The Ultimate Affiliate Marketing Glossary
Quick Definitions You MUST Know
Affiliate marketing is full of jargon — acronyms, platform names, tracking terms, bidding models, and traffic types. That's normal. This glossary, curated by AffinSight, collects the most common terms you'll encounter in the affiliate marketing world and gives you clear, one-line definitions for each so you can move faster and speak the language like a pro.
Whether you're exploring affiliate networks, comparing offers, or optimizing your campaigns, understanding these terms is essential. Bookmark this page and come back whenever you need a quick refresher. At AffinSight, we're committed to making affiliate marketing accessible and transparent for everyone.
A–C
A/B test (split test)
Compare two (or more) variants of an ad, page, or funnel to see which one performs better.
Above the fold
The part of a page visible without scrolling.
Ad network
A company that aggregates publisher inventory and sells ad placements to advertisers.
Ad exchange
A marketplace where impressions are bought and sold programmatically (feeds DSPs and SSPs).
Ad tech (Advertising Technology)
Software and platforms used to buy, sell, measure and optimize digital ads.
Advertiser (Merchant / Seller)
The brand that pays to promote a product or service.
Affiliate (Publisher / Partner)
Someone who promotes an offer and earns commissions for conversions.
Affiliate link (tracking link)
A unique URL that attributes clicks and sales to a specific affiliate.
Affiliate network
A platform that connects advertisers and affiliates and handles tracking, offers, and payments.
Affiliate program
The system a merchant uses to recruit affiliates and pay commissions.
Affiliate manager
The person who runs a merchant's affiliate program and supports affiliates.
API
A software interface that lets tools exchange data (used for reporting, automation).
APK Offer
An Android app package used in mobile app install offers.
Anchor text
Clickable words in a hyperlink.
Attribution
The method that determines which marketing touchpoint gets credit for a conversion (last-click, first-click, multi-touch, etc.).
Auto-download offer
An offer that pushes a download automatically after a click (often malicious or blocked).
Average Order Value (AOV)
Average revenue per order.
Average Payout Value (APV)
The average commission an affiliate earns per conversion.
D–F
Daily budget / Maximum budget
The daily or total cap set for an ad campaign.
Dayparting
Scheduling ads to run at specific hours or days for better performance.
Deep linking
Linking directly to a specific product or page instead of a site's homepage.
Demand-Side Platform (DSP)
A tool advertisers use to programmatically buy ad inventory across exchanges.
Direct billing / SMS billing
Charging users directly via their phone bill or carrier billing.
Disclosure
A statement telling your audience you'll earn commissions (FTC compliance).
Domain / Subdomain / Root domain / TLD
Different parts of a web address (domain structure).
Duplicate content
Large blocks of identical or near-identical content across URLs that hurt SEO.
EPC (Earnings Per Click)
Average revenue earned per click (revenue ÷ clicks).
ESP (Email Service Provider)
Tool for hosting and sending email campaigns.
Earnings per Lead (EPL)
Average revenue earned per lead.
Expandable: EPC, CPL, CPA, CPS, CPI, CPM
Common pricing models: Earnings/Cost per Click, Lead, Action, Sale, Install, or Mille (1,000 impressions).
First-price/Second-price auction
How programmatic bids are settled (first-price pays the bid; second-price pays just above the runner-up).
First click / Last click
Attribution models that give credit to the first or last referring affiliate.
Flooding / Fraud (Click fraud)
Fake or low-quality clicks/actions that waste budget and skew metrics.
Frequency capping
Limit how often a user sees the same ad within a time window.
Float / Shave
Bad practices or losses in tracking/payout reconciliation (shave = lost conversions during routing).
G–I
GEO (geotargeting)
Targeting traffic by country, region, or city.
Gravity
Marketplace metric (e.g., ClickBank) indicating recent sales momentum.
Hit
A single file request to a web server (page + assets count as multiple hits).
HopLink / Tracking link
Affiliate link formats used by specific networks (ClickBank HopLink as example).
Impression
One view of an ad or creative.
Inbound / Outbound link
Links pointing into or out of a site (backlinks = inbound).
Index (search engine)
The database of pages a search engine has crawled and stored.
In-page / In-app push / Push notification
Push message formats displayed inside apps or as browser/system notifications.
Incentivized traffic
Traffic where users are paid or rewarded to perform an action (often lower quality).
In-house tracking
Tracking solution managed by an advertiser rather than via a third-party network.
IP / Proxy / VPN
Network identifiers and tools used for routing traffic or masking location (VPNs can affect GEO targeting).
IVR / Click2Call
Phone-based conversion flows that connect users to offers via calls.
J–L
JV (joint venture)
A partnership where parties combine resources to promote an offer and split revenue.
Landing page / Prelander / Bridge page
The page users arrive at after an ad; prelanders/bridge pages warm prospects before the offer.
Lead / CPL (Cost per Lead)
A captured contact or form submission; pricing model that pays per lead.
Lifetime Value (LTV)
Estimated total revenue from a customer over their relationship with a business.
Link cloaking
Masking an affiliate link for aesthetics or tracking; can be disallowed by some platforms.
Link juice / Authority (Domain, Page)
SEO value passed by links; Moz metrics (Domain Authority, Page Authority) are scoring examples.
Local / Tiered GEOs (Tier 1–4)
Country grouping by traffic quality and ad cost (Tier 1 = US/UK/CAN/AU, etc.).
M–O
Major tracking tokens / Click ID
Values appended to tracking URLs that carry campaign, source, and device info.
Meta title / Meta description
HTML elements used by search engines to display pages in SERPs.
Mobile affiliates / Mobile content (mVAS)
Affiliates and offers optimized for mobile (apps, direct billing).
Native ads
Ads that mimic the look and feel of the host content (less intrusive).
Net terms / Payment frequency / Minimum payout
When and how networks pay affiliates (Net-30, weekly, minimum thresholds).
Niche / Vertical
Specific market segment (Nutra, Dating, Finance, Sweepstakes, iGaming, etc.).
Offer / Single Offer / Smartlink
Product promotion; single-targeted offers vs. smartlinks that rotate best-performing offers.
Onclick / Pop / Popunder / Popup
Ad formats that open overlays, new windows, or behind-the-page placements.
Opt-in / SOI / DOI
Single Opt-In (SOI) or Double Opt-In (DOI) email subscription processes.
Opt-out / Unsubscribe
User action to stop receiving marketing emails (legally required).
P–R
Pixel / Fired pixel
Tracking pixel that signals a conversion to the affiliate tracker or network.
Payout models (RevShare / CPA / CPS / CPL / CPI / Hybrid)
How affiliates are compensated: revenue share or fixed amounts per action.
PPC (Pay Per Click) / CPC
Buying traffic where you pay per click.
Pre-sell / Prelander
Content that warms the audience before sending them to the offer page.
Profit / Revenue / ROI / ROAS
Revenue metrics: profit = revenue − costs; ROI = (revenue − cost)/cost; ROAS = revenue/ad spend.
Postback / Server-to-Server (S2S)
Server-level notification used for reliable conversion tracking.
Pixel vs Postback
Pixel = client/browser-side; Postback = server-side; postbacks are more reliable across blockers.
Positioning / Placement
Where ads appear on publisher inventory (which site, which slot).
Program Terms / Agreement
Rules that govern a merchant's affiliate program.
S–T
Scan / Spy tools
Tools used to research competitors' creatives, landing pages, and offers.
SDK / APK
Mobile development kits and Android package files used in mobile offers.
Search (SEO) / SEM
Organic search optimization vs paid search (ads).
Segment
A set of traffic parameters (GEO, OS, carrier) used to analyze or target users.
Sell-through / Conversion rate (CR)
Percent of visitors who complete a desired action (sale, signup).
Seller / Merchant / Product Owner
The company or person selling the product affiliates promote.
Shave
Loss of conversions or revenue due to routing, miscounting, or malicious interference.
Shops / Marketplaces
Platforms where products are listed (e.g., ClickBank marketplace).
SmartLink / Offer Rotator
A dynamic link that automatically routes traffic to the best-performing offer.
SOI / Single Opt-In
One-step opt-in where user is subscribed immediately after submitting their info.
SSP (Supply-Side Platform)
A publisher-side tool to sell ad inventory programmatically.
Split testing
Running different creatives or pages to determine the best performer.
Spy tool
Competitive intelligence tools that show what ads and landers others run.
S2S / Postback
Server-to-server conversion notification for stable tracking.
Supply / Demand
Publishers supply inventory; advertisers create demand to buy it.
Sweepstakes offers
Lead-gen style campaigns where users enter to win a prize in exchange for details.
Squeeze page
A landing page designed solely to collect emails.
U–Z
U-turn / Redirects (301, 302)
301 = permanent redirect; 302 = temporary; use correct type for SEO and routing.
Unique clicks / Unique users
Count of individual visitors who clicked (not repeat clicks).
URL / Tracking URL
The web address and the version that contains tracking parameters.
Viral marketing
Campaigns designed to generate organic sharing and exponential reach.
VSL / TSL (Video/Text Sales Letter)
Long-form sales content in video or text format used to convert buyers.
VPN / Proxy
Tools that can mask a user's real IP/GEO; may affect campaign targeting and fraud detection.
Whitelist / Blacklist
Approved or blocked lists of publishers, sites, or traffic sources.
Win rate
Percentage of bid opportunities you win in programmatic auctions.
XML / Datafeed
Structured file (XML/CSV) of product data used for feeds, catalogs, and dynamic ads.
Zero-click traffic
Flows where a conversion happens without a traditional click (e.g., some background mobile flows).
Quick Practical Tips
EPC vs CPC vs CPA
EPC tells affiliates how much they earn per click; CPC is what you pay for clicks; CPA is what you pay per action.
Use postbacks for reliability
Postback/S2S tracking beats pixel tracking when users have blockers or fast mobile flows.
Cookie windows matter
Longer cookie durations often mean more affiliates get credit — negotiate cookie length.
Test everything
Use A/B tests for creatives, landing pages, and audience segments — small lifts compound.
Disclose affiliate relationships
Always add a clear disclosure to stay compliant with local regulations (FTC, etc.).
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