How to read commissions, tiers and source-account terms
A commission number needs its qualifying event, unit, currency and conditions. Establish those details before comparing rates or historical performance.
Identify the qualifying event
CPS concerns qualifying sales, CPL concerns leads and CPA requires a defined action. CPC concerns clicks and CPM concerns thousands of impressions. One programme may have multiple events; trials, registrations and purchases need separate rates.
Compare percentages and fixed amounts separately
A 5% rate and a fixed amount of 5 are different. Fixed amounts also need a currency. An explicit zero is different from missing information. A bare source value does not automatically become a percentage.
Read tiers with their thresholds
Read tier rates with lower and upper thresholds, product categories, customer types and validity dates. Thresholds may use money, item counts or other measures. Do not sum tiers or treat dynamic conditions as a universal order rate.
EPC is performance data, not a commission term
EPC describes historical earnings from clicks within a period and traffic scope. Check per-click versus per-100-click units, currency and period before comparing networks. It neither predicts your earnings nor determines one order’s commission.
Check whose rate it is and when it applies
Distinguish source-account references, public baseline plans and exclusive arrangements. AffDir excludes private exclusive offers; displayed account-visible references still require confirmation against your approved terms. A sync date and a plan’s validity period are different.
Checklist
- Identify the event, unit and currency.
- Read every tier’s thresholds, conditions and dates.
- Confirm account scope, retain unknowns and avoid treating historical metrics as promises.
Continue browsing
Sources and methodology
These guides explain how to read information. Current programme sources and your approved terms determine actual rates and permissions.