Definition
The model began with retail referral programs in the 1990s: a website links to a merchant and earns a commission on sales. It generalized into an industry with its own intermediaries. An affiliate network aggregates offers from many advertisers, tracks conversions and pays affiliates; an affiliate brings traffic. This glossary is written from the traffic side: how media buyers who act as affiliates buy and measure the visitors they send to offers.
Payment models
| Model | Paid for | Typical verticals |
|---|---|---|
| CPL | A lead | Sweepstakes, finance, insurance, dating sign-ups |
| CPS | A sale | E-commerce, nutra, software |
| CPI | An app install | Games, utilities, VPN |
| CPA per FTD | A first deposit | iGaming, betting, trading |
| Revshare | A share of ongoing revenue | iGaming, dating, subscriptions |
| Hybrid | CPA plus revshare | iGaming |
How a media buyer runs affiliate campaigns
- Pick an offer whose payout, GEOs and allowed traffic types fit the formats you can buy.
- Set up a tracker between the traffic source and the offer so every click carries a click ID and every conversion comes back by postback.
- Buy traffic from an ad network: popunders for volume, push or native for pre-sold clicks, chosen per offer.
- Read conversions by source ID and creative; whitelist what converts, cut what does not.
- Scale by GEO and format while the offer's cap and payout hold; renegotiate payout as volume grows.
Where ad networks fit
Affiliates need two things: offers and traffic. Affiliate networks supply the first; ad networks supply the second. Some ad networks also host offers of their own, so an affiliate can take traffic and offers from the same account and track both in one place. Reacheffect's Offers module works this way for affiliates who prefer a single platform, while buyers who run other networks' offers through the Reacheffect DSP connect their tracker as usual.
Related terms
| Term | Relation | Where defined |
|---|---|---|
| CPA | The core payment model | Term page |
| Media buying | What the traffic side does | Term page |
| Postback URL | The tracking mechanism | Term page |
| FTD | The iGaming conversion | Term page |
FAQ
What is the difference between an affiliate network and an ad network?
An affiliate network supplies offers and pays per conversion; an ad network supplies traffic and charges per impression or click. Media buyers use both, sending traffic from the second to offers from the first.
How are affiliate conversions tracked?
The traffic source stamps a click ID on each click; the tracker and the affiliate network pass it along; when the conversion happens, a postback with that ID tells each platform in the chain.
Can I run affiliate offers without my own website?
Yes. Media buyers send paid traffic from ad networks directly to an offer's landing page or through a pre-lander they host, without a content site.