Overview
Merchants with relationships to select sub affiliate partners have the flexibility to offer customized commission rates to individual affiliates within the sub affiliate partner network. By default, all affiliates within the sub affiliate network receive the same commission rate. The sub affiliate commission feature empowers merchants to tailor commission rates for individual affiliates operating within the sub affiliate partner network.
Requirements for Sub Affiliate Commission
- This feature is only available in the AvantLink US Network.
- Merchant must have an active relationship with a supported sub affiliate partner. Currently, Skimbit, Ltd / skimlinks.com is the only sub affiliate partner that the feature works for.
- AvantLink relies on data the sub affiliate partner sends. All supported sub affiliate partners automatically send the required data when an active merchant-affiliate relationship is established and click traffic begins.
- It is recommended that merchants review the Performance Summary by Sub Affiliate Partners report to ensure the 'Sub Affiliate Domain' has data for the individual affiliate partner you wish to commission differently.
- If the sub affiliate partner does not send AvantLink data on every click, AvantLink cannot commission accurately.
Functionality Summary
- Sub Affiliate Commission rules go into effect immediately when they are created.
- Deleted Sub Affiliate Commission rules revert the commission rate for the sub affiliate partner back to the base commission rate for the sub affiliate network immediately.
- Sub affiliates that are not associated to a Sub Affiliate Commission rule will receive the default base commission rate the sub affiliate network is set to.
Configuring Sub Affiliate Commission
Merchants must have an active relationship with a supported sub affiliate partner. Currently, Skimbit, Ltd / skimlinks.com is the only sub affiliate partner that the feature works for.
Navigate to the sub affiliate commission tool by using the navigation menu > Commission Tools > Sub Affiliate Partner.
Click "New Rule" and follow the steps:
- Sub Affiliate Domain. Enter the sub affiliate's domain exactly how it appears on the Performance Summary Affiliate Partners report on the 'Sub Affiliate Domain' column.
- If the domain is displayed without any protocol (eg https, www, etc) do not include it.
- If the protocol is included on the report, include it on the Sub Affiliate Commission rule.
- The characters for the domain must be an exact match for the commissioning to work. To avoid typos, AvantLink does validate the domain entered to see if that sub affiliate domain had a click in the previous 30 days.
- Commission Rate. Enter the commission rate. The commission rate can be percentage based or flat fee. NOTE: the type of commission rate will always be the same type as the sub affiliate network is set to. For example, if the sub affiliate network is set up to receive a percentage based commission rate, all sub affiliates commission rates need to be percentage based.
- Click Submit. The Sub Affiliate Commission Rule is created and goes into effect immediately.
Communicating Commission Changes to Sub Affiliate Partners
Skimlinks updates the Commission Rate information once a day. After the update Sub Affiliate partners can view the new commission rate via the Skimlinks interface.
AvantLink recommends contacting the Sub Affiliate Partner directly to let them know of the commission change when possible.
Merchants can also submit a ticket to the Skimlinks Publisher Account Managers team. However, Skimlinks only pulls this information monthly.
Monitoring the Performance of Sub Affiliate Partners
The Performance Summary by Sub Affiliate Partners Report provides insight into the performance and commissions earned for individual sub affiliate partners.