What a brand pays a publisher for a sale credited to it, usually a percentage of the order value, often with a network fee on top.
Commission is a publisher's earning on a credited sale. It's usually a percentage of what the shopper paid, sometimes a fixed amount, and it can differ by publisher, by product or by whether the customer is new. Many networks also charge the brand a fee, often worked out from the commission, so the cost of a credited sale is the two together.
- Basket
- £60.00
- Paid after the code
- £51.00
- Commission at 5% of the £51 paid
- £2.55
- Network fee at 30% of commission
- £0.77
- Commission and fee, beside the £9 discount
- £3.32
A sale's commission starts as pending. The brand validates or declines it within the validation window, and only then is it paid. It costs the same whether the publisher found a new customer or reached one already at your checkout, which is why the last click rule matters as much as the rate.
In the UK, the CMA counts commission as a form of payment that makes a creator's post an ad. How affiliate marketing works walks through the money.
Google's own help and policy pages first.