Affiliate program — a way to promote products and services through affiliates who attract an audience and receive a reward for results.
Affiliate programs are used by online stores, banks, online services, casinos, bookmakers, educational platforms, and other companies.
How an affiliate program works
The mechanics depend on the specific affiliate program, but usually look like this:
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The affiliate marketer registers with the affiliate program and selects a suitable offer.
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Receives a unique affiliate link that the system uses to identify the traffic source.
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Brings users from permitted sources.
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The affiliate program records clicks, leads, and other target actions.
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Checks the received conversions and decides which of them will be paid.
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The affiliate marketer receives a payout according to the established rate and payment model.
What payment models are available
The terms depend on the affiliate program and the specific offer. The most common are:
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CPA (Cost Per Action): a fixed payout for a completed target action.
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CPL (Cost Per Lead): payment for an acquired lead, such as an application or registration.
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CPS (Cost Per Sale): a reward for a completed purchase.
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CPI (Cost Per Install): a payout for installing and launching a mobile app.
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RevShare: the affiliate receives a percentage of the revenue that the advertiser earns from the acquired customer.
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Hybrid: a combination of a fixed payout and RevShare.
Affiliate program and CPA network — what is the difference
These terms are often used as synonyms, although there is a difference between them.
An affiliate program usually belongs to a specific advertiser and provides access to its products. For example, a bookmaker's own affiliate program works only with offers from that brand.
A CPA network acts as an intermediary between affiliate marketers and different advertisers. One dashboard may contain several hundred offers from different verticals and companies.
At the same time, in the traffic arbitrage community, the term «affiliate program» is often used for both direct advertiser affiliate programs and CPA networks.
Important: Before starting traffic, you need to check the terms of the specific offer: permitted and prohibited traffic sources, GEO, KPI, rate, hold, and creative rules. For violating the terms, the affiliate program may not count the received leads or may refuse the payout.
