Affiliate Marketing Advanced Topics 2 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'attribution window' mean in affiliate marketing?
- The time a publisher has to dispute a declined commission
- The period during which a conversion is credited to an affiliate after a click (Correct answer)
- The delay between a click and the affiliate dashboard updating
- The minimum traffic threshold before commissions are paid
Correct answer: The period during which a conversion is credited to an affiliate after a click
An attribution window is the defined time period after a click during which any resulting conversion is credited to the referring affiliate.
Question 2: In affiliate marketing, what is 'sub-affiliate' or 'sub-ID' tracking used for?
- Recruiting affiliates below you in a two-tier program
- Passing custom parameters through tracking links to segment performance data (Correct answer)
- Creating duplicate affiliate accounts under one network login
- Splitting commissions automatically between two publishers
Correct answer: Passing custom parameters through tracking links to segment performance data
Sub-IDs are custom parameters appended to affiliate links that let affiliates track performance by traffic source, ad placement, or campaign.
Question 3: Which metric best measures the efficiency of an affiliate's traffic quality independent of commission rate?
- Click-through rate (CTR)
- Earnings per click (EPC)
- Return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Conversion rate (CVR) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Conversion rate (CVR)
Conversion rate directly reflects how well an affiliate's audience matches the advertiser's offer, independent of how much each conversion pays.
Question 4: What is 'cookie stuffing' and why is it prohibited?
- Storing excessive data in tracking cookies, slowing page load
- Fraudulently dropping affiliate cookies on users without a genuine click (Correct answer)
- Using too many affiliate programs on a single webpage
- Combining multiple affiliate cookies from different networks on one link
Correct answer: Fraudulently dropping affiliate cookies on users without a genuine click
Cookie stuffing fraudulently attributes conversions to an affiliate by placing cookies on users' browsers without a real referral click.
Question 5: A performance marketing agency runs campaigns for multiple advertisers. Which affiliate model allows the agency to earn based on actual customer lifetime value rather than a one-time action?
- CPA (cost per acquisition)
- CPL (cost per lead)
- Revenue share (Correct answer)
- CPC (cost per click)
Correct answer: Revenue share
Revenue share pays affiliates a percentage of ongoing customer spend, aligning earnings with long-term customer value rather than a single event.
Question 6: What is 'affiliate link cloaking' primarily used for?
- Hiding commission percentages from merchants
- Making long tracking URLs cleaner and preventing affiliate ID stripping (Correct answer)
- Bypassing network terms of service to earn unauthorized commissions
- Encrypting affiliate cookies so competitors cannot replicate them
Correct answer: Making long tracking URLs cleaner and preventing affiliate ID stripping
Link cloaking converts long, ugly affiliate URLs into short branded links, reducing the chance of users manually removing tracking parameters.
Question 7: Under FTC guidelines in the US, when must an affiliate disclose their relationship with an advertiser?
- Only when promoting products worth more than $100
- Whenever there is a material connection that could affect the credibility of the endorsement (Correct answer)
- Only on social media platforms, not on blogs or websites
- Only if the affiliate earns more than $600 per year from the program
Correct answer: Whenever there is a material connection that could affect the credibility of the endorsement
FTC rules require clear disclosure whenever a material connectionâincluding paid commissionsâexists that might influence a consumer's view of a recommendation.
Affiliate Marketing Advanced Topics 2
What does 'attribution window' mean in affiliate marketing?