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Measurement and metrics

Approval rate

Also called approval percentage, validation rate, conversion approval rate, sale approval rate.

Short answer

Approval rate is the share of decided affiliate sales that the advertiser approves, calculated as approved sales divided by approved plus rejected sales. An approval rate of 92 % means that 92 out of 100 decided sales ended up triggering commission.

Definition of Approval rate.

Conversion rate and EPC tell you how well the traffic sells – the approval rate tells you how much of that selling survives the advertiser’s checks. Real earnings per click are conversion rate times approval rate times commission, so a low rate eats away the value of even a high commission rate.

The rate is pulled down by returns, cancelled orders, duplicates, self-referrals and traffic that breaches the program’s terms. Categories with high return rates – clothing and shoes are the classics – therefore naturally sit lower than digital products with no right of return. A rate should always be read together with the rejection reasons: lots of cancelled orders is business as usual, while discretionary rejections with no pattern are a warning sign.

Only decided sales are included in the calculation. Pending conversions are neither approved nor rejected and must be left out until they are decided – otherwise the rate swings with how far the program is into its approval cycle instead of with the quality of the sales.

How it is calculated

Approval rate = approved sales ÷ (approved sales + rejected sales) × 100

approved sales
conversions the advertiser has accepted in the period
rejected sales
conversions the advertiser has cancelled with a stated reason

Example

Approved sales
92
Rejected sales
8
Approval rate
92 %

The figure shows how much of the recorded sales actually turns into payment – the bridge between raw conversion numbers and real earnings.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    Measured before sales are decided

    If pending sales are counted as rejected, the rate looks artificially low right after a big campaign. Wait until the approval window has expired before assessing the period.

  • 02

    Comparing across categories

    A rate of 75 % can be strong in an industry with a long return period and weak in one without. Compare programs within the same category – or compare the rejection reasons instead of the number alone.

  • 03

    Reading a low rate as fraud

    A drop in approval rate is more often caused by seasonal returns or a campaign with low purchase intent than by deliberate rejection. Read the reasons before drawing a conclusion.

At Affilyflow

Approval rate in practice

At Affilyflow, a rejection always requires a reason the affiliate can read – so a low approval rate can always be broken down into concrete reasons instead of guesswork. The store has the program’s approval period (30–90 days) to reject a sale; after that it is approved automatically, so the rate cannot be held artificially low by sales that are never decided.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good approval rate in affiliate marketing?

There is no single right answer – categories with high return rates naturally sit lower than digital products with no right of return. Assess the rate together with the rejection reasons: cancelled and returned orders are business as usual, while many rejections with no documented reason are a warning sign.

Do pending sales count towards the approval rate?

No. Only decided sales are included – approved and rejected. Pending conversions are left out until the advertiser has made a decision; otherwise the rate mostly shows how far the program is into its approval cycle.

Why has my approval rate suddenly dropped?

The most common explanations are seasonal returns, a single campaign with low purchase intent, or a store that has changed its approval practice. Go through the rejection reasons for the period – they show whether the drop comes from returns, duplicates or breaches of terms.

How are approval rate and EPC related?

EPC measures earnings per click and falls automatically when the approval rate falls, because rejected sales do not count as earnings. Two programs with the same rate and conversion rate can therefore have very different EPCs if their approval rates differ.

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