PPC Affiliate
A PPC affiliate promotes a merchant's offers by buying paid search or display ads and routing that traffic to affiliate links, profiting from the gap between ad cost and commissions earned.
PPC (pay-per-click) affiliates run a media-buying operation: they pay per click on platforms like Google or Meta and earn per conversion, so their model lives or dies on keeping cost per click below earnings per click.
Many programs restrict PPC affiliates — for example banning bidding on the brand's own trademarked terms or direct-linking to the merchant — to avoid competing with the brand's own ads and inflating costs. PPC affiliates contrast with content and influencer affiliates who earn through organic reach.
See also
- CPC (Cost Per Click)
CPC, or cost per click, is the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks their ad or link, a common pricing model in paid search and display and a key metric for PPC affiliates.
- EPC (Earnings Per Click)
EPC, or earnings per click, is the average commission an affiliate earns per click on their tracking links, calculated as total commissions divided by total clicks.
- Content Affiliate
A content affiliate earns commissions by creating articles, reviews, tutorials, or videos that naturally recommend products with tracked links, driving conversions through helpful, search- or audience-driven content.
- 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.
- Performance Marketing
Performance marketing is an umbrella term for digital marketing where advertisers pay based on measurable results — clicks, leads, or sales — rather than upfront for exposure, with affiliate marketing as a core channel.
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