Glossary
Affiliate marketing terms, defined
Every affiliate and partner-program term CommissionFlow tracks in plain English — cross-linked to the comparison hubs and the per-partner program directory so the definition is always one click away from the live programs it applies to.
EPC (Earnings Per Click)
Average revenue an affiliate generates for every 100 clicks sent to a partner program.
EPC is the headline efficiency metric in many affiliate dashboards — total commission earned divided by total clicks, multiplied by 100. CommissionFlow does not yet surface per-program EPC because CommissionFlow earns per redirected conversion rather than per click, but the term is widely used across the SaaS affiliate ecosystem and worth understanding when comparing competing programs.
Recurring commission
A commission paid on every renewal of the customer’s subscription — not just the initial conversion.
The CommissionFlow partner directory marks every program with a recurring badge so you can scan the long-tail value of each referral at a glance. Awin programs are recurring by network policy; other networks are recurring only when the partner has explicitly opted in.
See alsoPrograms
One-time commission
A commission paid once on the initial conversion, with no payout on subsequent renewals.
A one-time rate is the cheapest entry signal for a new affiliate relationship — useful when the partner offers a large upfront bounty, but the lifetime value is bounded by month one. The compare hubs and program directory clarify which model every CommissionFlow-tracked partner uses.
See alsoPrograms
Reversal rate
The share of attributed commissions that get clawed back — typically because the referred customer cancelled within a chargeback window.
Reversals are the silent tax on affiliate income. SaaS programs with monthly billing see higher reversal rates than annual-billing programs; CommissionFlow surfaces the raw commission rate on every partner card and leaves the reversal model to each partner’s program terms.
See alsoPrograms
Tiered commission
A commission rate that scales up as the affiliate delivers more conversions or revenue in a billing period.
Tiered structures reward affiliates that ramp volume into a partner program and are usually described as "10% month one, 15% after $5k/mo in referred revenue". They are common in mid-market SaaS but rare in enterprise programs.
See alsoPrograms
Payout threshold
The minimum accrued commission balance an affiliate must hit before the network releases a payout.
Most affiliate networks default to a $50 or $100 minimum. Net-30 and net-60 cadences are also common — CommissionFlow discloses the network on every partner card so you can see which release schedule applies before joining.
See alsoPrograms
Lifetime commission
A payout that continues as long as the referred customer remains a paying subscriber — independent of any "recurring" badge.
Lifetime commissions are the most generous structure on paper but rely on either handshake agreement or a real rev-share schema; the CommissionFlow "recurring" badge captures the program-level intent so you can audit the model per partner.
See alsoPrograms
Cost per click (CPC)
The amount an advertiser pays for each click on a tracked ad — the inverse-economics cousin of EPC.
CPC is paid-media vocabulary; affiliates usually call the equivalent "EPC" because they are paid rather than paying. The CommissionFlow landing-page hub covers the broader paid-acquisition budget allocation.
See alsoLanding page builders
Cost per acquisition (CPA)
The blended cost of acquiring a paying customer — total spend divided by conversions.
CPA captures paid-search, paid-social, and affiliate together. On the CommissionFlow landing-page hub we walk through the ratio between landing-page conversion rate and CPA across competing builders.
See alsoLanding page builders
Two-tier affiliate program
An affiliate program that pays a sub-affiliate override — you earn on your referrals AND on the referrals your sub-affiliates send.
Two-tier programs incentivise teams to recruit more affiliates under them. CommissionFlow tracks several two-tier offerings on the partner directory and marks each clearly so the override rate is visible up front.
See alsoPrograms
Affiliate link
A unique URL with an embedded tracking identifier that routes the click through the network and attributes any conversion back to the affiliate.
Every CommissionFlow CTA on the comparison hubs and the partner program directory routes through `/api/track/click` so the click is recorded before the 302 to the partner — your link works whether or not CommissionFlow’s own dashboard is enabled.
See alsoPrograms
Tracking pixel
A 1×1 image or JavaScript tag dropped on the conversion page so a third-party network can record the conversion server-side.
Pixels complement cookie-based click-tracking by recording the conversion event from the merchant side. Modern SaaS programs increasingly use server-side postbacks instead of browser pixels for resilience against ad-blockers and iOS privacy controls.
See alsoPrograms
Server-side tracking
Attribution implemented as a server-to-server postback from the merchant to the network — no browser cookie or pixel required.
The most resilient attribution model: independent of browser privacy controls. CommissionFlow records click events server-side at `/api/track/click` so the hop from CommissionFlow to the partner persists even when the visitor has cookies disabled.
See alsoPrograms
Cross-device tracking
Attribution that follows a visitor from a phone click to a desktop conversion, when the two devices share a deterministic identifier.
Achieved via login-based identity graphs (when the visitor is signed in across devices) or probabilistic device fingerprinting. Most modern B2B SaaS programs still attribute via last non-cross-device click because deterministic matching is reserved for known accounts.
See alsoPrograms
Attribution window
The maximum delay between the affiliate click and the conversion that still credits the affiliate.
Distinct from cookie duration: a longer cookie duration means the click can sit dormant in the visitor’s browser for longer, but the attribution window itself is the program-defined expiry for crediting.
See alsoPrograms
Last-click attribution
The model in which the final touchpoint — the affiliate click — receives 100% of the conversion credit.
The default model for nearly every SaaS affiliate program, including every CommissionFlow-tracked partner. Simple, transparent, and easy for both sides to reason about — even though it ignores the earlier funnel contribution from other channels.
See alsoPrograms
First-click attribution
The model in which the first touchpoint receives 100% of the conversion credit, regardless of later interactions.
Less common in affiliate marketing because most affiliate programs are signed up for last-click. First-click appears in some awareness-payment structures where the partner and the affiliate are both credited on a 50/50 split.
See alsoPrograms
Multi-touch attribution
A model that splits conversion credit across multiple touchpoints in the funnel — U-shaped, W-shaped, or fully custom-weighted.
Native to internal marketing analytics rather than affiliate programs; CommissionFlow surfaces a last-click attribution because that is the model every tracked partner program uses.
See alsoPrograms
Conversion rate
The share of visitors that complete a tracked goal — for landing pages, typically a form submission or trial signup.
The endpoint metric on every landing-page builder CommissionFlow compares: a 4% conversion-rate lift on a $50 CPC traffic source is worth more than any visual redesign.
See alsoLanding page builders
Click-through rate (CTR)
The share of impressions that result in a click — the standard paid-media efficiency metric.
CTR quantifies the upper funnel on every CommissionFlow landing-page comparison; pair it with conversion rate to read the full-funnel efficiency of any tracked builder.
See alsoLanding page builders
Niche relevance
The match between an affiliate’s audience and the partner program’s ideal customer profile — the single largest driver of EPC.
A marketing-automation tool promoted to a list of paid-search buyers will outperform the same tool promoted to a generic newsletter audience. The CommissionFlow marketing-automation hub highlights which programs serve SMB marketers specifically.
See alsoMarketing automation
Audience match
The observable alignment between a sender’s list and a partner program’s buyer profile — usually captured by opting into a partner’s audience-segment contract.
Audience-match deals are common in email-marketing partnerships: CommissionFlow’s email-marketing hub tracks which providers offer the cleanest audience-match onboarding.
See alsoEmail marketing
FTC disclosure
A clear, conspicuous notice that content includes affiliate links — required by the US Federal Trade Commission under 16 CFR Part 255.
CommissionFlow discloses every affiliate relationship on the comparison hubs, the partner program directory, and a dedicated disclosure page that lives outside the nav so any visitor can audit the commercial terms in one place.
See alsoAffiliate disclosure
Material connection
Any relationship between an endorser and a marketer that could affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement — the FTC trigger for disclosure.
Affiliates receiving free product, payment, or any in-kind compensation all qualify as material connections; CommissionFlow discloses each one explicitly so no implicit endorsement slips past the FTC rule.
See alsoAffiliate disclosure
Endorsement test
Whether a reasonable consumer would interpret the content as a paid or incentivised endorsement — the litmus test inside 16 CFR Part 255.
If the relationship is not clear from the context, the FTC requires a disclosure. CommissionFlow’s full disclosure page elaborates on how the test is applied across the SaaS comparison and partner-program content.
See alsoAffiliate disclosure
Affiliate network
A third-party intermediary that recruits affiliates, hosts tracking, and settles payouts between merchants and partners.
ShareASale, Impact, CJ Affiliate, and Awin are the four networks CommissionFlow tracks. Each card on the partner directory shows the network so the payout settlement model is transparent before you join.
See alsoPrograms
SaaS affiliate program
A partner program run by a B2B SaaS vendor — typically recurring and tied to subscription renewals, distinct from one-off e-commerce payouts.
CommissionFlow exclusively tracks B2B SaaS affiliate programs. The compare hub index lists every category currently in scope so you can see how the tracked program set maps to the broader product taxonomy.
See alsoCompare SaaS tools
Direct partnership
A two-party affiliate relationship run outside any third-party network — CommissionFlow is paid directly by the SaaS vendor.
Rather than routing every payout through ShareASale or Awin, some SaaS vendors prefer to settle CommissionFlow directly. The partner directory marks each card with the network so direct partnerships are clearly distinguished.
See alsoPrograms