Reference
B2B Affiliate Marketing Glossary
Key terms and definitions for B2B affiliate programs, Answer Engine Optimization, and partner management.
A
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
- The practice of optimizing content so that AI-powered search engines—such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews—cite your brand when users ask buying-related questions. AEO focuses on structured, authoritative content that AI can parse and reference with confidence.
- Affiliate Attribution
- The process of assigning credit to an affiliate partner for driving a conversion. Attribution models determine which partner receives commission based on their role in the customer journey. Common models include last-click, first-click, and multi-touch attribution.
- AI Visibility
- A measure of how often and how prominently your brand appears in AI-generated search results. Also referred to as AI citations. Unlike traditional SEO rankings, AI visibility is measured through share of voice, sentiment, and salience across multiple AI platforms.
B
- B2B Affiliate Marketing
- Affiliate marketing tailored to business-to-business sales cycles. Unlike B2C affiliate programs, B2B programs involve longer sales cycles, higher-value transactions, multiple decision-makers, and partners who educate and influence rather than drive impulse purchases.
C
- Click Stuffing
- A fraudulent affiliate tactic where a partner generates fake or misleading clicks to claim last-click attribution credit for conversions they did not genuinely influence. Click stuffing inflates affiliate costs without delivering incremental value.
- Commission Structure
- The payout model an affiliate program uses to compensate partners. Common B2B structures include percentage of first-year revenue (typically 20-30%), fixed cost per lead ($50-$500+), or tiered models that reward higher-performing partners with increased rates.
- Coupon Cannibalization
- When coupon or deal affiliate sites rank for branded search terms like '[Brand] coupon' and intercept customers who have already decided to purchase. These affiliates claim commission for conversions that would have occurred without their involvement, effectively cannibalizing organic revenue.
I
- Incremental Revenue
- Revenue that would not have occurred without the affiliate's influence. Measuring incrementality is critical for B2B programs because it distinguishes partners who genuinely drive new customers from those who simply capture credit for existing demand.
L
- Last-Click Attribution
- An attribution model that assigns 100% of conversion credit to the last affiliate touchpoint before purchase. While simple to implement, last-click attribution is easily gamed by coupon sites and does not reflect the true influence of content and education partners earlier in the funnel.
- LTV (Lifetime Value) Modeling
- A method of estimating the total revenue a customer will generate over their entire relationship with your business. In B2B affiliate programs, LTV modeling helps set accurate commission rates and identify which partners drive the highest-value customers.
M
- Multi-Touch Attribution
- An attribution model that distributes conversion credit across multiple affiliate touchpoints in the customer journey. This approach more accurately reflects the role of content partners, review sites, and educational affiliates who influence buyers before the final conversion event.
P
- Partner Quality Score
- A composite metric for evaluating affiliate partners based on content quality, audience relevance, traffic sources, incrementality potential, and professionalism. Quality scoring provides an objective framework for partner approval, tiering, and ongoing performance management.
- Program Rescue
- The process of diagnosing and fixing an underperforming affiliate program. Common issues include low-quality partner bases, attribution gaming, coupon site dominance, and neglected partner relationships. A rescue engagement typically involves auditing, removing bad actors, and rebuilding with quality partners.
S
- Share of Voice (AI)
- The percentage of AI-generated responses that mention or cite your brand for relevant queries compared to competitors. Tracking share of voice across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews is a core AEO metric for measuring brand visibility in the AI search landscape.