Affiliate marketing glossary
CPL (cost per lead)
In one sentence
CPL is a commission model in which the affiliate is paid for a qualified lead, a completed form, a trial signup, a quote request, rather than a purchase.
CPL converts more easily than CPS because the visitor is not being asked for money, which makes it attractive to creators with large audiences and lower purchase intent. Payouts are flat and validate quickly.
The risk is lead quality. Advertisers reject leads that fail validation, and repeated rejections can end a program relationship.
Common questions
CPL (cost per lead), answered
What counts as a qualified lead?
Whatever the advertiser defines, and the definition is worth reading before you promote. It normally means a real person, contactable details, and eligibility criteria such as country, age or credit profile. A submitted form that fails any of those is rejected and pays nothing.
Why were my leads rejected?
The usual causes are traffic outside the eligible market, incentivised users completing the form for a reward, duplicate submissions, or content that implied something the advertiser does not offer. A rejection rate that climbs steadily is a content problem; a spike is usually a traffic-source problem.
Is CPL easier than CPS?
It converts more easily, because the visitor is not being asked for money, which makes it attractive to large audiences with lower purchase intent. It is not easier to sustain: advertisers monitor lead quality closely and repeated rejections end program relationships faster than low volume does.
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.
Affiliate network
An affiliate network is a platform that connects advertisers running affiliate programs with publishers who promote them, handling tracking, reporting and payment between the two.
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.
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