Affiliate marketing metrics aren’t one-size-fits-all. The numbers you track when launching your program aren’t always the same ones you’ll focus on as it grows. To build a high-performing affiliate program, you need to measure what matters, at the right time.
In this guide, we break down essential affiliate marketing metrics based on your program’s stage—whether you’re just getting started, optimizing for conversions, or scaling revenue long-term.
Affiliate Metrics For New Affiliate Programs
When you're just starting out, it's crucial to track how many affiliates you're bringing in and whether they're actually engaging with your program. These metrics help you assess whether your outreach and onboarding efforts are effective and if new affiliates are showing interest. You’ll also want early signs of traffic and satisfaction to validate your setup.
1. Traffic Numbers From Affiliates
Traffic is the lifeline, but it’s not everything. The number of visitors directed to your site from affiliate links indicates the reach and effectiveness of your affiliate program.
Do look further: if traffic is high, but other metrics aren’t, there might be an issue.
- Calculation: this can be tracked using web analytics tools like Google Analytics.
- Importance: higher traffic can lead to increased sales opportunities, and understanding the source can help in optimizing the affiliate program.
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of clicks affiliate links receive compared to the number of times they are viewed.
- Calculation: the (number of affiliate link clicks divided by the number of impressions) x 100.
- Importance: a higher CTR indicates more effective affiliate link placements, possibly better audience engagement and conversions.
3. Cost Per Click (CPC)
The cost incurred for each click on an affiliate link.
- Calculation: the total cost of affiliate programs divided by the total number of clicks.
- Importance: lower CPC values suggest more cost-effective link placements and possibly better budget management.
4. Percentage of Active Affiliates
The proportion of affiliates actively promoting your products versus the total number enrolled in your program.
- Calculation: the number of active affiliates divided by the total number of affiliates, and then multiplied by 100.
- Importance: a higher percentage implies a more engaged and productive affiliate network.
5. Affiliate Recruitment Rate
The rate at which new affiliates are joining the program.
- Measurement: tracking the number of new affiliates over a specified period.
- Importance: a higher recruitment rate can expand the program’s reach and potential affiliate revenue.
6. Number of New Affiliates Recruited
The new affiliates recruited within a specific timeframe, indicating the program's attractiveness and expansion.
- Measurement: tracking the sign-ups in your SaaS affiliate software.
- Importance: growing the affiliate base can lead to increased exposure and sales.
Affiliate Metrics For Growing Affiliate Programs
Once your program is running, the next step is ensuring affiliates are actively promoting and driving traffic that converts. These metrics help you fine-tune your funnel, identifying what content or offers perform best and where affiliates may be losing momentum. This phase is all about boosting engagement and turning clicks into customers.
7. Overall Engagement
The level of interaction and activity within your affiliate network.
- Measurement: through communication frequency, responsiveness, and promotional activity. You’ll find these numbers in your social media analytics.
- Importance: high engagement often translates to affiliate marketing success.
8. Affiliate Re-engagement Rate
The rate at which inactive affiliates are re-engaged and start promoting your products/services again.
- Measurement: monitoring the activity of previously inactive affiliates.
- Importance: higher re-engagement rates may reduce the need for recruiting new affiliates and can rejuvenate the program.
9. Average Affiliate Conversion Rate
This measures the percentage of affiliate-referred visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up.
- Calculation: divide the number of conversions by the number of visitors, then multiply it by 100.
- Importance: a higher conversion rate indicates a better ROI and shows the effectiveness of affiliate marketing strategies.
10. Sales Per Affiliate
This metric gauges the sales generated by each affiliate, showing the productivity of individual affiliates.
- Calculation: total sales generated divided by the number of affiliates. Important: always look for outliers.
- Importance: identifying high-performing affiliates can help with optimizing the program and establishing rewarding partnerships.
11. Affiliate-to-Customer Conversion Rate
The percentage of affiliate-referred visitors who become customers.
- Calculation: the (number of new customers from affiliates / the number of visitors from affiliates) x 100.
- Importance: higher rates imply affiliates are sending high-quality, relevant traffic.
12. Revenue Per Affiliate (RPA)
The average revenue generated by each affiliate.
- Calculation: the total revenue from affiliates divided by the number of active affiliates.
- Importance: RPA helps assess the average productivity and effectiveness of affiliates.
13. Affiliates' Earning Per Click (EPC)
The average earnings generated by affiliates for each click on their referral links.
- Calculation: the total earnings from affiliate links divided by the total number of clicks.
- Importance: higher EPC values can attract higher-quality affiliates and encourage current affiliates.
14. Affiliate Retention Rate
The percentage of affiliate-referred customers who continue to make purchases.
- Calculation: the (number of returning customers / the total number of customers) x 100.
- Importance: high retention signifies customer satisfaction and recurring revenue potential.
Affiliate Metrics For Mature Affiliate Programs
As your affiliate program matures, it's time to measure the quality and long-term value of the customers affiliates bring in. These metrics tell you not just how much affiliates are selling, but how valuable those customers are over time. This insight is essential for scaling profitably and aligning affiliate incentives with lifetime value.
15. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
The predicted net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer.
- Calculation: the (average purchase value x by the purchase frequency) x average customer lifespan.
- Importance: understanding CLV from affiliate channels helps in allocating resources efficiently.
16. Average Order Value (AOV)
The average amount spent each time a customer places an order through an affiliate link.
- Calculation: total revenue from affiliates divided by the number of orders.
- Importance: AOV helps in understanding buying behavior and setting competitive commission structures.
17. Revenue
Total income generated through your affiliate program.
- Calculation: the sum of all sales generated through affiliate links.
- Importance: a direct reflection of the program's success and profitability.
18. Lifetime Value of Referred Customers (LTV)
Similar to CLV but specifically for customers acquired through affiliates.
- Calculation and Importance: same as CLV but filtered for affiliate-referred customers.
19. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
The revenue generated per user over a specific period.
- Calculation: the total revenue divided by the number of users.
- Importance: ARPU helps in evaluating the revenue potential of your affiliate program.
20. Profit Margin
The net income generated from affiliate sales after deducting all expenses.
- Calculation: the (total revenue - the total expenses) / the total revenue x 100.
- Importance: indicates the financial health and viability of your affiliate program.
21. Incremental Revenue from Affiliates
The additional revenue generated through the affiliate channel that wouldn’t have been realized otherwise.
- Measurement: through analytics and comparison of periods with and without affiliate promotions.
- Importance: shows the true impact and value added by the affiliate program.
22. Contribution Margin
The revenue remaining after variable costs associated with the affiliate program are deducted.
- Calculation: the revenue from affiliates - the variable costs associated with affiliates.
- Importance: demonstrates the profitability and scalability of the affiliate program.
Affiliate Metrics for Programs Focusing on Cost and ROI
If you're spending to grow your affiliate program, whether through bonuses, commissions, or tools, you need to know what it's costing you per lead or sale. These ROI-focused affiliate metrics ensure your affiliate marketing efforts are cost-effective and aligned with your broader customer acquisition strategy.
23. Cost Per Affiliate Sale or Cost Per Lead (CPA/CPL)
The cost incurred for each sale or lead generated through affiliate channels.
- Calculation: total cost of affiliate program divided by the total number of sales or leads.
- Importance: lower CPA or CPL indicates a more cost-effective program.
24. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
The cost incurred to acquire a customer through affiliate channels.
- Calculation: the total cost of affiliate programs divided by the number of new customers acquired.
- Importance: lower CPA values indicate a more cost-effective affiliate program.
Affiliate Metrics for Monitoring Churn and Compliance
A healthy affiliate program isn’t just about growth, but also sustainability. These metrics help you spot issues like affiliate drop-off, customer cancellations, or compliance gaps. Keeping an eye on churn and rule-breaking helps you build a more reliable, high-quality program over time.
25. Rate of Return or Rate of Cancellation
The frequency at which products are returned or services are canceled.
- Measurement: tracking returns and cancellations in your sales software.
- Importance: lower rates signify better customer satisfaction and product-fit.
26. Churn Rate
The percentage of customers who stop making purchases.
- Calculation: the (customers at the start of the period - the customers at the end of the period) / the customers at the start of the period x 100.
- Importance: lower churn indicates better customer retention and product satisfaction.
27. Rate of Affiliate Attrition
The rate at which affiliates leave the program.
- Calculation: the (number of affiliates at the start of the period - the number of affiliates at the end of the period) / the number of affiliates at the start of the period x 100.
- Importance: lower attrition rates indicate a more stable and possibly more attractive affiliate program.
28. Compliance Rate
The rate at which affiliates comply with the program's terms and conditions.
- Measurement: affiliate program monitoring and auditing affiliate activities.
- Importance: ensuring compliance maintains the program’s integrity and reduces the risk of fraudulent activities.
Affiliate Marketing Metrics for Programs Focusing on Scaling and Long-Term Growth
Once your foundation is solid, growth metrics show how your affiliate program is expanding year over year. Tracking satisfaction and recruitment trends helps you plan smarter, scale faster, and retain high-performing affiliates as your business evolves.
29. Growth Year-on-Year
The growth rate at which your affiliate program expands compared to previous years.
- Calculation: [(the revenue this year - the revenue last year) / the revenue last year] x 100.
- Importance: indicates the scaling and evolving capacity of your affiliate program.
30. Affiliate Satisfaction Rate
The level of satisfaction among your affiliates, gauged through surveys or feedback mechanisms.
- Measurement: through feedback surveys or direct communication.
- Importance: satisfied affiliates are likely to promote more passionately, leading to better results.
How to Turn Affiliate Metrics Into Actionable Insights
It’s important to note that many affiliate marketing stats are available in your affiliate tool dashboard. That alone can be overwhelming, so start by jotting down the numbers that take priority.
Identify Your Affiliate Marketing KPIs and Goals. Are you looking to increase affiliate traffic, increase earnings per conversion, or enhance engagement levels? Not all metrics will be relevant. Some will be crucial.
Analyze Regularly. Set a regular schedule to analyze these essential affiliate marketing metrics. Whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, consistent analysis can spot trends, issues, or opportunities early.
Use Smart Tools. Employ robust SaaS affiliate software that can track valuable metrics accurately and provide actionable insights and reports in seconds. Go for a tool with strong visualization capabilities to make data analysis more intuitive.
Segment Your Data. Segment your affiliate marketing metrics based on different criteria like the type of affiliate, the products being promoted, or the marketing channels used, to get more insight into your program’s performance.
Benchmark Against Industry Standards. Understand where you stand in comparison to industry benchmarks. This comparison can provide a reality check and identify areas for improvement in your affiliate marketing performance.
Educate Your Affiliates. Share relevant data with your affiliate partners to help them understand how they are performing and how to improve.
Evaluate Cost-Effectiveness. Calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of your affiliate program by evaluating the cost versus the revenue generated.
Explore New Strategies. If certain metrics are stagnating or declining, it may be time to explore new promotional strategies or even recruit different types of affiliates to achieve sustainable growth.
How to Set Up Affiliate Tracking in Your Affiliate Software
Getting accurate tracking set up is the foundation of measuring any of these metrics effectively. Without reliable data coming in, nothing impactful will come out of your plan.
Let's walk through how this works with Rewardful as an example. Our software integrates directly with Stripe to give you accurate, real-time affiliate data—and it's easy to set up.
Setting up affiliate sales tracking with Rewardful
Rewardful tracks affiliate activity through your Stripe account, which means every sale, refund, and subscription is taken into account automatically. Here's what you get out of the box:
- Link and coupon-based tracking: Affiliates can share both referral links and unique coupon codes, giving you flexibility across different marketing channels.
- Customizable attribution: Choose between first-touch or last-touch attribution, and set your cookie duration to match your typical sales cycle.
- Automatic refund handling: When a customer requests a refund, affiliate commissions are automatically adjusted, without confusing manual calculations.
Rewardful can only track sales that go through Stripe. That means metrics like overall churn rate or cost per acquisition across all channels need to be calculated by combining Rewardful data with your other analytics tools.
But here's why that actually works in your favor: you get rock-solid data on what your affiliates are specifically driving. The key is having a system that captures clean, accurate data from the start. Once that's in place, calculating the metrics that matter becomes straightforward.
How to Analyze and Interpret Affiliate Marketing Performance Data
We love numbers, but we'll also admit they don't tell the whole story. Here are three common scenarios you might encounter when monitoring your affiliate program performance and how to find out what's really going on with your affiliate program.
Scenario 1: "Why is my traffic high but conversions are low?"
This usually indicates a mismatch between your affiliates' audiences and your product. High traffic with low conversions often means:
- Your affiliates are promoting to the wrong audience
- Your landing page isn't optimized for affiliate traffic
- There's a disconnect between what affiliates are promising and what you're delivering
Look at your conversion rates by individual affiliate. If some are converting well while others aren't, study what the high-performers are doing differently, and what isn't working for the others.
Scenario 2: "I have one affiliate with massive clicks but almost no sales. What's going on?"
You either have a unicorn on your hands, or this is a red flag for potential click fraud or poor audience targeting. Dig into:
- The source of their traffic (for instance, are they buying cheap clicks?)
- The quality of their promotional content
- Whether their audience actually needs your product
Don't just look at click volume, but also examine the click-to-conversion journey. Legitimate traffic should show some level of engagement beyond just clicking.
Scenario 3: "My affiliate revenue is growing, but profitability is shrinking."
This happens when you focus too much on growth metrics without watching your costs. Check the following:
- Whether you're paying out too much in commissions relative to customer lifetime value
- If your cost per acquisition through affiliates is higher than other channels
- Whether affiliate-referred customers have different retention rates than other customers
The solution often involves adjusting commission structures or being more selective about which affiliates you work with. Additionally, look at multiple metrics together. A single number in isolation can be misleading, but patterns across several metrics usually point toward the real story.
Which Affiliate Marketing Metrics Will You Focus On?
This cheat sheet provides a quick reference for the 12 key affiliate marketing metrics, including how to calculate them and why they're important.
You can easily share this with your team or use it as a personal reference to keep track of the most crucial metrics for your affiliate program.
Every affiliate program will have different strategies and goals – and, therefore, focus on different metrics.
Make sure that your software supports you regardless of your specific goals and offers valuable insights at every step of the journey.
Check out Rewardful pricing and our easy-to-use dashboard for affiliate tracking and find the data you need in seconds.
