Affiliate Marketing Glossary

Affiliate Marketing Glossary is a comprehensive collection of essential terms used in the affiliate industry. It helps beginners and professionals alike to better understand tracking, payouts, traffic sources, and performance metrics. Use this glossary as a quick reference to navigate the complex ecosystem of affiliate marketing with confidence.

---

A

A/B Testing

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or element to determine which performs better.

Above the fold

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Ad

A promotional message designed to persuade an audience to take action, such as clicking or purchasing.

Ad Agency

A piece of content created to promote a product or service.

Ad Exchange

A piece of content created to promote a product or service.

Ad Network

A piece of content created to promote a product or service.

Ad Tech

A piece of content created to promote a product or service.

Advertisement

Any public notice or paid content used to promote products, services, or brands.

Advertiser

A company or individual who owns a product or service and pays affiliates to promote it.

Adware

A piece of content created to promote a product or service.

Affiliate

An individual or business that promotes another company's products or services in exchange for a commission on resulting sales or leads.

Affiliate Agreement

A contract outlining the relationship, commission rates, and responsibilities between an affiliate and a business.

Affiliate ID

A unique code assigned to each affiliate to track their sales and commissions.

Affiliate Link

A unique URL used to track traffic and conversions driven by an affiliate.

Affiliate Manager

An individual responsible for managing relationships between a company and its affiliates. Read more.

Affiliate Marketing Forum

A partner who promotes products for a commission.

Affiliate Network

A platform that connects affiliates with merchants, managing the tracking, reporting, and payment processes. Read more.

Affiliate Program

A partner who promotes products for a commission. Read more about an affiliate program here.

Alexa Rank

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Alt Text

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Anchor Text

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

AOV (Average Order Value)

The average amount of money spent by customers per order.

API

Application Programming Interface, which allows different platforms or systems to communicate with each other.

APK Offers

A promotion affiliates use to generate conversions.

ASVOD

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Attribution

The process of assigning credit to affiliates for generating sales or leads.

Attribution Model

A set of rules determining how credit for conversions is assigned to different marketing touchpoints.

Auto-Download Offers

A promotion affiliates use to generate conversions.

B

Backlink

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Banner

A graphic image used for online advertising, typically promoting a brand or offer.

Banner Ad

A graphical advertisement placed on websites to drive traffic and conversions.

Bid

The amount of money an advertiser is willing to pay for a click or impression.

Black Hat SEO

Strategies to improve a website’s visibility in search engines.

Blackhat

Unethical or manipulative marketing practices that violate terms of service.

Blacklist

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.

Browser Cookie

A file stored on the user's browser that tracks visits and behavior for marketing purposes.

C

Campaign

A set of coordinated marketing activities designed to achieve a specific goal. Read more about the campaign management here.

Caps

Limits set on how many sales or leads an affiliate can generate over a certain time period.

Charge Back

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Chargeback

A reversed transaction due to dispute or fraud, canceling the affiliate's commission.

Click

The action taken by a user when they interact with a hyperlink or advertisement.

Click Fraud

An action when a user interacts with a link or ad.

Click ID

An action when a user interacts with a link or ad.

Click Pixel

A small code snippet used to track user clicks and interactions.

Click Target URL

The destination URL that users are taken to after clicking a specific link or ad.

Click Through Rate (CTR)

Metric to measure the effectiveness of the ad. Calculated as (clicks / impressions) x 100.

Clickthrough

The act of following a hyperlink, especially from an ad to a landing page or merchant’s site.

Cloaking

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Commission

The payment made to an affiliate for each desired action (e.g., sale, lead). Read more.

Content Farm

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Contextual Links

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Conversion

A completed action on a site such as a sale or lead sign-up. Read more.

Conversion Rate (CR)

The percentage of users who complete a desired action after clicking an affiliate link.

Cookie

A small file stored on a user’s device that tracks activity for attribution purposes.

Cookie Length

The duration during which an affiliate earns commissions after a user clicks their link.

CPA (Cost Per Action)

A pricing model where the affiliate is paid when a specific action is completed. Read more.

CPC (Cost Per Click)

Affiliates are paid each time a user clicks on their link or ad. Read more. 

CPL (Cost Per Lead)

Commission is paid when a user submits a lead form or shows purchase intent. Read more.

CPM (Cost Per Mille)

Payment model based on 1,000 impressions of an ad or content unit. Read more.

Crawlers

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Creative

Marketing material such as banners, images, or videos used in a campaign.

Creatives

Marketing materials like banners and images provided to affiliates for promotions.

CSV (Comma Separated Value File)

A plain-text format used to represent tabular data using commas to separate fields.

D

Daily Budget

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Datafeed

A structured file containing product details provided by a merchant for use by affiliates.

Dayparting

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Deep Link

A URL that links directly to a specific product or landing page within a website.

Demand-Side Platforms (DSP)

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Direct Billing Flow

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Direct Buy

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Direct Linking

Sending traffic directly to the merchant's site without a presell or landing page.

Disclosure

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Display Ads

Banner or visual ads shown on websites or apps to promote offers or services.

Domain Authority

A web address used to identify a site on the internet.

Double opt-in

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

DSP (Demand Side Platform)

A system that allows buyers of digital advertising inventory to manage multiple ad exchanges through one interface.

Duplicate Content

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Dynamic Tracking

A method to record user actions and attribute conversions.

E

Earnings Per Click (EPC)

The average earnings generated per click on an affiliate link.

Earnings Per Lead (EPL)

The average earnings an affiliate receives for each qualified lead.

Effective Cost Per Acquisition (eCPA)

Total ad spend divided by the number of conversions, used to evaluate overall campaign cost-efficiency.

Email Marketing

Using email to send direct messages to potential customers and promote offers.

Evergreen Offer

A stable and consistently available offer that performs well over time.

Exclusive Offer

A special promotion available only to selected affiliates.

Exit Pop

A popup that appears when a user tries to leave the website, offering a last-chance incentive.

F

Fired Pixel

A code snippet for tracking conversions or user behavior. Read more.

First Click Attribution

Gives credit for a conversion to the first traffic source that brought a user to the site.

Flat Deal

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Fraud Detection

Technology and systems used to identify invalid or malicious traffic and activity.

Frequency Cap

A restriction that limits the number of times an ad is shown to the same user.

Funnel

The structured journey a user goes through from awareness to conversion.

G

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation – a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy.

GEO Target

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Geo-targeting

Targeting users based on geographic location.

Google Ads

Google’s platform for placing search, display, and video ads.

Gross Revenue

Total revenue generated before costs, taxes, or deductions.

H

Hard Bounce

An email that returns as undeliverable due to invalid address or permanent issue.

HasOffers

A performance marketing platform used for tracking and managing affiliate programs.

Hit

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Hoplink

A unique affiliate tracking link used in ClickBank.

HTML

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Hybrid Model

A commission structure combining two or more payment models (e.g., CPA + RevShare). Read more.

Hyperlink

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

I

Impression

The count of how many times an ad is displayed.

In-house

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Inbound Link or Backlink

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Incentivized Traffic

Traffic generated by offering users a reward or incentive for clicking or converting.

Index

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Indie Program

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Influencer Marketing

Promoting products through individuals with dedicated audiences and authority in a niche. Read more about tracking options for influencer marketing here.

Insertion Order (IO)

A written contract that specifies the details of an advertising campaign.

Intent-Based Targeting

Delivering ads to users based on their browsing behavior and intent signals.

Internal Linking

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

J

JavaScript Tag

A tracking script used to collect data on user interactions and conversions.

JV (Joint Venture)

A collaboration between two parties to promote a product or offer for mutual benefit.

K

Keyword

A word or phrase used to target content or ads based on search behavior.

Keyword Density

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Keyword Research

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A measurable value that indicates how effectively a campaign is achieving key objectives.

L

Landing Page

A dedicated page users are directed to after clicking an ad or link, designed to convert visitors.

Last Click Attribution

A model that credits the final referral source for the conversion.

Lead

A prospective customer who expresses interest in a product or service.

Lead Magnet

A free resource used to collect user info in exchange for value, such as an ebook.

Lifetime Value (LTV)

The total value a customer brings over the course of their relationship with a business.

Link building

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Link Cloaking

Masking a long affiliate link into a shorter, cleaner, and branded format.

Link Juice

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Loyalty Affiliates

A partner who promotes products for a commission.

LSI Keyword

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

M

Manual Approval

The process where an affiliate application must be reviewed and approved by the merchant.

Maximum Budget

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Merchant

A company that offers goods or services and runs an affiliate program to promote them.

Meta Description

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Meta Tags

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Meta Title

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Mobile Affiliates

A partner who promotes products for a commission.

Mobile Billing

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Mobile Tracking

The tracking of user behavior and conversions on mobile devices.

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)

A structure where affiliates earn from their sales and those of their recruits.

Multi-touch Attribution

A model that assigns conversion credit to multiple touchpoints across the customer journey.

N

Network (Affiliate network)

Affiliate Network — a platform that connects businesses offering affiliate programs with publishers (affiliates), making it easier for affiliates to find suitable offers and for merchants to reach a wider audience.

Network Fee

Charges by a network to affiliates for platform use and merchant access.

Niche Marketing

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

O

Off-Page SEO

Strategies to improve a website’s visibility in search engines.

Offer

A promotion affiliates use to generate conversions.

On-Page SEO

Strategies to improve a website’s visibility in search engines.

Opt In Email

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Outbound Link

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

P

Page Authority

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

PageRank

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Paid Search

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Parameter

A variable added to URLs to track data like campaign, source, or user ID.

Partner

Another term for affiliate or publisher who promotes an advertiser's product.

Pay Bump

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Payment Threshold

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Payout

The amount of commission paid to an affiliate for driving an action.

Performance Bonus

Extra commission given to affiliates for exceeding specific performance goals.

Performance Marketing

A marketing strategy where advertisers pay only for specific actions, like clicks or sales.

Pixel

A code snippet placed on a website to measure conversions or retarget users. Read more about pixel tracking here.

Postback URL

A server-side tracking method that sends conversion data to the affiliate system. Read more.

PPC (Pay Per Click)

A model where advertisers pay affiliates for each ad click.

PPL

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

PPS

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Prelander

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Premium Targeting

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Profit

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Program Terms

The official guidelines and rules that govern an affiliate program.

Publisher

An individual or business that promotes affiliate offers on behalf of advertisers.

Q

—

No terms for this letter.

R

Raw Clicks

An action when a user interacts with a link or ad.

Rebill

A recurring billing event for subscription-based offers.

Reciprocal Links

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Recurring Commission

Ongoing commission earned from repeat customer purchases.

Redirect

The process of forwarding a user from one URL to another, often used in tracking.

Redirection

Redirects users from one URL to another, either temporarily or permanently.

Referring Domain

A web address used to identify a site on the internet.

Referring URL

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Retargeting

Displaying ads to users who previously interacted with a website or offer.

Revenue

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

A metric showing how much revenue is earned for every dollar spent on advertising.

Robots.txt

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

ROI (Return on Investment)

A metric showing the profitability of a campaign based on investment return.

RON – Run of Network

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Root Domain

A web address used to identify a site on the internet.

RTB: Real-time bidding

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

S

S2S Tracking

Server-to-Server tracking used for secure and accurate conversion attribution. Read more.

SaaS Affiliate Program

An affiliate program specific to Software-as-a-Service products, often with recurring commissions.

Scrubbing

The process of filtering or rejecting unqualified leads or actions.

Search Engine

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Search Engine Optimization

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Search Term

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Segment

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization — improving website visibility in organic search results.

SEO affiliates

Strategies to improve a website’s visibility in search engines.

SERP

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Single Offer

A promotion affiliates use to generate conversions.

Single opt-in

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Site map

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Smartlink

A single link that automatically redirects the user to the best-converting offer.

SMS Billing Flow

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Social Marketers

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Spiders

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Split Test

A/B testing two versions of content to determine which performs better.

Spot

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Sub-Affiliate

An affiliate under another affiliate, contributing to their earnings. Read more how it works here.

Sub-ID

Tracking parameter appended to links to identify specific traffic sources or campaigns. Read more about how to configure the Sub-ID here.

Subdomain

A web address used to identify a site on the internet.

Super Affiliates

A partner who promotes products for a commission.

Supply-Side Platforms (SSP)

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Suppression List

A list of users who should not be emailed, used to maintain compliance in email marketing.

Sweepstakes

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

T

Targeted Marketing

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Targeting

The practice of narrowing ad reach to specific demographics or user interests. Read more about the targeting configuration here.

Text Link

A clickable URL used for navigation or tracking.

Third-Party Tracking

Tracking conversions using external platforms or systems.

Time-to-Conversion

The average time it takes for a user to convert after clicking an affiliate link.

Token

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Top-level domain (TLD)

A web address used to identify a site on the internet.

Tracking Link

A URL that records information about clicks and conversions. 

Tracking Method

A method to record user actions and attribute conversions.

Tracking Platform

A platform to record user actions and attribute conversions, like Tracknow.

Tracking Software

A software to record user actions and attribute conversions, like Tracknow.

Tracking URL

A method to record user actions and attribute conversions.

Traffic

The number of users visiting a website or offer.

Traffic Source

The origin of website traffic such as email, social, paid ads, etc. Read more.

Two-Tier Affiliate Program

A structure where affiliates earn from their own and their recruits' sales.

U

Unique Click

A distinct user click tracked only once per person.

Unique User

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Upsell

An offer made to a user to purchase a more expensive item or upgrade.

URL

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

URL Parameters

Custom data attached to URLs to aid in tracking and reporting. Learn more in the article 'Affiliate Links & Tracking'.

UTM Tags

Short text codes added to a URL to help track campaign performance in analytics tools.

V

Value Per Click

The average revenue generated per click across a campaign.

Vanity Code

A custom code in affiliate links used for branding and offline tracking.

Vertical

A specific market or niche category within affiliate marketing (e.g., finance, health).

View-Through Conversion

A conversion that occurs after a user views (but does not click) an ad and later completes the desired action.

Viral Marketing

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

W

Web Host

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Webmasters

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

White Hat SEO

Strategies to improve a website’s visibility in search engines.

White Label

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

White-Labeling

Rebranding a product to sell it under one's own brand name.

Whitelists

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

X

XML

A marketing concept or tool used in affiliate campaigns.

Y

—

No terms for this letter.

Z

Zero Risk

A model where affiliates earn commissions without upfront investment.

Zero-Click Traffic

Traffic that converts without a user clicking through to a landing page (e.g., call-only ads).

Zip Code Targeting

Targeting ads based on a user’s zip code for hyper-local marketing.