Affiliate marketing glossary
Advertiser
In one sentence
An advertiser, also called a merchant, is the brand that runs an affiliate program and pays commission for the sales or leads that affiliates generate.
The advertiser sets commission rates, cookie windows, allowed promotional methods and approval criteria. Everything a publisher can and cannot do on a program originates with the advertiser, not the network.
It is worth being precise about where authority sits, because publishers frequently direct complaints at the wrong party. Rate changes, restricted promotional methods, geographic limits and validation timelines all originate with the advertiser. The network provides tracking and enforces the advertiser's rules; it does not write them.
Common questions
Advertiser, answered
What is the difference between an advertiser and a network?
The advertiser is the brand paying for sales. The network is the infrastructure between the brand and the publisher, handling tracking, reporting and payment. Terms come from the advertiser; the mechanics come from the network.
Can I contact an advertiser directly?
Through a sub-affiliate network, normally not, because the advertiser relationship is held by the account rather than by you. Program-level questions go through the network. This is one of the real trade-offs of the structure and is worth knowing before you need an answer urgently.
Why do advertisers restrict how affiliates promote them?
Because some traffic costs them money rather than making it. Trademark bidding competes with their own ads for traffic they would have won free, and incentivised traffic buys customers who convert once and never return. Restrictions are how they keep the channel profitable rather than merely large.
Keep reading
More from the glossary
Every term here is written to answer one question completely, then point at the next one worth asking.
Sub-affiliate network
A sub-affiliate network is a company that holds approved relationships with affiliate programs on major networks and lets smaller publishers and creators promote those programs under its account, sharing the commission it receives.
EPC (earnings per click)
EPC is the average commission earned per click sent to an advertiser, calculated as total commission divided by total clicks over a given period.
Cookie window
The cookie window is the length of time after a click during which a resulting purchase is still credited to the affiliate, commonly ranging from 24 hours to 90 days.
Last-click attribution
Last-click attribution credits the entire commission to the final affiliate link clicked before a purchase, which is the default model across almost all affiliate networks.
Attribution
Attribution is the process of determining which marketing touchpoint receives credit for a conversion, and therefore which affiliate is paid.
Cross-device tracking
Cross-device tracking links a click on one device to a purchase on another, so an affiliate is credited when a customer discovers a product on mobile and buys on desktop.
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