Affiliate marketing glossary
Revenue share
In one sentence
In a sub-affiliate context, revenue share is the proportion of the commission received from an advertiser that the network passes on to the partner who generated the sale.
If an advertiser pays the network 10% of a $100 sale and the network operates a 90% revenue share, the network receives $10 and the partner receives $9.
Revenue share is the number to compare when evaluating sub-affiliate networks, and it is frequently not published. A network advertising 'up to' a figure should be asked what the rate is for a partner at your volume.
Worked example
Two percentages that are easy to confuse
A reader spends $100 on a program paying 8%. The advertiser pays the network $8. At a 90% revenue share you receive $7.20 and the network keeps $0.80. The 90% is a share of the $8, not of the $100, and a network that shows a 90% bar next to a $100 basket without saying so is inviting the wrong reading.
Common questions
Revenue share, answered
Is revenue share the same as commission?
No, and confusing the two is the most common misreading in this category. Commission is what the advertiser pays for the sale. Revenue share is the proportion of that commission the network passes to you. A 90% revenue share on an 8% commission means you receive 7.2% of the order value.
What is a good revenue share?
The published range across sub-affiliate networks runs from about 70% to 90%. More important than the headline is whether the figure is published at all and whether it is qualified with 'up to'. A network advertising a maximum should be asked what the rate is for a partner at your volume.
Does revenue share change with volume?
On tiered networks it can. Where it does, the tiers should be published rather than negotiated case by case, because a rate you cannot look up is a rate you cannot plan against.
Keep reading
More from the glossary
Every term here is written to answer one question completely, then point at the next one worth asking.
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.
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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