Become an affiliateStart your program

Agreements and terms

Program terms

Also called program terms, partner terms, affiliate terms, terms & conditions.

Short answer

Program terms are the conditions a store sets for its affiliate program: commission rate and type, the length of the attribution window, permitted channels, brand bidding rules and when sales are approved or rejected. The affiliate accepts the terms on joining, and they frame the whole partnership.

Definition of Program terms.

The program terms set the economics: the commission type (a percentage of the order value, a fixed amount per sale or per lead), the rate, the commission base – usually the order value excluding VAT – and the length of the attribution window. Then comes the process: how long the store has to approve or reject a sale, and when payouts happen.

The terms also limit the methods. Channel restrictions say whether email, paid search traffic, cashback and coupon sites are allowed, and a brand bidding policy decides whether affiliates may bid on the store's name in search ads. For the affiliate, this is where it is decided whether the planned traffic is welcome at all.

For the store, the terms are the steering tool: the rate and the window decide how attractive the program is to work for, while the restrictions protect brand and margins. Changes should be announced and apply going forward – a fair program does not change the terms for traffic that has already been sent.

Checklist before joining

Read the rate together with the base: 10 % of the order value excluding VAT is not the same as 10 % of the basket amount. Check the window's length against your type of traffic – content with a long decision time needs a longer window than price-driven traffic. Look at the approval time, the payout threshold, the channel rules and the brand bidding policy. Uncertainties are cheapest to clear up before the first click.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    The terms are read after the rejection

    Channel restrictions and brand bidding rules are often only discovered when commissions are rejected. Read the whole document before sending traffic – especially if your model is paid search traffic, cashback or discount codes, which are among the most regulated channels.

  • 02

    The rate is judged in isolation

    A high rate with a short attribution window and a narrow commission base can earn less than a lower rate with better terms. 10 % with a 30-day window can beat 15 % with a 7-day window if your users take a long time to decide.

  • 03

    No record of changes

    Terms can change over time. Note the rate and the window when you join, and clarify what applies to clicks already sent – the decisive question is whether the terms at the time of the click or at the time of the order apply.

At Affilyflow

Program terms in practice

In Affilyflow the core economic terms are not just text – the system enforces them. Commission rate and type are locked at the moment of the click, and the attribution window is locked at the same time and decided on the server: a rate change applies going forward and never affects clicks already sent. An ongoing recurring agreement cannot be cut afterwards.

Approval is also bound by terms: the store has the program's approval period (30–90 days) to reject a sale, after which it is approved automatically – and a rejection requires a reason the affiliate can read.

Frequently asked questions

What do program terms typically say?

Commission rate and type, the commission base, the length of the attribution window, rules for permitted channels and brand bidding, the approval process and payout conditions. Together they define what the affiliate may do and what payment it triggers.

Can a store change its program terms?

Yes, terms can be changed, but in a fair setup changes apply going forward. What matters is which terms apply to clicks already sent – clarify whether the rate is locked at the time of the click before you build your economics on the program.

What happens if I break the program terms?

Typically the affected commissions are rejected, and for repeated or serious breaches the affiliate is excluded from the program. Breaches such as cookie stuffing and self-referral are treated as fraud and usually lead to blocking rather than a warning.

Why do many programs ban brand bidding?

Because the store would otherwise pay commission for traffic it would have got for free through its own brand search, and because affiliates and the store would otherwise bid up the price on the same keywords. The policy is set out in the program terms and varies from program to program.

Read on