Key Affiliate Marketing Metrics to Track for Business Growth

Success in affiliate marketing is directly related to how well you track your key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are numbers that help you understand how effectively your affiliate efforts are working and whether they are actually moving you closer to your business goals. If you collect and analyse data correctly, you can better adjust your approach and improve your results.

Today, affiliate marketing is actively developing, with the market forecast to reach 27.78 billion dollars by 2027. And this means one thing: the importance of properly tracking indicators is only increasing. But which KPIs for affiliate marketing are really important?

In this text, we will look at the most important affiliate marketing metrics that you should pay attention to first so that you can focus on what really affects success.

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Revenue-Based KPIs

KPI	Key Insight	Impact on Bottom Line
Total Affiliate Revenue	Overall program health and performance	Informs budget allocation and growth strategies
Revenue by Affiliate	Individual affiliate contributions	Optimises resource allocation and maximises revenue potential
Average Order Value	Sales quality and customer behaviour	Enhances profitability through effective promotional strategies

Total Affiliate Revenue

Total Affiliate Revenue gives you an idea of how effective your program is. It shows how much revenue all affiliates have earned together and is one of the most important affiliate marketing metrics. It is one of the key metrics that helps you gauge the financial success of your entire system.

Regularly tracking your total affiliate revenue allows you to:

• Program Performance: See how effective your entire affiliate program is.
• Growth Patterns: Understand how revenue changes over time, whether it is increasing or decreasing.
• Trend Tracking: Identify seasonal peaks or periods of decline.
• Campaign impact: Assess how new campaigns are affecting your overall revenue.
• Optimisation needs: Identify problem areas and think about how to improve them.
• Budget forecasting: Plan your budget more accurately based on real trends.

By keeping your finger on the pulse and constantly analysing KPIs, you can not only maintain stable growth but also better plan your next steps.

Revenue by Affiliate

Tracking how much profit each affiliate brings is a very useful thing. This way you can understand who is really “pulling” the affiliate program on themselves and who, on the contrary, does not give the desired result. This allows you to bet on those who are profitable and reconsider cooperation with those who are not working for maximum return on investment.

Here’s what you can learn from such an analysis:

• Top performers: Identify the best affiliates, those who work best and bring the most income. They should definitely be given more attention: provide better tools, increase commissions, or offer special conditions so that they continue to work actively.
• Performance gaps: If you notice issues, such as a partner not converting, you should identify the root cause. Maybe he needs help or your support, or maybe this is simply not his direction.
• Incentive strategies: Having data on effectiveness, you can create bonus programs and motivational campaigns that encourage affiliates to work more actively and reach new milestones.

Average Order Value

Average Order Value (AOV) shows how much customers spend on average per order placed with your affiliates. This KPI is a very useful indicator because it helps you understand not only the quality of your traffic but also how effectively your affiliate campaigns are working.

For example, if one affiliate attracts customers who place orders for an average of £150 and another for £75, it makes sense to look at how the first one works and try to apply its approach to other affiliates.

The average order value (AOV) can vary greatly depending on your market, product, or even season. Therefore, it is worth not only comparing but also constantly adjusting your strategies to the situation, which is what helps to achieve the best results.

The Power of Revenue KPIs

Monitoring key revenue-focused affiliate KPIs can elevate your entire program. Revenue-related metrics (such as total affiliate program revenue, average revenue per affiliate, or average cheque) give you a clear understanding of where things are going well and where there is room for improvement.

Imagine being able to see at a glance which affiliates are real stars and which ones need a little help or a change in approach. This information helps you plan your campaigns better, maintain doing things that work, and address things that aren’t working rapidly.

When you focus on the right KPIs for affiliate marketing, it paves the way for sustainable growth and strong partnerships.

Performance KPIs

KPI	Key Insight	Impact on Bottom Line
Conversion Rate	Effectiveness of converting visitors	Maximises sales potential and revenue growth
Click Traffic	Volume and quality of traffic	Gives you more chances to make sales and conversions
Gross Orders vs. Net Orders	True picture of successful transactions	Ensures that revenue tracking is correct and points out areas that need work

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate shows how well affiliates are able to “convert” traffic into actual sales. It’s one of the clearest indicators of campaign and traffic quality, and it can dramatically affect profitability.

For example, if out of 100 people who clicked on an affiliate link, 5 made a purchase, that’s a 5% conversion rate. By increasing this percentage, you’re increasing your sales without spending money on additional traffic, which is a win for your affiliate program.

What can affect the improvement? Increasing your affiliate marketing conversion rates is often easier than you think. Even small changes like improved design, interesting bonuses, or a simplified checkout process can already yield results.

Content is key here: if the material is interesting, useful, and trustworthy, the likelihood of a purchase increases. By the way, nearly 40% of affiliate commissions in the US in 2019 came from content and blogs.

Increasing your conversion rate maximises the value of your affiliate traffic. Since the average rate is around 0.5% to 1%, even a small increase can have a significant impact on your overall profit.

Phonexa’s Lynx is a sophisticated click tracking and analytics tool that helps you optimise your marketing campaigns by providing a better understanding of user behaviour, analysing campaign performance, and making informed decisions.

Build your plan now, or book a demo to learn more about Phonexa.

Click Traffic

Clicks are the key first step to converting visitors into buyers and are one of the most important affiliate marketing metrics to track. If people are clicking on your affiliate links, it means that your affiliates are attracting interested users.

Simply put, more clicks create more chances for conversions. High click traffic means your affiliates successfully engage and drive visitors to your website. 

When evaluating KPIs for affiliate marketing, it’s not only about click numbers but also about the quality of those clicks. For example, one affiliate might bring in 1,000 clicks per month with an affiliate marketing conversion rate of 1%, while another might only bring in 500 clicks but with a 5% conversion rate. The second one will generate more sales. This shows that you need to consider not only the volume of traffic but also its quality.

Gross Orders vs. Net Orders

To assess how effectively an affiliate program is working, you need to look not only at the number of orders but also at how many of them were actually fulfilled. Gross orders are everything that was placed, even if some of them were later cancelled or returned. Net orders are those that actually brought in revenue after all returns. These are essential affiliate marketing metrics.

Statista reports that the average e-commerce return rate is about 20%. If gross orders are high but net orders are much lower due to returns, you should reconsider product descriptions, quality, or affiliate partnerships.

Focusing on net orders reveals the true revenue that affiliates generate. It also highlights areas for improvement, such as lowering return rates through better product information and targeted marketing.

Harnessing Performance KPIs for Success

Effectively tracking affiliate marketing KPIs enables you to understand not only the volume of visitors driven by your affiliates but also how many of these visitors convert into loyal customers. This valuable insight ensures that every click brings you one step closer to a sale by helping you monitor the affiliate marketing conversion rate. Moreover, distinguishing between gross and net orders provides a clear picture of your affiliates’ true contribution, taking into account returns and cancellations.

Growth KPIs

KPI	Key Insight	Impact on Bottom Line
Year-over-Year Growth	Long-term progress and strategy effectiveness	Validates and refines marketing approaches
New Customer Percentage	Reach and market expansion	Ensures a steady inflow of potential buyers
Number of New Affiliates	Program attractiveness and expansion	Increases reach and sales potential through diverse methods

Year-Over-Year Growth

Year-over-year (YoY) growth calculates the percentage change in your program’s results compared to the same timeframe last year. This KPI helps you look past monthly variations and focus on sustainable progress, showing if your program consistently advances.

This formula is crucial, as it reveals the rate of change, helping you see how much your program has grown or dropped over the past year. For example, if your affiliate program made £80,000 last year and £120,000 this year:

This 50% increase demonstrates a notable improvement, confirming the effectiveness of your strategies and partnerships.

Tracking YoY growth offers a clear view of your affiliate program’s progress, allowing you to celebrate achievements, spot areas to improve, and establish ambitious but attainable future targets.

New Customer Percentage

A key affiliate marketing metric is the percentage of new customers gained. Affiliate marketing goes beyond sales; it focuses on growing your customer base. Picture a constant flow of new customers finding your brand through reliable affiliate partners. This is the power of affiliate marketing.

An impressive 63% of marketers firmly believe KPIs for affiliate marketing successfully attract new customers. This highlights the vast potential of affiliate programs to connect with new audiences and convert them into devoted customers.

The strong endorsement from marketers on affiliate marketing’s ability to attract new customers should alert any business not using this tactic yet. It is not only about quick ROI; it is about building lasting bonds with new customers who might become loyal brand advocates.

Adding affiliate marketing to your growth plan can greatly boost your reach and efforts to gain new customers. Improving your affiliate marketing conversion rate is key to turning this increased reach into real sales. If expanding your customer base is your goal, it is time to harness the power of affiliate marketing.

Number of New Affiliates

Increasing the number of new affiliates in your program is like planting seeds for future growth. Every new affiliate adds fresh insight and a distinct audience, widening your reach beyond expectations. To maximise this growth, tracking the right KPIs for affiliate marketing is essential. The more varied your affiliates, the greater your chances of entering new markets and boosting sales by improving your affiliate marketing conversion rate.

New affiliates may begin with modest earnings, about £636 monthly, in their first year. This is only the start. With experience, their earning potential grows considerably; on average, an affiliate marketer makes £8,038 per month.

Try these tips to attract more affiliates:

• Offer competitive commissions that make your program stand out
• Provide top-notch marketing materials to simplify promotion
• Create a persuasive landing page showcasing your program’s benefits
• Introduce referral incentives for current affiliates
• Host webinars and tutorials, and provide dedicated support for affiliates
• Highlight the success stories of top affiliates to inspire others
• Promote your program on social media and attend industry events to connect with prospects

Fuelling Expansion with Growth KPIs

Growth KPIs that show patterns, confirm your efforts, and identify areas that require attention include year-over-year growth, new client acquisition, and the number of new affiliates. Positive growth patterns and a consistent stream of new clients and affiliates are signs that your strategy is working and appealing.

A broad and growing affiliate base expands your market reach and introduces fresh promotional ideas. New customer acquisition indicates affiliates effectively draw new audiences, keeping a steady flow of potential buyers. Monitoring your affiliate marketing conversion rate ensures that this increased traffic results in real sales and lasting customer relationships.

Engagement KPIs

KPI	Key Insight	Impact on Bottom Line
Affiliate Engagement	Level of affiliate activity and dedication	Boosts traffic and conversions, improving program health
Category Performance	Success of various affiliate types	Refines affiliate mix for better returns
Customer Lifetime Value	Value of customers over time	Emphasises the importance of retaining high-value customers

Affiliate Engagement

Affiliate engagement isn’t only about the number of affiliates but also about how active and committed they are in promoting your products. The more involved your affiliates, the more successful your program becomes. Active affiliates regularly produce content, share promotions, and drive traffic to your website.

Did you know that 5% of your affiliates perform 80% of the work? This underscores the importance of supporting and nurturing your most active affiliates.

Measuring engagement includes affiliate marketing metrics such as clicks generated, frequency of promotion, and traffic quality. Tracking these KPIs for affiliate marketing helps you understand what drives performance. Encouraging active participation enhances your affiliate program’s success and improves your affiliate marketing conversion rate. Maintaining affiliate engagement keeps them committed to your brand, driving more traffic and sales.

Category Performance

Affiliates fall into different categories, such as content creators, coupon sites, loyalty programs, and others. Each type offers unique strengths and drives traffic and sales differently:

1. Content Affiliates like bloggers and influencers generate high-quality traffic. They build trust through engaging content, often resulting in higher conversion rates. A detailed review or persuasive video can greatly impact buying decisions.
2. Coupon sites excel at driving large amounts of traffic rapidly. They attract deal-seekers, which can boost sales during promotions. However, their conversion rates may be lower than content affiliates’, as their traffic tends to be more price-sensitive.
3. Loyalty programs are key drivers of repeat business and brand loyalty. On average, Americans participate in 16.7 loyalty programs, showing their popularity and impact. Affiliates managing loyalty programs focus on customer retention and repeat purchases, boosting lifetime value. These affiliates are vital for your long-term growth by fostering a loyal customer base.
4. Comparison sites help consumers evaluate products and prices across retailers. They attract traffic by providing detailed comparisons and reviews, aiding informed purchase choices.
5. Email marketing affiliates use newsletters and targeted emails to promote products. They reach subscribed audiences directly, driving notable traffic and sales. With global email marketing revenue expected to hit nearly $13.69 billion by 2025, this channel remains highly effective. These affiliates provide personalised content and offers for strong engagement and conversions.

 

To improve your affiliate email campaigns, try Phonexa’s E-Delivery. This platform provides advanced tools to optimise your email marketing, boosting engagement and conversions. E-Delivery helps streamline your campaigns for better outcomes.

By comparing these affiliate categories’ performance, you can customise your approach to maximise each type’s strengths. Diversifying your affiliate mix creates a balanced strategy that leverages the unique benefits of content, coupon, loyalty, comparison, and email marketing affiliates.

Build your plan now, or take a product tour to experience Phonexa’s all-in-one performance marketing software suite. 

Customer Lifetime Value

Another key KPI to understand your affiliates’ true impact is customer lifetime value (CLV). A high CLV indicates affiliates bring customers who return repeatedly, turning one-time buyers into loyal supporters. This is one of the most important affiliate marketing metrics to track when evaluating long-term affiliate success.

Picture an affiliate introducing a customer who makes a purchase, loves the product, and keeps buying for years. This ongoing relationship boosts lifetime value, making each referral far more valuable. Affiliates who consistently attract such customers are invaluable.

CLV can be calculated with this simple formula:

Where:

• Customer value is the average yearly spending of a customer.
• The average customer lifespan is how many years a customer continues purchasing from your brand.

For example, if a customer spends £150 annually and stays loyal for 5 years, their lifetime value equals £750.

Focusing on CLV ensures your affiliate program builds lasting relationships, not just sales. It’s about finding affiliates who bring loyal customers, helping your brand thrive long-term.

Maximising Impact with Engagement KPIs for Affiliate Marketing

Engagement metrics go beyond immediate sales to reveal the quality and longevity of your affiliate relationships and customer interactions. These are essential affiliate marketing metrics that help you understand the true value affiliates bring to your program.

Engaged affiliates are the cornerstone of your program, consistently driving traffic and conversions. When your affiliates are actively promoting your products, it reflects in the overall health and growth of your program. Category performance helps you understand which types of affiliates are most effective, allowing you to optimise your affiliate mix and maximise returns. Meanwhile, customer lifetime value sheds light on the long-term benefits of your affiliate efforts, highlighting the importance of attracting and retaining high-value customers.

Vanity Metrics to Avoid

Vanity Metric	Why to Avoid	What to Focus On
Impressions	Doesn’t reflect engagement or conversions	Click-through rates, conversion rates
Social Media Followers	High numbers don’t ensure engagement or sales	Engagement rates, sales conversions
Pageviews	High traffic without interaction is superficial	Time on site, bounce rate, conversions

Impressions

Impressions are a common metric in affiliate marketing, representing the number of times an ad or affiliate link is displayed to potential customers. While a high number of impressions might initially seem like a good thing, it’s important to dig deeper to understand their true value.

Imagine your ad gets 10,000 impressions in a week. At first glance, this sounds impressive—it means your ad was seen 10,000 times. But here’s the catch: impressions alone don’t tell you if those views are translating into clicks, leads, or sales. An ad could be shown thousands of times without driving any meaningful engagement or conversions.

Focusing solely on impressions without considering their impact on actual business outcomes can be misleading. It’s crucial to balance impressions with other performance metrics like click-through rate, conversion rate, and customer acquisition cost. These are essential KPIs for affiliate marketing that help you evaluate true effectiveness. By doing so, you can ensure that your affiliate marketing efforts are not just seen but are effective in driving real, measurable results.

A good example is measuring impressions and click-through rate KPI. A high number of impressions with a low click-through rate will tell you that while your ad is visible, it’s not compelling enough to prompt action. This insight can lead you to tweak your content, design, or placement to capture interest better.

Social Media Followers

Social media followers are a valuable asset in the world of affiliate marketing. Having a large and engaged follower base can amplify your reach, drive traffic, and boost sales. But it is not just about the numbers; it is about how you leverage these followers to achieve meaningful engagement and improve your affiliate marketing conversion rate.

Social media is the second-largest traffic source for affiliate marketers, accounting for 67.32% of their traffic.

The potential of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok in driving affiliate marketing success is immense. But…

Consider the difference between passive followers and engaged followers. Passive followers might scroll past your posts, while engaged followers actively interact with your content, liking, commenting, sharing, and clicking on your affiliate links. These engagement metrics provide a clearer picture of your affiliate marketing success. Focusing on genuine interaction rather than follower count ensures your efforts drive real results and improve your affiliate marketing conversion rate, creating meaningful connections with your audience.

Pageviews

Pageview metrics alone don’t tell you if visitors are engaging with your content or if these visits are leading to conversions. A page with thousands of views but no conversions might indicate that your content isn’t resonating or that there’s a disconnect between the page and your affiliate links.

To get the most out of your pageviews, focus on the quality of the traffic. Are visitors spending time on your site, reading multiple articles, or clicking on your affiliate links? Tools like Google Analytics can help you dive deeper into user behaviour, showing important affiliate marketing metrics such as average session duration and bounce rate. These insights can guide you in refining your content to better engage your audience.

Caution Against Optimising for Surface-Level Metrics

Vanity metrics might easily inflate your ego, but they don’t necessarily translate into meaningful engagement or revenue.

The real power lies in actionable affiliate marketing metrics that reflect genuine user interaction and conversion. Affiliate marketing metrics like click-through rates, engagement rates, and conversion rates provide a clearer picture of how your marketing efforts are performing. By focusing on these, you can better understand your audience’s behaviour, optimise your strategies, and ultimately drive more meaningful results.

Instead of getting caught up in vanity metrics, prioritise quality over quantity. This shift in focus will help you build stronger connections with your audience and achieve sustained growth. In the end, the true measure of success in affiliate marketing is not how many people see your content but how many engage with it and convert into loyal customers.

Take Your Affiliate Marketing to the Next Level with Phonexa

Mastering affiliate marketing means focusing on metrics that truly matter. By tracking key KPIs like total affiliate revenue, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value, you gain valuable insights for effective affiliate program monitoring. Experts advise avoiding vanity metrics like impressions and follower counts that do not drive real results. Instead, focus on affiliate marketing metrics that show real engagement and growth.

Understanding how to track affiliate sales accurately helps you optimise your affiliate program, increase conversions, and achieve long-term success. Stay focused on meaningful data that enhances your affiliate marketing efforts.

Discover how Phonexa can enhance your affiliate marketing:

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can I measure affiliate marketing success?

To evaluate marketing success, track affiliate marketing metrics that capture engagement and conversion. Important KPIs for affiliate marketing include conversion rates, average order value, and affiliate-generated revenue. Also, observing new customer acquisition and year-over-year growth offers a comprehensive view of your program’s health and expansion.

What is the average success rate in affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing success rates vary greatly by industry, niche, and tactics used. Typically, affiliate marketing conversion rates range from 0.5% to 1%. Concentrating on quality content, precise promotions, and optimising crucial KPIs for affiliate marketing can notably enhance your success rate.

What is a good conversion rate for affiliate marketing?

A typical good affiliate marketing conversion rate ranges between 0.5% and 1%, though higher rates are attainable through effective strategies and optimisation. Emphasise quality content, targeted promotions, and engaging experiences. Analytics aids in monitoring affiliate marketing metrics to uncover growth opportunities and improve overall performance.

What are the most important KPIs for affiliate marketing?

Monitoring the correct KPIs for affiliate marketing is vital to refining your strategy and driving success. Focus on core metrics such as total affiliate revenue, conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and click traffic. These indicators provide insight into affiliate effectiveness and guide strategic improvements.