Affiliate marketing glossary
Deal site
In one sentence
A deal site is a publisher whose content is organized around discounts, voucher codes and time-limited offers rather than around editorial recommendation.
Deal sites convert at high rates because their visitors arrive already intending to buy and are looking for a reason to complete. That makes them valuable to advertisers during sale periods and a source of tension outside them.
The tension is attribution. A shopper who was going to purchase anyway, then searches for a voucher code at checkout, generates commission for the deal site under last-click attribution without having created the demand. This is why many advertisers restrict coupon placements, pay a reduced rate on them, or require prior approval, restrictions listed on each program page here.
Common questions
Deal site, answered
Why do advertisers restrict coupon and deal sites?
Because of where they sit in the journey. A shopper who had already decided to buy searches for a code at checkout, clicks the deal site, and last-click attribution hands it the commission for demand it did not create. Restricting or rate-reducing coupon placements is how advertisers stop paying full commission for that.
Can I publish discount codes as a creator?
Only where the program permits it, and the permission is program by program. Each program page in this directory lists its promotional-method restrictions. Publishing a code on a program that restricts coupon placement is a breach even if the code is public.
Do deal sites hurt other affiliates?
Under last-click, they capture commission that discovery content generated, so yes in effect, though not by intent. It is a property of the attribution model rather than of the publisher type, which is why advertisers address it by changing the terms rather than by blaming the site.
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.
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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