Affiliate Marketing Glossary – here I’ll provide a formal understanding of the terminology associated with affiliate marketing strategies, campaigns, and industry practices.
I’ll aim to assist individuals in comprehending the essential terms of the affiliate marketing landscape.
A
Affiliate: An individual or company that promotes another company’s products or services in exchange for a commission.
Affiliate Link: A unique URL that tracks referrals from an affiliate to the merchant’s website.
Affiliate Network: A platform that connects merchants with affiliates and manages tracking, reporting, and payments.
Attribution: The process of determining which affiliate gets credit for a sale when multiple affiliates are involved.
B
Banner Ad: A graphic advertisement displayed on a website that links to a merchant’s product or service.
Bridge Page: An intermediate page between an affiliate link and the merchant’s website, often used to provide additional information.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave a website without taking any action.
C
CPA (Cost Per Action): A commission model where affiliates are paid when visitors complete specific actions (purchases, sign-ups, etc.).
CPC (Cost Per Click): A payment model where affiliates earn money for each click on their affiliate links.
CPL (Cost Per Lead): A model where affiliates are paid for generating qualified leads.
Commission Rate: The percentage or fixed amount an affiliate earns from each sale or action.
Cookie Duration: The length of time a tracking cookie remains active after a visitor clicks an affiliate link.
Conversion: When a visitor completes a desired action (purchase, signup, etc.).
D
Deep Linking: Creating affiliate links to specific products rather than just a merchant’s homepage.
Digital Products: Downloadable or online-accessible products like ebooks, courses, or software.
E
Earning Per Click (EPC): The average amount an affiliate earns for each click on their affiliate links.
Email Marketing: Promoting affiliate products through email newsletters and campaigns.
F
First-Click Attribution: Giving commission credit to the first affiliate whose link the customer clicked.
FTC Disclosure: Legal requirement to disclose affiliate relationships to website visitors.
H
Hijacking: Unauthorized replacement of legitimate affiliate cookies with those of another affiliate.
Hybrid Commission: A combination of different commission types (e.g., percentage + fixed fee).
L
Landing Page: A webpage designed to convert visitors into customers or leads.
Last-Click Attribution: Giving commission credit to the last affiliate whose link the customer clicked.
Lifetime Commission: Earnings from all future purchases made by referred customers.
M
Merchant: Also known as advertiser or vendor; the company offering products or services through an affiliate program.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM): A marketing strategy where affiliates earn commissions from their direct sales and the sales of their recruits.
N
Niche: A specific market segment or topic area that an affiliate focuses on.
O
Organic Traffic: Visitors who find content through unpaid search results.
P
Passive Income: Earnings generated from affiliate marketing without active involvement.
Pay Per Sale (PPS): Commission model where affiliates earn a percentage of each sale they generate.
Payout Threshold: Minimum earnings required before an affiliate network processes payment.
R
Recurring Commission: Regular payments earned from subscription-based products or services.
Referral Fee: The commission paid for referring new customers.
ROI (Return on Investment): The profit or loss relative to the amount invested in affiliate marketing.
S
Sub-Affiliate: An affiliate who operates under another affiliate’s account.
Super Affiliate: High-performing affiliate who generates significant sales volume.
T
Text Link: A hyperlinked word or phrase containing an affiliate link.
Tracking Cookie: A small file stored on a user’s device to track affiliate referrals.
Two-Tier Affiliate Program: System where affiliates earn commissions from their direct sales and sales from affiliates they recruit.
V
Vertical: A specific industry or market sector in affiliate marketing.
Void Transaction: A sale that doesn’t qualify for commission due to returns, fraud, or other issues.
W
Web Analytics: Tools and metrics used to measure website performance and visitor behavior.