Glossary

A

• A/B Testing (Split Testing): Comparing two versions of a webpage, ad, or email to determine which one performs better in terms of engagement or conversion.
• Activation: Generating a sale or desired action by a new user through an affiliate link.
• Advertiser: A person or organization that markets and sells goods or services, often paying affiliates for new customers or leads.
• Affiliate: An individual or entity that promotes products or services in exchange for a commission on sales or leads.
• Affiliate Agreement: A legal contract outlining the terms and conditions between an affiliate and a business.
• Affiliate ID: A unique code assigned to each affiliate for tracking their performance.
• Affiliate Link: A unique URL that tracks clicks, sales, and conversions attributed to an affiliate.
• Affiliate Manager: The person responsible for overseeing an affiliate program, including recruiting affiliates and supporting their activities.
• Affiliate Marketplace: A platform, such as ClickBank or JVZoo, where affiliates can discover and promote products.
• Affiliate Network: A platform that connects affiliates with advertisers, providing tools for tracking, reporting, and payments.
• Affiliate Program: An arrangement where businesses pay affiliates for generating traffic, sales, or leads through unique links.
• Anchor Text: The clickable text in a hyperlink, often optimized for SEO or tracking purposes.
• API (Application Programming Interface): An interface that allows software applications to communicate and share data.

B

• B2B Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing focused on promoting products or services to businesses.
• B2C Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing focused on promoting products or services to consumers.
• Banner Ad: A graphic advertisement placed on a website to promote affiliate links or products.
• Behavioral Targeting: Using data about users’ past actions to deliver personalized ads or content.
• Bing: A search engine developed by Microsoft.
• Black Hat SEO: Unethical SEO practices that violate search engine guidelines.
• Brand Loyalty: The tendency of customers to consistently purchase from the same brand.
• Budget Allocation: Dividing available funds among different marketing channels or campaigns.
• Buyer Persona: A detailed representation of the ideal customer, including demographics, interests, and behaviors.

C

• Campaign: A specific, organized marketing effort to promote a product or service to a target audience.
• Caps: Limits set by advertisers or affiliate networks on clicks, leads, or traffic for a specific offer.
• Chargeback: A reversed transaction due to disputes or fraud, often resulting in lost affiliate commissions.
• Click Pixel: A tracking code used to monitor clicks on ads or links.
• Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR): The percentage of email recipients who clicked a link after opening an email.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who clicked on a link or ad compared to the total who saw it.
• Commission: The fee paid to an affiliate for a completed sale, lead, or other desired action.
• Content Curation: The process of gathering and sharing relevant content from other sources.
• Contextual Advertising: Ads displayed based on the content of the webpage a user is visiting.
• Conversion: The act of achieving a specific goal, such as a sale, lead, or subscription, from a visitor.
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, like making a purchase.
• Cookies: Small text files stored on a user’s device to track online activity and attribute actions to affiliates.
• Cost per Click (CPC): The amount advertisers pay for each click on their ad.
• Creative Assets: Visual or textual elements like banners, videos, and infographics used for promotions.
• Customer Avatar: A detailed profile of your ideal customer, including demographics, interests, and pain points.

D

• Deep Linking: Linking directly to specific content on a website, rather than the homepage, to increase relevance and conversions.
• Digital Wallet: Online services like PayPal or Apple Pay used to make digital transactions.
• Direct Traffic: Visitors who type your URL directly into their browser.
• Drop-Off Rate: The percentage of users who leave during a specific stage of a funnel.
• Dynamic Ads: Ads that change content based on the viewer’s behavior or preferences.
• Dynamic Pricing: Adjusting the price of a product or service based on factors like demand, user behavior, or competition.

E

• E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Google’s guidelines for evaluating content quality.
• Earnings per Click (EPC): The average commission earned per click on an affiliate link.
• Engagement Funnel: A step-by-step process designed to increase user engagement and conversions.
• Evergreen Content: Content that remains relevant and useful over time, driving consistent traffic and conversions.
• Exit Pop-Up: A pop-up window that appears when a user is about to leave a website.

F

• Frequency: The number of times a user sees the same ad.
• Freemium Model: Offering basic services for free while charging for premium features.
• Full-Funnel Marketing: A strategy that targets users at every stage of the buying journey.

G

• Geo-Fencing: Using GPS or RFID technology to trigger marketing messages in specific locations.
• Geo-Targeting (GEO): Delivering content or ads to users based on their geographic location, such as country, state, or city.
• Google: The world’s largest search engine, widely used for information searches and advertising.
• Google Search: A tool provided by Google to find information on the web.
• Google Search Console: A free tool that helps website owners monitor and optimize their website’s performance in Google Search.
• Google Tag Manager (GTM): A tool for managing tracking codes and tags on your website.
• Guest Blogging: Writing blog posts for another website to build authority and drive traffic.

H

• Header Bidding: A programmatic ad-buying technique to maximize revenue from digital ads.
• Hreflang Tag: A piece of code used to indicate the language and regional targeting of a webpage.

I

• Impression Share: The percentage of impressions your ad receives compared to the total available.
• Interactive Content: Content like quizzes, polls, or calculators that engage users actively.

J

• JavaScript: A programming language used to create dynamic website features.
• Journey Orchestration: Aligning marketing activities with the customer’s unique journey.

K

• Keyword Cannibalization: When multiple pages on a website compete for the same keyword, harming SEO.
• Knowledge Graph: Google’s feature that displays quick answers to queries directly in search results.

L

• Landing Page: A standalone webpage designed to convert visitors into leads or customers after they click an affiliate link.
• Lead: A potential customer who has expressed interest in a product or service, such as by providing their contact information.
• Lead Nurturing: The process of building relationships with potential customers through targeted content.
• Lifetime Commissions: A model where affiliates earn commissions for as long as a referred customer remains active.
• Lookback Window: The time frame in which an affiliate’s referral is credited for a sale.

M

• Merchant: A business offering products or services through an affiliate program, also referred to as an advertiser.
• Membership Sites: Websites that offer exclusive content to subscribers for a fee.
• Meta Description: A short summary of a webpage that appears in search engine results.
• Microsite: A small, focused website dedicated to a specific campaign or product

N

• Native Apps: Apps specifically designed for a particular operating system, like iOS or Android.
• Net Revenue: The total revenue minus refunds, chargebacks, and transaction fees.
• Niche: A specific market segment that affiliates target to tailor their promotion efforts.

O

• Off-Page SEO: Strategies performed outside your website, like link building, to improve search rankings.
• Offer: A product or service that advertisers promote through affiliates.
• Open Rate: The percentage of email recipients who open a particular email.

P

• Pay Per Click (PPC): A payment model where affiliates earn based on the number of clicks their links generate, regardless of sales.
• Pay-Per-Lead (PPL): A payment model where affiliates earn commissions for each lead generated.
• Performance Marketing: A marketing approach focused on measurable results, such as clicks, leads, or sales.
• Persona Mapping: Creating customer personas to guide marketing strategies.
• Personalization: Customizing marketing messages or experiences for individual users.
• Pixel Tracking: A tracking method using small image files to monitor user behavior on websites.

Q

• Quality Assurance (QA): Ensuring that marketing materials, links, and campaigns meet high standards.
• Quick Win: A small, easily implemented change that yields immediate results.

R

• Recurring Commission: A payment structure where affiliates earn ongoing commissions for subscription-based or repeat sales.
• Recurring Revenue: Ongoing income generated from subscriptions or repeat purchases.
• Referral Traffic: Visitors directed to a website from external sources, like affiliate links.
• Responsive Advertising: Ads that automatically adjust their size, format, and appearance.
• Retargeting: A strategy to display ads to users who have already interacted with a website or product.

S

• Search Engine: A tool that allows users to search for information on the internet (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo).
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Techniques used to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results, increasing traffic.
• Semantic Search: A search engine’s ability to understand the meaning behind queries.
• Session Duration: The length of time a user spends on your website in a single visit.
• Skyscraper Content: Long, detailed content designed to be more valuable than competitors’ content.
• Social Media: Online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram used for connecting with audiences and promoting content.
• Split Testing (A/B Testing): Comparing different versions of content to identify which performs best.
• Subscription Model: A recurring revenue model where users pay regularly for access to products or services.

T

• Time-on-Site: The average amount of time users spend on a website.
• Top of Funnel (TOFU): The awareness stage of the sales funnel where users are first introduced to your brand.
• Tracking Software: Tools used to monitor affiliate campaigns, including clicks, sales, and commissions.
• Traffic: The number of visitors coming to a website.

U

• Unique Visitor: An individual who visits a website within a specific time frame, counted only once.
• User Intent: The purpose behind a user’s search query (e.g., informational, navigational, transactional).
• User Journey: The steps a user takes from first interacting with your brand to completing a desired action.

V

• Viewability: A metric measuring how many ad impressions are visible to users.
• Viewability Rate: The percentage of ads seen by users out of the total impressions served.
• Voice Search: The use of spoken queries to find information online.

W

• Webhook: A tool that triggers automated actions between different apps or platforms.
• Web Hosting: A service that stores website files and makes them accessible on the internet.
• Website Analytics: The collection and analysis of website performance data.

X

• XML Feed: A structured data format often used to share updated content between systems.
• XP (Experience Points): Gamification elements used in marketing to engage users.

Y

• Yahoo: A search engine offering web search, email, and news services.
• YouTube Ads: Video advertisements displayed on YouTube, often used in affiliate promotions.

Z

• • Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT): The critical moment when a consumer researches a product before buying.
  • Zone Tag: A tracking mechanism used in ad networks to identify ad placement areas.