If you’re trying to undertand what affiliate marketing terms are this glossary is for you. Whether you’re a beginner, a marketer, a business owner, or working with affiliate tools, you’ll find clear, straightforward definitions of the key concepts used in affiliate programs. The goal is simple: help you quickly understand the terminology and see how all the pieces fit together.

Core concepts

These are the foundational ideas of how affiliate marketing works.

Affiliate Marketing - A performance-based marketing model where individuals (affiliates) earn a commission by promoting a company’s products or services.

Program template - A set of rules/settings such as commission percentage, custom commission rules for certain products or collections, coupon system, program progression or even turning it into a MLM program

Affiliate Network - A platform that connects businesses (merchants) with affiliates and manages tracking, reporting, and payments.

Merchant (Advertiser) - The business that creates and owns the product or service being promoted.

Affiliate - An individual or company that promotes a merchant’s product or service in exchange for a commission.

Referrals - Users or customers who are directed to a product or service through an affiliate's promotional efforts.

Self-Referrals - The practice of an affiliate attempting to earn commission by purchasing through their own affiliate link.

MLM Program (Multi-Level Marketing) - A marketing model where participants earn commissions not only from their own sales but also from the sales generated by people they recruit into the program.

Tracking & Attribution

How performance is measured and credited.

Affiliate Link - A unique tracking URL assigned to an affiliate to monitor traffic and conversions.

Cookie Duration - The time period during which an affiliate can earn commission after a user clicks their link.

Coupon code - A unique promotional code assigned to an affiliate that tracks conversions and attributes sales when used during checkout.

Portal - A centralized dashboard or interface where affiliates can access links, track perfomance, view commissions and manage their activity within an affiliate program.

Platforms & Infrastructure

Tools and systems that enable affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Network - A platform that connects businesses (merchants) with affiliates and manages tracking, reporting, and payments.

Affiliate Software - Software used by companies to run and manage their own affiliate programs without a third-party network.

Affiliate Marketplace - A centralized platform or section within a platform where affiliates can browse, compare, and join multiple affiliate programs.

Affiliate Management - The proccess of recruiting, onboarding, supporting, and optimizing affiliates within a program to maximize perfomance and compliance.

Performance Metrics

How success and effectiveness are measured.

EPC (Earnings Per Click) - A metric that shows the average earnings generated per click on an affiliate link.

CTR (Click-Through Rate) - The percentage of users who click on an affiliate link compared to how many people saw it.

Monthly Revenue - The total amount of revenue generated within a one-month period from affiliate-driven traffic or conversions.

Conversion & Optimization

Elements that directly impact whether traffic turns into revenue.

Commission - The monetary reward paid to an affiliate for generating a specific action, such as a sale, lead, or click.

Commission Structure - The way affiliates are paid for their performance.

Landing Page - A standalone webpage designed to convert visitors into customers or leads.

Royalty mode (Revenue Share) - A commission model where affiliates earn ongoing payments for as long as a referred customer continues to generate revenue.

Program Ladder - A tiered reward structure within an affiliate program where affiliates earn higher commissions or benefits as they reach specific performance levels.

Product Discounts - Price reductions applied to specific products to incentivize purchases and improve conversion rates.

Order Discounts - Discounts applied to the total value of a customer's order, often based on conditions such as minimum spend.

Shipping Discounts - Promotional offers that reduce or eliminate shipping costs to encourage customers to complete a purchase.

Welcome coupon - A promotional discount offered to new users or first-time customers to ecnourage initial conversion.