This glossary offers thematically grouped affiliate marketing terms to support you on your journey in the Automattic Affiliate Program. Understanding these terms will help you optimize your performance in the program and in the affiliate marketing space at large.
Affiliate: An individual or entity that promotes products or services offered by a merchant in exchange for receiving a commission on sales or leads generated through their promotional efforts. Also referred to as partner, associate, or publisher.
Affiliate Agreement: A contractual agreement outlining the terms and conditions between an affiliate and a merchant, including commission structure, promotional guidelines, and payment terms. See the Automattic Affiliate Terms here.
Affiliate Manager: A person or agency responsible for overseeing the marketing of a merchant’s program. They create forecasts and budgets, communicate with affiliates regularly, establish incentives, and monitor industry news and trends. You can contact your Automattic affiliate management team by emailing affiliates@automattic.com
Affiliate Marketing (Performance Marketing): A type of performance-based marketing that centers on an agreement between two sites. The affiliate agrees to feature content designed to drive traffic to another site in return for a commission for referred clicks, leads, or sales to a merchant. The merchant then compensates affiliates for directing a specific action, such as a sale, by a user through their promotional efforts. The business typically incurs marketing costs only after the affiliate and their users have achieved the desired performance.
Affiliate Network: An intermediary between affiliates and merchants. A platform where affiliates can find and join various affiliate programs. They offer tracking, reporting, and payment services, consolidating multiple affiliate programs in one location for the convenience of publishers. Automattic uses the Impact affiliate network.
Manual Approval: An affiliate application validation procedure in which all applicants are individually approved for an affiliate program. All Automattic affiliate program applications are reviewed manually.
Merchant: An online company, such as Automattic, that offers products or services. In affiliate marketing programs, merchants partner with affiliates to attract consumers to sign up for services, make purchases, complete forms, or visit websites. Also known as a brand, retailer, or advertiser.
New vs. Returning Customer Attribution: A commission model in affiliate marketing that differentiates between first-time and repeat customers. Merchants such as Automattic often structure payouts based on customer type, offering higher commissions for new customer acquisitions and reduced or no commissions for repeat purchases from existing customers. This model incentivizes affiliates to focus on customer acquisition rather than retention, aligning payouts with business growth objectives.
Sub-Affiliate: An individual or business that an affiliate recruits to promote Automattic’s products or services, with the original affiliate earning a commission on the sub-affiliate’s sales or leads.
Sub-Affiliate Network: Sub-affiliate networks enable the parent affiliate to leverage the marketing efforts of others and earn revenue through the efforts of the sub-affiliates. The arrangement typically involves clear documentation of the commission structure, tracking mechanisms, and transparent communication to ensure that all parties understand their roles and responsibilities within the network. Sub-Affiliate Networks are responsible for the program compliance of their sub-affiliates.
Above the Fold: Derived from the times of physical newspapers, the part of a webpage that is visible without scrolling, usually at the top. Often considered prime real estate for affiliate marketing banners or links.
A/B Testing: The practice of showing a potential customer one version (A) or another (B) and comparing their behavior based on which version the user saw. A method for improving marketing strategy.
Affiliate Marketing Conferences: Events where industry professionals, affiliates, merchants, and network representatives come together to network, share insights, discuss trends, and collaborate on affiliate marketing strategies. The Automattic affiliate team often attends industry events. Let us know if you’d like to meet up!
Attribution: Granting credit to the partners involved in moving a customer along their purchase journey. Can refer to various marketing partners or affiliates who help influence or convert someone to an actionable customer. The two most common forms of attribution in Affiliate Marketing are Last Click crediting and First Click crediting. Automattic uses last-click attribution.
Content Commerce: Also referred to as commerce content, content commerce encompasses articles and features found on publisher websites that contain editorial content and highlight products from advertisers. Publishers earn commissions through the links included in these listicles, roundups, reviews, gift guides, and brand features.
Conversion: The specific action, such as a purchase or sign-up, that Automattic wants a visitor to take after clicking on the affiliate’s marketing material. In Impact this is known as an Action or an Event.
Cost Per Click (CPC): An affiliate payment model where affiliates earn a commission each time a visitor clicks on a link that directs them to the merchant’s website, regardless of whether a sale is made.
Creative: Images, banners, videos, or text links that promote advertiser offers. These are generally created by the brand and made available through the affiliate interface, in this case Impact, which affiliates can use to promote Automattic’s brands.
Loyalty Affiliates: Affiliates who provide rewards such as cashback, points, or other benefits to their members to encourage them to shop through their website.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM): Strategies aimed at enhancing the visibility of websites in search engine results to drive traffic. SEM techniques encompass Search Engine Optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising, paid placement, and paid inclusion. Additionally, it involves procuring paid search listings to achieve improved organic search listings.
Co-Branded Landing Page: A customized landing page that features both the affiliate’s and merchant’s branding to create a seamless customer journey and improve conversion rates.
Cookie: A small piece of data stored on a user’s computer by a merchant’s website that allows the affiliate to receive credit for the customer’s purchases or actions on the website.
Cookie Duration/Attribution Window: The period during which a cookie placed on a visitor’s device by Automattic’s website remains valid, determining how long the affiliate can earn commissions on subsequent purchases made by the visitor. Also known as a referral period. The cookie duration for the Automattic Affiliate Program is 30 days.
Data Feed/Product Data Feed: A file provided directly to an affiliate, or indirectly through a network or third-party provider, that contains product data. The affiliate can use this data to populate web pages and online or mobile apps with products.
Dead Link: An Internet link that does not lead to an active or viewable page, most likely because the page no longer exists or the server is down. In the context of affiliate marketing, this can be a broken link caused by expiration in the case of a promotion, removal of an asset, or a program being shut down.
Deep Linking: Creating hyperlinks that lead directly to a specific product or page on Automattic’s website, increasing the chances of conversion and providing a more targeted user experience. Deep links can be set up by entering the desired landing page into the “Create and Share Link” tool in the Impact Dashboard.
Destination URL: The location on a site where the customer who has clicked on the ad is meant to be directed.
EPC (Earnings Per Click): A metric calculated by dividing Total Commissions Earned by Total Clicks. EPC is a measure that allows affiliates to gauge how much they earn per click on affiliate links. Generally measured over a 7-day or 30-day period, EPC indicates the performance of offers and campaigns.
Geo-Targeting: Delivering different content or advertisements to website visitors based on their geographical location. Geo-targeting allows Automattic and affiliates to tailor marketing efforts to specific regions.
Locking Period – The duration starting when a commission is generated and ending when it becomes eligible for payout. During this period, transactions are reviewed for validity, ensuring there are no cancellations, chargebacks, or fraudulent activities. Once the locking period ends, approved commissions are processed for payment according to the affiliate Network’s payout schedule. The length of the locking period in the Automattic program varies depending on the refund policy of each specific brand. For more information, refer to your individual affiliate terms.
ROI/ROAS (Return on Investment/Ad Spend): The measure of the gain or loss generated on the marketing investment made by the affiliate in promoting Automattic’s products or services.
Vanity Code/Exclusive Code/Custom Code: A coupon code designed by an advertiser for a specific affiliate, usually following a naming convention to indicate its exclusivity. Automattic may provide custom codes on a case-by-case basis.
Commission: The percentage or flat fee that Automattic pays affiliates for driving sales or leads through their marketing efforts. The commission rate for all Automattic products can be viewed here.
Cost-Per-Lead (CPL): An affiliate payment model where affiliates earn a commission for each qualified lead they generate for the merchant. This could include actions such as form submissions, sign-ups, or downloads, regardless of whether a sale is made. Also known as Pay-Per-Lead.
Cost Per Sale (CPS): An affiliate marketing payment model where affiliates earn a commission for each sale generated through their promotional efforts.
First Click Attribution: A type of attribution in which the affiliate who is granted a commission is the one responsible for the first click prior to the sale or lead within the Cookie Duration. Automattic uses first click attribution.
Last Click Attribution: A type of attribution in which the affiliate granted a commission is the affiliate responsible for the last (or closest to last) click before the sale or lead within the cookie duration window.
Payment Threshold: The minimum amount of commission an affiliate needs to accumulate to receive payment from the Automattic Affiliate Program. This amount is generally configured in the affiliate network, e.g. Impact, and includes the aggregate amount from all publisher activity on the network.
Tier Levels: Merchants may motivate affiliates to boost their business over competitors by offering increased commissions when a specific sale or lead target is reached. Tier levels can be customized for individual affiliates based on specific business strategies.
Affiliate Fraud: Any unethical or deceptive practice engaged in by affiliates to manipulate tracking, generate fake clicks, or falsely claim commissions, including cookie stuffing and click fraud. Automattic does not permit any kind fraud, and violators of these standards will be removed from the Automattic Affiliate Program, as per program Terms and Conditions.
Disclosure/FTC Disclosure: A legal requirement by the Federal Trade Commission wherein all affiliate marketing content must include a statement that informs the consumer of the affiliate relationship between the publisher and the brand they are promoting. FTC disclosures must accompany all content that a U.S. consumer might reasonably be predicted to see, whether or not the creator is based in the U.S. See our article on the topic here.
Malware (also Spyware): Typically, deceptive software that is covertly installed on a user’s computer to monitor their computer usage without their knowledge or consent. The primary aim of most malware is to compel users to view advertising and specific web pages, or to set cookies for an Affiliate Program without legitimate user interaction. Malware falls under the category of fraud and is prohibited under the Terms and Conditions of the Automattic Affiliate Program.
Trademark Bidding Policy: A restriction preventing affiliates from using a company’s brand names, trademarks, or similar variations in paid search advertising (i.e. PPC campaigns). Automattic does not allow trademark bidding by their affiliates unless otherwise agreed upon.
Consumer/Customer Funnel: Also referred to as the customer journey, the pathway that potential customers follow from first becoming aware of a product or service to completing a purchase. This journey consists of several stages including awareness, interest, consideration, and conversion. Marketers use different strategies to lead users through this funnel and different types of publishers are considered to impact the customer journey at disparate points. Content publishers are considered more “top of funnel” while deal publishers are “bottom of funnel.”
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV or CLV): The projected revenue a business expects to earn from a customer over their entire relationship. The CLV often influences affiliate commission structures, particularly in B2B models like Automattic.
Evergreen Content: Content that remains relevant and valuable to readers, regardless of seasonal trends or industry changes. Often includes how-to guides, product reviews, tutorials, and best practices that drive traffic and conversions long after publication. Unlike time-sensitive content, like news articles or limited-time promotions, evergreen can provide sustained engagement and ongoing affiliate revenue.
Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing involves partnering with individuals who have a large following on social media or other platforms to which they can effectively promote products or services.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Original material utilized in campaigns, including images, videos, reviews, blogs, and testimonials. Unlike content produced by marketing teams on behalf of the brand, UGC is created by product users. By leveraging users’s points of view and experience, UGC captivates potential customers in a different way than the brand can, often.
Sponsored Post: A blog or social media post that highlights a particular product or service and has been paid for by a specific merchant, organization, or individual. To ensure compliance with FTC regulations, all affiliate posts, including but not limited to sponsored ones, must be clearly identified as such. Again, refer to our article on FTC guidelines here.
Automattic Affiliate Program - Knowledge Base 