A publisher-side performance metric representing the average revenue a publisher earns for each click they send to an affiliate program. EPC is the most important program attractiveness metric from the publisher's perspective because it normalizes affiliate program value across different commission rates and conversion rates, enabling direct comparison between programs. Formula: EPC = Total Affiliate Earnings ÷ Total Clicks. The result is often expressed per 100 clicks ('100-click EPC') to produce more readable numbers: a $0.50 per-click EPC is also expressed as '$50 per 100 clicks.' EPC combines two program variables: the commission rate (what percentage of each sale the publisher earns) and the conversion rate (what percentage of clicks become purchases). A program can have competitive EPC through a combination of moderate commission rate + high conversion rate, or high commission rate + moderate conversion rate. Examples: Program A: 10% commission, $100 AOV, 3% conversion rate → EPC = ($100 × 10%) × 3% = $0.30 per click. Program B: 8% commission, $100 AOV, 4.5% conversion rate → EPC = ($100 × 8%) × 4.5% = $0.36 per click. Despite Program A's higher commission rate, Program B has higher EPC because its landing page converts better. Publishers will prefer Program B even though its commission rate is lower. Implications for brands: optimizing landing page conversion rate is a direct investment in publisher-perceived program attractiveness; a 1% improvement in conversion rate at 8% commission creates the same EPC improvement as a 1% increase in commission rate; affiliate networks display average EPC figures in program listings; programs with below-category-average EPC struggle to attract quality publisher applicants.
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