Affiliate Marketing Glossary

A comprehensive glossary of 32+ affiliate marketing terms and definitions. Whether you're a beginner or experienced marketer, this reference will help you understand the key terminology used across the industry.

Affiliate Network
A platform that acts as an intermediary between merchants (advertisers) and affiliates (publishers), providing tracking, reporting, and payment processing. Examples include ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, and Impact.
Affiliate Program
A marketing arrangement in which a business rewards external partners (affiliates) for generating traffic, leads, or sales through the affiliate's promotional efforts.
Attribution
The process of identifying which marketing touchpoint or affiliate deserves credit for a conversion. Attribution models determine how commission is awarded.
Chargeback
A reversal of a previously completed sale, typically initiated by the customer's bank or credit card company. Chargebacks can result in commission reversals for affiliates.
Clawback
The reclaiming of previously paid commissions, usually because a customer returned a product, cancelled a subscription, or requested a refund within a specified window.
Click-Through Rate
The percentage of people who click on an affiliate link out of the total number who see it. Calculated as (clicks / impressions) x 100. A key metric for measuring ad and link effectiveness.
Cloaking
The practice of disguising an affiliate link to make it shorter, more memorable, or branded. For example, turning a long tracking URL into something like yoursite.com/recommends/product.
Commission Rate
The percentage or fixed dollar amount an affiliate earns for each successful referral. Rates vary widely by industry, product type, and program, ranging from 1% to 75% or more.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of referred visitors who complete a desired action (purchase, sign-up, etc.). Calculated as (conversions / clicks) x 100. Higher conversion rates mean more earnings per click.
Cookie
A small piece of data stored in a visitor's browser when they click an affiliate link. The cookie tracks the referral so the affiliate receives credit if the visitor converts within the cookie duration window.
Cookie Duration
The length of time a tracking cookie remains active after a user clicks an affiliate link. Common durations range from 24 hours to 365 days. Longer durations give affiliates more time to earn credit for a sale.
CPA (Cost Per Action)
A commission model where the affiliate is paid a fixed amount for each specific action completed, such as a sale, sign-up, download, or form submission.
CPL (Cost Per Lead)
A commission model where the affiliate earns a fixed amount for each qualified lead generated, such as a form submission, free trial sign-up, or email opt-in.
Deep Linking
The practice of creating affiliate links that point to specific pages on a merchant's website rather than just the homepage. Deep links typically convert better because they send visitors directly to relevant content.
EPC (Earnings Per Click)
A metric that shows the average earnings generated per click on affiliate links. Calculated as (total commissions / total clicks) x 100. EPC helps affiliates compare the earning potential of different programs.
Hybrid Commission
A commission structure that combines two or more payment models, such as a flat fee per lead plus a percentage of any resulting sale, or an upfront bonus plus recurring commissions.
Impression
A single instance of an ad, banner, or affiliate link being displayed to a visitor. Impressions measure visibility but do not indicate engagement or clicks.
Landing Page
The specific web page a visitor arrives at after clicking an affiliate link. Optimized landing pages are crucial for maximizing conversion rates.
Last-Click Attribution
An attribution model where 100% of the commission is awarded to the last affiliate link the customer clicked before converting. This is the most common model used by affiliate programs.
Lifetime Commission
A commission structure where the affiliate continues to earn commissions on all future purchases made by a referred customer, not just the initial sale. This can be extremely lucrative for subscription-based products.
Merchant
The company or business that creates and sells the product or service. Also known as the advertiser or brand. The merchant sets up the affiliate program and pays commissions to affiliates.
Multi-Touch Attribution
An attribution model that distributes credit for a conversion across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey, rather than giving all credit to a single click.
Offer
A specific product, service, or deal that affiliates promote. An offer typically includes the commission rate, creative assets, tracking links, and terms and conditions.
Payment Frequency
How often an affiliate program pays out earned commissions. Common frequencies include monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, and net-30 or net-60 terms.
Payout Threshold
The minimum amount of earned commissions an affiliate must accumulate before they can receive a payment. Common thresholds range from $10 to $100.
Postback URL
A server-to-server tracking method where the merchant's server sends conversion data directly to the affiliate's server. More reliable than pixel-based tracking as it doesn't depend on the user's browser.
Publisher
Another term for an affiliate. The individual or company that promotes a merchant's products or services through their website, blog, social media, email list, or other channels.
Recurring Commission
A commission structure where the affiliate earns a percentage or fixed amount every time a referred customer makes a recurring payment, such as a monthly subscription renewal.
Sub-Affiliate
An affiliate who is recruited by another affiliate (the parent). The parent affiliate typically earns a small percentage of the sub-affiliate's commissions as an override.
Tiered Commission
A commission structure where the rate increases as the affiliate generates more sales or revenue within a given period. For example, 10% for the first 10 sales, 15% for 11-50 sales, and 20% for 51+ sales.
Tracking Pixel
A tiny, invisible image (usually 1x1 pixel) embedded on a confirmation page that fires when a conversion occurs, notifying the affiliate network to credit the referring affiliate.
Two-Tier Program
An affiliate program structure where affiliates earn commissions on their own referrals (first tier) plus a smaller commission on sales generated by affiliates they recruit (second tier).

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to Start Earning?

Browse our directory of CommissionDex affiliate programs and find the best fit for your audience.

Browse Programs