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Once your affiliate program is up and running, the real work begins: tracking what’s working, what’s not, and where the growth opportunities lie.
If you’re relying only on clicks and conversions, you’re likely missing critical signals about quality, margin impact, and partner value.
This guide walks you through the KPIs and tools that experienced marketers use to scale affiliate programs with confidence. Whether you're preparing for your first Q4 with affiliates or optimizing an established program, this is your playbook.
Affiliate programs are performance-driven by nature. But without structured tracking:
Tracking goes beyond attribution. It’s about understanding influence, margin, and long-term value. It gives you the power to invest in what works and fix or remove what doesn’t.
These are the non-negotiables for any serious affiliate program:
1. Conversion Rate
From click to purchase. Helps you identify which partners send high-intent traffic.
2. Earnings per Click (EPC)
How much revenue each click generates on average. A strong efficiency signal.
3. Average Order Value (AOV)
Are affiliate customers buying more or less than others? Monitor purchase quality.
4. Commission Payouts
Track both total commissions and partner-specific breakdowns.
5. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) via affiliates
Is affiliate CAC more efficient than paid social or search?
6. Revenue by Affiliate
Which affiliates are truly impacting revenue? Avoid measuring success by volume alone.
7. Refund and Return Rates
Low-quality traffic often results in high returns. Keep an eye on this to protect margin.
If you’ve scaled past the early stage, dig into these:
1. LTV of Affiliate Customers
Do affiliate-sourced customers retain well or churn fast?
2. Post-Purchase Referral Rates
Are affiliate customers referring others? That’s a strong quality signal.
3. Time to First Conversion
How long does it take a click to convert? Helps optimize funnel.
4. Discount Dependency
Are sales only happening with heavy affiliate codes? Watch your margins.
5. Attribution Window Effectiveness
Are you rewarding the last click or true influence? Use multi-touch if possible.
6. Percentage of New vs Returning Customers
Are affiliates bringing new customers, or re-attracting existing ones?
7. Cross-Device Conversions
If you’re running mobile-heavy campaigns, make sure tracking spans sessions and devices.
Not all affiliates are created equal. As your program matures, it's important to segment partners by type and evaluate them on different performance baselines.
Common Affiliate Segments:
Segmenting lets you:
Even experienced marketers fall into these traps:
If you're evaluating platforms to manage and track affiliate performance, the most important factor is alignment with your business needs - whether it's DTC, B2B, or influencer-heavy.
ReferralCandy with AffiliatePlus is a flexible solution for brands looking to manage both affiliate and referral programs in one dashboard. It's designed to serve fast-growing eCommerce businesses across different stages - from early-stage DTC shops to scaling multi-region stores.
Why ReferralCandy (with AffiliatePlus) works well:
If you're already on ReferralCandy for referrals, AffiliatePlus is a natural extension to grow with affiliates. No platform switching needed.
If you're just getting started:
If you're already running a program but lack visibility:
If you’re scaling up and need better tracking:
If you're managing both referrals and affiliates: Track both seamlessly with AffiliatePlus →
Tracking affiliate performance isn't just about counting clicks. It's about knowing which partners drive real value, which KPIs tell the full story, and which tools give you visibility you can act on.
Whether you're optimizing for margin, scale or both, having the right data is the foundation of a high-performing affiliate program.
Need help setting up your affiliate tracking stack? Start your free trial of ReferralCandy.
What’s a good conversion rate for affiliates?
It depends on the affiliate type. Content and influencer affiliates may average 2–5%, while coupon or deal sites often see lower rates around 0.5–1.5%.
How often should I review affiliate performance?
Monthly is the minimum. Weekly if your program is scaling.
What if high-volume affiliates are underperforming on ROI?
Consider commission restructuring or moving to tiered incentives.
Can I run both affiliate and referral programs together?
Yes - just keep tracking, payouts, and goals clearly segmented.
Do I need different tracking for influencers and coupon sites?
Not necessarily, but segment them for better insights and ROI modeling.
What’s the ideal attribution window?
There’s no one-size-fits-all. Start with 7–14 days and adjust based on funnel length.
Raúl Galera is the Growth Lead at ReferralCandy, where they’ve helped 30,000+ eCommerce brands drive sales through referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Over the past 8+ years, Raúl has worked hands-on with DTC merchants of all sizes (from scrappy Shopify startups to household names) helping them turn happy customers into revenue-driving advocates. Raúl’s been featured on dozens of top eCommerce podcasts, contributed to leading industry publications, and regularly speaks about customer acquisition, retention, and brand growth at industry events.
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