Affiliate Marketing Terms

Affiliate networks are profitable for both the merchant as well as publisher. The advertiser gets access to a huge network of affiliates at a single place. The publisher does not work for one but many merchants. Advertisers pay the total amount of commission to the network which is then distributed amongst the affiliates.

Pay-per-Click (PPC) or Cost-per-Click (CPC) is based on the number of clicks generated over a period of time. Advertisers pay the merchant or publisher a fixed amount of money, each time a visitor clicks on the advertiser’s Ad.

The most dynamic industries for affiliate marketing are gambling stations, adult websites and retail sectors. A recent survey reported that the three sectors expected to show maximum growth are cell phones, finance services and travel sectors. With the rise in online marketing, affiliate marketing is becoming more popular.

Provide incentives to visitors for signing up with your program. One of the most popular incentives is newsletters. Fill the newsletters with interesting and eye- catching content. Incentives can also include free products & services or free software.

Pay-per-Lead (PPL) or Cost-per-Lead (CPL) refers to the number of leads generated by the affiliate. The merchant pays a fixed commission to the affiliate for every customer referred. This is also known as Cost-per-action model since the visitor needs to perform an action like filling out a form or signing up etc.

Websites that are flooded with affiliate links are considered less important. Such sites do not provide informative and quality content. Thus webmasters who are affiliate marketers must focus on providing quality content. This will help Google differentiate such websites from other Spammer websites.

Pay-per-Sale (PPS) or Cost-per-Sale (CPS) is one of the most commonly used methods. The merchant pays the publisher or affiliate a fixed percentage of the total amount of sale that was generated. CPS is preferred by all online retailers. The calculation procedure for pay per sale is quite simple.

Affiliate managers keep in constant touch with the top affiliates. They train affiliates in offline and internet marketing. Managers provide promotional materials and motivate affiliates to advertise effectively. Certain affiliate managers operate as Outsourced Program Managers who provide consulting services including affiliate program optimization, program launch services and technology development.