Don’t let the affiliate marketing’s technical jargon intimidate you
From “affiliate links” to “cookie duration”, and “cost per click” to “pixel tracking”, these terms might sound like technical jargon to a newcomer in affiliate marketing. Understanding these fundamental terms can help you in the long run, especially if you have just started your business in affiliate marketing.
Running a high-performing affiliate campaign for your WooCommerce Store?
Let’s start with the affiliate marketing glossary! Learn them, and you’ll be well on your way to driving success!
The ultimate affiliate marketing glossary
- Ad impressions – The number of times an ad or affiliate link is displayed.
- Advertiser – Another term for a merchant or brand running an affiliate program.
- Adware – Software that automatically displays advertisements, often bundled with free programs.
- Affiliate – A person or business that promotes a merchant’s products/services for a commission.
- Affiliate agreement – A contract outlining terms between an affiliate and a merchant.
- Affiliate link – A unique URL used to track referrals and credit commissions.
- Affiliate manager – The individual responsible for overseeing an affiliate program.
- Affiliate network – A platform that connects affiliates with merchants.
- Affiliate site – A website primarily created to promote affiliate products or services.
- Affiliate software – A tool used to track and manage affiliate performance and commissions.
- Alt text – A textual description of an image used for accessibility and SEO purposes.
- Anchor text – The clickable text in a hyperlink, often optimized for SEO.
- API (Application programming interface) – A tool used to automate affiliate tracking and integrations.
- ARR (Annual recurring revenue) – The total yearly revenue generated from subscriptions or recurring payments.
- Attribution model – The method used to assign credit for conversions to affiliates.
- Attribution tracking – The method used to determine which marketing efforts contributed to a conversion.
- Authority sites – High-quality websites recognized for expertise, trust and strong search engine rankings.
- Autoresponder – An automated email system that sends pre-scheduled responses to subscribers or customers.
- Backlink – A link from one website to another, often used to improve SEO.
- Banners – Visual ads used by affiliates to promote offers.
- Behavioral retargeting – Ads shown based on past user behavior.
- Black hat SEO – Unethical SEO tactics that violate search engine guidelines.
- Brand bidding – Bidding on a brand’s name in paid search ads (often restricted by merchants).
- Branded links – Custom, professional-looking affiliate links that enhance credibility.
- Brand loyalty – A customer’s preference to repeatedly buy from a specific brand.
- Breakage – Coupons or promotions that go unused, reducing merchant payouts.
- Campaigns – Organized promotional efforts to drive affiliate sales and engagement.
- Chargeback – A refund request that reverses a commission earned by an affiliate.
- Click fraud – Fake or fraudulent clicks intended to manipulate affiliate earnings.
- Click ID – A unique identifier assigned to each click to track affiliate conversions.
- Click-through rate (CTR) – The percentage of people who click an affiliate link after seeing it.
- Commission – The amount paid to an affiliate per sale, lead or action.
- Commission override – Special increased commissions for top affiliates.
- Commission plan – A structured payout system defining how affiliates earn commissions.
- Cookie – A small file stored on a user’s browser to track referrals.
- Cookie duration – The time frame in which a sale is credited to an affiliate after a click.
- Content farm – A website that mass-produces low-quality content for SEO purposes.
- Conversion rate – The percentage of visitors who take a desired action (e.g., purchase, sign-up).
- Conversion window – The time frame in which a sale is tracked after a click.
- Cost per action (CPA) – A payment model where affiliates earn for specific actions.
- Cost per click (CPC) – A model where affiliates earn based on the number of clicks.
- Cost per lead (CPL) – A payment model where affiliates earn for generating leads.
- Cost per mile (CPM) – The cost advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions.
- Cost per sale (CPS) – A commission model where affiliates earn for each sale generated.
- Cost per view (CPV) – A pricing model where advertisers pay for video or display ad views.
- Coupon affiliate – An affiliate that promotes discounts and promo codes.
- Deeplink – A direct affiliate link to a specific product or landing page.
- Disclosure – A legal requirement to inform audiences about affiliate links.
- Domain authority – A metric predicting how well a website will rank in search engines.
- Double opt-in – A process where users confirm their email subscription twice for verification.
- Dropshipping – Selling products without holding inventory, often paired with affiliate marketing.
- Duplicate content – Repetitive content that may harm SEO rankings.
- Dynamic commissioning – Adjusting commissions based on performance.
- Earnings per click (EPC) – The average revenue an affiliate earns per click.
- Email marketing – Using emails to promote affiliate products.
- Evergreen offers – Affiliate promotions available year-round.
- Exclusive coupon – A special discount available only through an affiliate.
- Extensible markup language (XML) – A structured format for storing and transmitting data across different systems.
- First-click attribution – A model that credits the first referring affiliate for a sale.
- Fractional CFO – A part-time or outsourced Chief Financial Officer who provides financial expertise to businesses.
- Fraud detection – Tools and methods to identify fake leads or conversions.
- Funnel – The stages a user goes through before making a purchase.
- Geo-targeting – Showing different offers based on a user’s location.
- Grey hat SEO – SEO tactics that are riskier than white hat methods but not outright black hat.
- High-ticket affiliate marketing – Promoting high-priced items for bigger commissions.
- Impressions – The number of times an ad or affiliate link is displayed.
- Indexing (Indexed) – The process by which search engines store and organize website content for retrieval in search results.
- Influencer marketing – Using social media influencers to drive affiliate sales.
- Landing page – A dedicated page designed to convert visitors.
- Lead – A potential customer generated through affiliate efforts.
- Lead magnet – A free offer to collect potential customers’ details.
- Lifetime commissions – Commissions earned on all future purchases from a referred customer.
- Link cloaking – Shortening/disguising affiliate links for appeal and security.
- Marketing assets – Pre-made banners, logos, and content affiliates use for promotion.
- Micro conversions – Small user actions (e.g., clicking a link) that lead to a final conversion.
- MLM (Multi-level marketing) – A tiered commission structure where affiliates earn from sub-affiliates.
- MRR (Monthly recurring revenue) – The predictable revenue generated from subscriptions on a monthly basis.
- Multi-tier affiliate program – A system where affiliates earn from sub-affiliates’ sales.
- Native advertising – Ads that blend into the content.
- Nofollow link – A hyperlink that doesn’t pass SEO ranking value.
- Pay per lead (PPL) – A model where affiliates earn for generating leads.
- Pay per call (PPC) – A model where affiliates earn for phone call leads.
- Performance-based marketing – A model where payment is based on results.
- Pixel tracking – A small code snippet that tracks user actions, conversions, and behavior for better marketing insights.
- Qualified traffic – Visitors with high potential to convert.
- Real-time bidding (RTB) – An automated auction system where ad impressions are sold to the highest bidder in real-time.
- Recurring commissions – Commissions earned on ongoing subscriptions.
- Referral program – A program where existing customers refer new customers.
- Retargeting – Showing ads to users who previously visited a page.
- SEO (Search engine optimization) – Strategies to improve rankings in search engines.
- Self-referral – Affiliates purchasing through their own links (often restricted).
- SERP (Search engine results page) – The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user query.
- Split testing (A/B testing) – Testing variations to optimize conversions.
- Sub-affiliate – An affiliate recruited by another affiliate in a multi-tier program.
- Subdomain – A division of a primary domain that functions as a separate website or section.
- Summary emails – Regular performance updates sent to affiliates and merchants.
- Tiered commissions – Different commission rates based on performance levels.
- Tiers – Different affiliate levels with varying commission rates based on performance.
- Top-level domain (TLD) – The highest level of a domain name, such as .com, .org or .net.
- Tracking URL – A specialized URL that records affiliate-driven traffic and conversions.
- Two-tier affiliate program – A program where affiliates earn from sub-affiliates.
- Upsell – Encouraging a customer to buy a more expensive product.
- Webmaster – A person responsible for maintaining and managing a website’s technical and SEO aspects.
- White hat SEO – Ethical SEO techniques that follow search engine guidelines to improve rankings.
- White label – A product or service rebranded and sold by another company as its own.
- Whitelist affiliate – Trusted affiliates with special privileges.
- Whale – A high-value customer in affiliate marketing.
- Zero-click tracking – Tracking conversions without requiring a direct click.
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