Affiliate
An individual or company that promotes products or services for a merchant in exchange for receiving a commission for sales or leads generated.
Affiliate Disclosure
A statement that reveals the affiliate’s relationship with the merchant and the potential commission they may earn from a sale or referral.
Affiliate Manager
A person who manages an affiliate program for a merchant, responsible for recruiting affiliates, establishing incentive programs, and tracking and reporting on affiliate performance.
Affiliate Marketing
A performance-based marketing strategy where a business rewards affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.
Affiliate Network
An intermediary platform that connects merchants with affiliates, handles tracking and payments, and provides a range of products for affiliates to promote.
Affiliate Program
A structured arrangement set up by merchants to pay commissions to affiliates for referring sales or leads.
Banner Ad
A form of online advertising that embeds a graphic image into a web page to attract traffic to a website.
Chargeback
A demand by a credit-card provider for a retailer to make good on the loss on a fraudulent or disputed transaction.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement.
Commission
The fee or percentage of a sale paid to an affiliate for generating a sale or lead.
Content Marketing
A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
Cookie
A small piece of data stored on a user’s device that tracks their actions and attributes sales to the correct affiliate.
Cookie Duration
The length of time a cookie remains active, allowing an affiliate to earn credit for a sale made within that time frame after a referral.
Cost Per Action (CPA)
A pricing model where affiliates are paid for a specific action, such as a sale, click, or form submission.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
A pricing model where affiliates are paid for each click generated from their marketing efforts.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
A pricing model where affiliates are paid for each lead generated, such as a sign-up or registration.
Cross-Sell
To sell a different product or service to an existing customer.
Data Feed
A file containing a list of products and their attributes (price, availability, etc.) used by affiliates to promote products.
Deep Linking
The practice of using a hyperlink that links to a specific, generally searchable or indexed, piece of web content.
Direct Linking
When an affiliate link directly to the merchant’s website without using an intermediary landing page.
Earnings Per Click (EPC)
An average amount earned by affiliates for each click to a merchant’s site.
Impression
A metric that counts the number of times an advertisement or webpage has been viewed.
Influencer Marketing
A form of marketing where focus is placed on influential people rather than the target market as a whole.
Keyword
A word or phrase that users enter into search engines to find relevant web content.
Landing Page
A standalone web page created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign, where visitors are directed to take action.
Lead Generation
The initiation of consumer interest or inquiry into products or services of a business.
Lifetime Commission
Commissions paid to an affiliate for all future purchases by a customer initially referred by that affiliate.
Link Cloaking
The technique of disguising the affiliate tracking URL to shorten it or to make it more visually appealing.
Merchant
Also known as an advertiser or retailer, a merchant is a company that sells products or services and initiates an affiliate program for promoters to join
Niche Market
A specialized segment of the market focused on a specific product or audience.
Opt-In Rate
The percentage of visitors who subscribe to a mailing list, indicating their consent to receive further communication.
Organic Traffic
Visitors who come to a website from unpaid search engine results.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
An internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where an advertiser pays a publisher when the ad is clicked.
Pay Per Lead (PPL)
A commission model where affiliates are paid for each lead or sign-up they generate.
Pay Per Sale (PPS)
A commission model where affiliates receive a payment for each sale made through their referral.
Performance Marketing
A comprehensive term that refers to online marketing and advertising programs where advertisers pay when a specific action is completed, such as a sale, lead, or click.
Retargeting
Online advertising that targets users who have previously visited a website with banner ads on display networks across the web.
Scalability
The ability to grow and manage increased demand for a product or service.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
A form of Internet marketing involving the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages through optimization and advertising.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results, thereby increasing organic traffic.
Split Testing
Also known as A/B testing, it is a method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app against each other to determine which one performs better.
Super Affiliate
A top-performing affiliate that generates a significant portion of an affiliate program’s activity and sales.
Tracking Link
A unique URL provided to affiliates to track the traffic sent to the merchant’s site and attribute sales or actions.
Traffic
The visitors to a website or the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a website.
Two-Tier Affiliate Program
An affiliate program structure where affiliates earn commissions on their conversions as well as conversions of others they refer to the program.
Unique Visitor
An individual user who visits a site within a given time period, counted only once regardless of the number of visits they make.
Up-sell
A sales technique where the seller invites the customer to purchase more expensive items or upgrades to make a more profitable sale.
Vertical
A specific niche market that affiliates target within the larger market.
Webmaster
An individual responsible for maintaining one or more websites.
White Label
Products or services produced by one company that other companies rebrand to make it appear as if they had made it.
I trust that this resource will serve as a friendly guide to the specialized language of affiliate marketing, making it more accessible and understandable for you.
Helpful articles on Affiliate Marketing
regards,
Bernard
Co-founder of Empower Marketing
This glossary is a goldmine for anyone venturing into affiliate
marketing! It simplifies the complex web of terms into something
digestible, making the daunting world of digital marketing a lot more
approachable. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to polish up
your knowledge, this guide has got you covered. Really appreciate the
clarity and conciseness here—perfect for quick references or deep dives
into specific terms.
Hi Razvan,
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that you found the glossary helpful and easy to digest. Whether you’re diving into affiliate marketing for the first time or refining your expertise, I’m glad the guide could provide clarity and concise information. Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or need more resources – happy to help!
Bernard