Merchant
A merchant is the business that owns the product and runs an affiliate program, paying partners a commission for the customers they refer.
The merchant (also called the advertiser or brand) sets the program's terms: which conversions are eligible, the commission rates, the cookie window, the payout threshold, and any restrictions on how affiliates may promote. They supply the creative assets, links, and reporting affiliates need.
In a self-hosted program the merchant runs everything in-house using affiliate software; in a network model, an affiliate network sits between the merchant and its affiliates to handle tracking, recruitment, and payments.
See also
- Affiliate
An affiliate is an individual or company that promotes another business's products in exchange for a commission on the sales or actions they generate.
- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model in which a business pays external partners a commission for each customer or sale they refer.
- Commission
A commission is the payment an affiliate earns for each qualifying conversion they drive, set as a percentage of the sale or a fixed amount per action.
- Cookie Window
A cookie window (or cookie duration) is the length of time after a referral click during which a resulting conversion will still be credited to that affiliate.
Turn the theory into a live program
Afflio handles tracking, commissions, and payouts so you can run the program these terms describe — start free in an afternoon.
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