Affiliate Glossary
Affiliate (also known as an Associate or Publisher)
This is a site
owner that places links on their web site to promote merchant's products or
services. For their efforts, the affiliate gets commission for all the valid
transactions/sales referred to the merchant by using their affiliate link.
Merchants
A merchant is a company that sell products or
services. As an affiliate, you'll have the option to partner with these
merchants and help them sell their products online. These merchants normally pay
affiliates/partners by: pay per lead or pay per sale.
Affiliate
Program (also known as an Partner or Associate Program)
This is where
merchants / companies allow web site owners (affiliates, Partners or Associates)
to promote their products or services. This is done by the web site owner
placing merchants links on their site, when someone clicks on that link and a
valid transaction has taken place, then the affiliate will get a commission
(percentage of the sale).
Affiliate Directory
This is a Site /
Company that lists a large number of different types of affiliate programs in,
which the affiliates can join. These programs include cpc, cpa, cpm, etc.
Affiliate Network
A Site/Company where merchants can list
their affiliate program/s. Affiliates can then join theses affiliate programs
and promote the merchants' products and services by using text links, banners,
etc. Affiliates can join and track a large number of affiliate programs from one
site. All sales from each affiliate program are totalled together to give one
sum. Affiliates will then receive commissions in one payment, often done
monthly.
Banner Programs / advertisements
Affiliates get paid
by placing merchants banners on their site. These banners are a graphical
advertisement, typically 468 pixels wide by 60 pixels tall. Affiliates normally
get paid per 1000 impressions, per sale, or per click-through.
PopUps/Unders & Exits
These are advertisements or websites
that displays in a new browser window. These advertisements or websites normally
popup the same time as your site, but can be timed. A Pop-Under Ad will display
behind your site so no one notices that it is there until they leave your site.
Exit ads popup once a visitor leaves your site.
Referrals
Affiliates send visitors to a merchant's site and if
the visitor signs up to the merchant's affiliate program, advertisers program,
etc. then the affiliate will either be paid a one of commission or a percentage
of the referrals commission, advertisers deposits for life, and so on ...
Pay Per Click (also known as PPC)
Merchants pay affiliates for
each visitor that clicks on a text link or banner that takes the visitor to the
merchant's site. Affiliates are normally paid per unique visitor to a merchant's
site.
Pay Per Lead / Action
Affiliates receive a commission
for each visitor they refer to a merchants site that completes surveys,
downloads, signups, etc.
Pay Per Impression (cpm)
Earn
commissions without your visitors having to make a purchase from the merchant's
site, generate a click-thru, etc. All Affiliates have to do is place either a
banner or text link on their site that takes them to the merchants site. Every
time the banner or text link gets viewed the affiliate will get paid. Affiliates
normally get paid per 1000 impressions/page views.
Pay Per
Sale
An affiliate program that pays you a commission when you refer a
visitor to a merchant's site and they then buy a product or service from the
merchant. Affiliates usually get paid a percentage or a fixed rate of each
product or service they sell.
Raw Visitors
A Raw visitor is
counted every time a page is viewed.
Unique Visitors
A Unique
visitor is counted every time a site is viewed every 24 hrs. E.g. If a site
receives a visitor at 2.30pm and receives the same visitor at 6.30pm on the same
day then it will be counted as just one visitor. If he had visited the site
2.31pm on the next day then it would have counted as two visitors.
Search Box
A search box is another way for affiliates to link
to a merchant's site. It is coded specially to access a web address that is
built into the merchant's database. So if a visitor wants to search for a
product or service on a merchant's site that you have affiliated with, then they
can search for that product straight from your site by using their search box. A
Search Box is especially used in Search Engine Affiliate Programs.
Text Links
Text links are links that either describes a
merchant's product, service or their site. When the link is clicked on it will
take you to the merchants site. This way of linking is becoming ever more
popular as you can make the link and text look the same as the other content
within your site. So your visitors won't know if it is a link to another site or
just a link to another page on your site.
2 Tier
These are
affiliate programs that pays a commission for at least two-levels deep. For
example, if you refer a visitor to a merchants site and they become an affiliate
and he / she then refers someone and they also become an affiliate then you'll
be paid what you earn plus what your direct referral earns plus what your
indirect referral earns up to two levels deep.
Direct
Referrals
These are people that you directly refer to an affiliate
program.
Indirect Referrals
This is where visitors are
referred to an affiliate program by your direct referrals.
Net 60,
Net 30, etc
This is where a merchant pays it's affiliates 60 days after
the month for the Net 60 and 30 days after the month for the Net 30.
Pay Per Click Search Engine (PPCSE, PPC Search Engine, Pay Per
Bid)
These are search engines that allow you to earn on a pay per click
basis. Their advertisers also pay on a pay per click basis. If a visitor clicks
on a bided link that was referred by you, you'll then earn a percentage of the
bided amount.
