If you’re dipping your toes into the world of affiliate marketing, you’ve probably noticed something pretty quick: people love throwing around acronyms and jargon like everyone was born knowing what EPC or CTA means. It almost feels like trying to decode an ancient text. But hey — it doesn’t have to be that way.
In this post, we’re going to unpack all the common affiliate marketing terms you’ll bump into so you can navigate the space like someone who actually knows what they’re doing. Grab a coffee, kick back, and let’s break these down in plain English.
Affiliate Marketing in a Nutshell
Before we jump into definitions, here’s the “one-sentence version” of affiliate marketing: you promote someone else’s product or service, and when someone buys through your unique link, you get paid. Simple. Everything else is just details that help you track, measure, and optimize that process.
Alright — onto the fun stuff.
1. Affiliate
This is you (or whoever is promoting the product). An affiliate is basically a partner who sends traffic and customers to a business in exchange for a reward, usually a commission. You can be a blogger, YouTuber, TikTok creator, newsletter writer, or just someone with a Facebook page where Grandma comments on everything. Doesn’t matter — if you promote and earn, you’re an affiliate.
2. Merchant / Vendor / Advertiser / Brand
This is the business that owns the product or service. They create it, manage it, support it, and pay you when you bring them customers. Depending on where you read, you’ll see terms like merchant, vendor, or advertiser — all pointing to the same person: the seller you’re partnering with.
3. Affiliate Network
These are platforms that act as the “middleman” between affiliates and merchants. Instead of signing up for each merchant individually, you join a network and get access to tons of affiliate programs all in one place.
Examples include:
- ShareASale
- CJ (formerly Commission Junction)
- Impact
- ClickBank
- Awin
It’s basically the mall of affiliate programs.
4. Affiliate Link
Your special tracking URL. This is the link the merchant or network gives you so they can tell when you sent the traffic. When someone clicks it and buys, the system credits you with the sale.
It usually looks something like:https://brand.com/product?affiliate_id=12345
Not pretty, but it’s doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
5. Tracking Cookie
When someone clicks your affiliate link, a tracking cookie is placed in their browser. This cookie follows them around (non-creepily) and tells the merchant who sent them. If they come back later and buy — boom, you’re still credited.
This leads us to the next important term…
6. Cookie Duration (or Cookie Window)
This is how long your referral is valid after someone clicks your link. Common cookie windows are:
- 24 hours
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 90 days
Some are even “lifetime cookies,” meaning once someone clicks, they’re tied to you forever.
So if a program has a 30-day cookie and your visitor buys on day 29, you still earn the commission. Sweet.
7. Commission
This is what you earn when someone completes a desired action, usually a purchase. Commissions come in different flavors depending on the program:
Percentage Commission
You earn a percentage of the sale price.
Example: 30% of every cookbook someone buys.
Flat Rate Commission
You earn the same amount no matter the price.
Example: $25 for every subscription signup.
Recurring Commission
This is the holy grail. When a customer pays monthly, you keep getting a piece every month.
8. SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
You’ll sometimes see merchants refer to SKUs when they’re talking about which products are commissionable. It’s just a fancy inventory term for “product ID.”
9. EPC (Earnings Per Click)
EPC tells you how much you typically earn per click you send. It’s calculated by the network or merchant and helps you compare offers.
So if an offer has a $3 EPC, that means affiliates, on average, earn $3 for every click they send. Some niches can be wild, with $50+ EPCs, especially in finance and software.
10. Conversion Rate
This is the percentage of people who take the action you want (usually buying). If 100 people click your affiliate link and 5 buy, that’s a 5% conversion rate.
High-converting offers are every affiliate’s dream.
11. Landing Page
This is the page you send your traffic to. It could be:
- A product page
- A sales page
- A webinar signup
- A trial page
A landing page’s job is to close the sale, while your job is just to send qualified traffic.
12. Funnel
You’ll hear this word constantly. A funnel is just the journey someone takes from learning about the product all the way to buying. A simple affiliate funnel might look like:
- Read your blog post
- Click your affiliate link
- Visit the product page
- Buy the product
That’s a funnel — no need to overcomplicate it.
13. CPA (Cost Per Action)
This means you get paid when a visitor completes any specific action, not just a purchase. It could be:
- Filling out a form
- Signing up for a trial
- Entering an email address
- Downloading an app
CPA offers usually pay less per action than a full sale, but the volume can be huge.
14. CTR (Click-Through Rate)
This tells you how often people click your links compared to how many times they were shown. If 1,000 people read your blog post and 40 clicked your affiliate link, your CTR is 4%.
If your CTR is low, it could mean your call-to-action (CTA) isn’t compelling enough.
15. CTA (Call To Action)
This is the part of your content where you tell people to do something. It could be:
- “Click here to grab the deal”
- “Try it yourself”
- “Learn more”
The clearer the CTA, the better the clicks.
16. Traffic Sources
This is where your audience comes from. Common ones include:
- SEO (Google traffic)
- Social media
- YouTube
- Email marketing
- Paid ads
Different programs allow different traffic methods, so always check the rules.
17. Attribution Model
This determines who gets credit for a sale. The two big ones are:
Last-Click Attribution
The last affiliate someone clicked before buying gets the commission (most common).
First-Click Attribution
The first affiliate who introduced the customer gets credit (less common but nice).
18. Reversal / Void
Sometimes a sale gets reversed. It happens when:
- The buyer requests a refund
- The purchase was fraudulent
- The customer canceled
- The merchant’s terms weren’t followed
Seeing a reversal is a bummer, but it’s part of the game.
19. Payout Threshold
This is the minimum amount you need to earn before the network sends your money. It might be $10, $50, or even $100 depending on the platform.
20. Payout Schedule
This is how often you get paid. It could be:
- Weekly
- Bi-weekly
- Monthly
- Net-30 (paid 30 days after the month ends)
- Net-60
High-ticket affiliate programs often pay slower to account for refund periods.
21. High-Ticket Affiliate Program
These programs pay large commissions — usually $200, $500, $1,000+, or more per sale. They often revolve around:
- Software
- Courses
- Coaching programs
- Premium services
They make it possible for affiliates to earn big without insane amounts of traffic.
22. Low-Ticket / Volume Affiliate Program
These pay smaller commissions (think $1–$20), but the conversion rate and volume can be massive.
Examples:
- Amazon Associates
- Etsy
- Walmart
Good for beginners or for monetizing broader niches.
23. Affiliate Disclosure
Legally required. You must tell your readers that you use affiliate links. A simple statement like:
“This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.”
…keeps you on the right side of the FTC.
Final Thoughts
Affiliate marketing comes with its own little language, and once you pick up the terms, everything feels way less intimidating. These words pop up everywhere — in dashboards, emails, tutorials, and conversations with other affiliates — so knowing what they mean gives you a major confidence boost.
The more familiar you get with these basics, the easier it becomes to optimize your content, pick profitable offers, and grow your income. Honestly, once you understand the vocabulary, affiliate marketing stops looking like a maze and starts looking like a map — one you can actually read.