Normalise the two channel records
Common-basis contract
- One acquired-customer or order definition for both channels. (not complete)
- One campaign/cohort period and one finite contribution horizon. (not complete)
- One currency, indirect-tax and returns basis. (not complete)
- Documented attribution models, windows and cross-channel deduplication. (not complete)
- Affiliate commission base, trigger, reversal and network/management costs. (not complete)
- Paid-search media, creative, landing-page, tooling and management costs. (not complete)
| Criterion | Affiliate | Paid search |
|---|---|---|
| Primary cost trigger | Contract-defined attributed outcome | Media interaction or auction spend |
| Additional costs | Network, recruitment, content, approval, monitoring | Creative, landing page, tooling, optimisation |
| Attribution risk | Codes, links, cookie/window and leakage | Model, keyword, device and conversion window |
| Cash timing | Contract payment/reversal schedule | Platform billing schedule |
| Control/dependency | Partner participation and terms | Auction, account and platform settings |
Calculate contribution under one boundary
channel contribution = attributable customer contribution - channel spend - commissions - channel operating cost
- attributable customer contribution
- Credited customers or orders multiplied by bounded contribution under one rule (CU per selected channel period) — business/platform record or user scenario
- channel spend
- Media, network or other direct channel spend included for the same period (CU per period) — current platform, invoice or settlement record
- commissions
- Earned affiliate payments after the contract-defined return/reversal treatment (CU per period) — current contract and settlement record
- channel operating cost
- Creative, recruitment, management, tooling and other included work (CU per period) — business record or user scenario
If both channels claim one conversion, apply the documented deduplication rule before calculating a cross-channel total.
- Reconcile each platform or partner record to the selected period.
- Apply one customer/conversion definition and document each attribution rule.
- Deduplicate overlapping credit and report uncertainty rather than hiding it.
- Calculate bounded contribution before channel cost.
- Subtract direct spend, commissions and operating cost once.
- Compare lower, base and higher credited-customer scenarios.
- Review cash timing, concentration, brand/control and local disclosure obligations separately.
Worked example: two fictional 100-order channel ledgers
Invented tax-excluded scenario: each channel is credited with 100 deduplicated orders at 32 CU contribution before channel cost.
| Line | Affiliate CU | Paid-search CU |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution before channel cost: 100 × 32 | 3,200 | 3,200 |
| Commission or media spend | (800) | (1,500) |
| Channel operating cost | (300) | (350) |
| Channel contribution | 2,100 | 1,350 |
| Attributed orders | Affiliate contribution | Paid-search contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 900 | (250) |
| 100 | 2,100 | 1,350 |
| 150 | 3,300 | 2,950 |
Inspect attribution, provider terms and operating constraints
- Comparing affiliate orders with paid-search clicks or leads.
- Using different conversion windows without acknowledging the mismatch.
- Counting one customer in both channel totals.
- Omitting network, creator recruitment, creative, landing-page or management cost.
- Ignoring returns and commission reversals.
- Treating platform-attributed results as causal incrementality.
- Copying a commission, CPC, target ROAS or CAC benchmark.
Affiliate and paid-search questions
- Is affiliate always performance-based?
- Payment may be triggered by a credited outcome, but attribution can be incomplete or overlapping, and partner recruitment, network and management costs still exist.
- Can I compare commission rate with cost per click?
- Not directly. Convert both channels to contribution for the same customer or order outcome and period before comparing.
- Does platform attribution show incremental customers?
- No. It allocates credit under a model and window. Incrementality requires a separate evidence design or an explicitly labelled assumption.
Sources and methodology
- Affiliate Commission Profit methodology — Margin101: Product-owned commission ceiling, returns and incrementality boundaries.
- Campaign Profitability methodology — Margin101: Product-owned campaign contribution and total-cost mechanics.
- About attribution models — Google Ads Help: Official provider semantics; no causal or cross-channel winner claim.
- About conversion windows — Google Ads Help: Official provider definition; no universal window is imported.
Test both channel ledgers
- Affiliate Commission Profit Planner
Set a sustainable affiliate commission after returns and incrementality
- Customer Acquisition Cost Planner
Measure loaded and marginal customer acquisition cost across aligned channels
- Campaign Profitability Planner
Evaluate total campaign contribution after incrementality and campaign cost