Reference Guide
Your comprehensive guide to partnership marketing terminology. Understand every concept, metric, and industry term.
An individual or company that promotes another company's products or services in exchange for a commission on sales or leads generated through their marketing efforts.
A performance-based marketing strategy where businesses reward external partners (affiliates) for generating traffic or sales through the affiliate's own marketing efforts. Also known as partner marketing.
An intermediary platform that connects merchants with affiliates. Networks handle tracking, reporting, and payment processing between multiple brands and affiliates.
A structured marketing program where a business recruits affiliates to promote their products or services in exchange for commissions. Also called a partner program.
The process of determining which marketing effort or partner should receive credit for a conversion. Common models include first-click, last-click, and multi-touch attribution.
The payment an affiliate receives for successfully referring a customer who completes a desired action (purchase, lead, click, etc.). Can be a percentage of sale or flat fee.
When a user completes a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form. Conversions are tracked to calculate affiliate commissions.
A small piece of data stored on a user's browser that tracks their activity. In affiliate marketing, cookies track which affiliate referred a customer and for how long they remain attributable.
The length of time an affiliate can earn commission after a customer clicks their affiliate link. Common durations range from 24 hours to 90 days or more.
A pricing model where advertisers pay only when a user completes a specific action, such as a purchase or form submission. Also called pay-per-action.
A collaboration between a brand and content creator (influencer, blogger, YouTuber, etc.) where the creator promotes the brand's products to their audience, often for a fee or commission.
A metric that shows the average earnings an affiliate receives per click on their affiliate links. Calculated by dividing total commissions by total clicks.
A form of marketing where brands collaborate with individuals who have influence over potential customers, typically through social media platforms.
A potential customer who has shown interest in a product or service, typically by providing contact information. Leads can be tracked and attributed to affiliates.
The process of monitoring clicks on affiliate links to track which partner referred each customer and calculate commissions accurately.
The business or brand that creates products or services and runs an affiliate program to promote them through partners. Also called advertiser or brand.
An attribution model that distributes credit across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey, rather than assigning all credit to a single interaction.
An individual or company that promotes a brand's products or services. Partners can include affiliates, influencers, publishers, and referral partners.
The process of recruiting, onboarding, communicating with, and optimizing relationships with marketing partners to maximize program performance.
A broad marketing strategy that encompasses all forms of collaborative marketing between brands and external partners, including affiliate, referral, influencer, and creator partnerships.
Marketing where payment is based on measurable results such as clicks, leads, or sales, rather than brand awareness or impressions.
A content creator or media company that promotes products through their platform (website, blog, social media, etc.) and earns commissions through affiliate partnerships.
A marketing strategy where existing customers recommend products or services to others, typically in exchange for rewards or incentives.
A structured program where businesses incentivize existing customers to refer new customers, often offering rewards for both the referrer and the referred.
A commission model where affiliates earn a percentage of the revenue generated from their referrals. The most common affiliate commission structure.
A unique URL containing an affiliate's ID that tracks which partner referred each customer. When clicked, it creates a cookie or session for attribution purposes.
A small, invisible image placed on a website that tracks user behavior, conversions, and other metrics. Used for attribution and analytics.
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