Campaign terms and dashboards are full of jargon. Keep this page bookmarked.
People and platforms
- Advertiser: The business paying for results. Also called the merchant or brand.
- Publisher: The person or business promoting campaigns. Also called the affiliate, partner or creator.
- Network / marketplace: The platform connecting advertisers and publishers, handling tracking and payouts. See what is a performance marketing marketplace.
- Publisher ID: Your unique identifier on a platform. On M2E it looks like
M2E10001. - Campaign: A specific offer from an advertiser, with its own payout terms and rules.
- Offer: Often used to mean the same thing as campaign.
Links and tracking
- Tracking link: A unique link that records your clicks and conversions.
- Click ID: A unique identifier for a single click, used to match a conversion back to it.
- Sub ID: A label you add to a link to group results, e.g.
?sub1=instagram. See sub IDs explained. - Redirect: Sending the visitor from your tracking link to the advertiser page.
- Deep link: A link to a specific product or page rather than the home page.
- Landing page: The page the visitor arrives on.
- Attribution: Deciding which click gets credit for a conversion.
- Last click: An attribution rule where the last eligible click before conversion gets credit.
- Attribution window / tracking period: How long after a click a conversion can still be credited. See the attribution window explained.
- Cookie: A small file in the browser that can store click information.
Payout models
- CPA: Cost per action.
- CPS: Cost per sale.
- CPL: Cost per lead.
- CPI: Cost per install.
- CPC: Cost per click.
- RevShare: Payout as a share of revenue.
- Payout: The amount a publisher earns per approved conversion.
Read CPA, CPL, CPI and CPS explained for more.
Results and metrics
- Click: One visit through your link.
- Conversion: A completed action that the campaign pays for.
- Conversion rate (CR): Conversions divided by clicks.
- EPC: Earnings per click.
- Approval rate: Approved conversions divided by all decided conversions.
- Cap: A limit on how many conversions a campaign will pay for in a period.
- Geo: The countries or regions where a campaign is valid.
Validation and payment
- Pending validation: Recorded, not yet confirmed.
- Validation period: Time the advertiser takes to confirm conversions.
- On hold: Under extra review.
- Approved: Confirmed by the advertiser.
- Rejected: Found invalid; never paid.
- Payable: Approved and ready to be paid to verified payment details.
- Paid: Sent, with a payment reference.
- Reversal: A conversion that was undone after being recorded, for example after a return.
Traffic and compliance
- Traffic source: Where your clicks come from: social, search, email, messaging, etc.
- Incentivised traffic: Users rewarded for completing the action.
- Brand bidding: Running search ads on the advertiser’s brand name. Often forbidden.
- Cookie stuffing: Forcing tracking cookies without a real click. Fraud.
- Self-conversion: Converting through your own link. Usually forbidden.
- Disclosure: A clear label telling your audience you earn from a link. See our ASCI disclosure guide.
- KYC: Know Your Customer identity checks, common in finance campaigns.
Frequently asked questions
What is EPC in affiliate marketing?
EPC means earnings per click: total earnings divided by clicks. It helps compare campaigns or placements that get different amounts of traffic.
What is the difference between a publisher and an affiliate?
They mean the same thing: the person or business that promotes campaigns and earns for results.
What is incentivised traffic?
Traffic where users are rewarded for completing the action, for example being paid to install an app. Many campaigns forbid it.
Start earning with M2E
Create a free publisher account, apply to campaigns that suit your audience and get your own tracking link for each one.
Become a Publisher