affiliate link. May increase commission on cart-wide earning programs.
V
- Vertical
- A specific industry or market segment, such as finance, health, or technology. Different verticals have varying commission structures and compliance requirements.
W
- White Label
- Products or services produced by one company that can be rebranded and sold by affiliates or partners under their own brand name.
- Whitelist
- An approved list of affiliates, websites, or marketing methods allowed by a merchant. Some programs require approval before certain promotional activities.
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Glossary Overview
82
Total Terms
19
Letters Covered
8
Commission Types
100%
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