The primary metric publishers use to evaluate and compare affiliate programs — the average commission earned per 100 clicks sent to a merchant. Calculated as: (Total commissions paid) / (Total clicks) × 100. A program with an EPC of $2.50 pays publishers an average of $2.50 per 100 clicks. Publishers use EPC to prioritize which programs to promote: a higher EPC means the publisher earns more revenue for the same content and traffic investment. EPC benchmarks vary significantly by category: high-consideration purchases (electronics, software) typically have lower EPCs despite high commission rates because conversion rates are low; high-conversion categories (fashion, beauty) often have higher EPCs despite moderate commission rates. How to improve EPC: improve landing page conversion rate (the biggest EPC lever); optimize affiliate link placement in publisher content; ensure tracking is working correctly (tracking loss reduces EPC directly); improve product-audience match in publisher recruitment. Affiliate networks report EPC in publisher-facing program listings — it is the first metric publishers look at when evaluating a program.
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