For new marketers, the acronyms used for different conversion types in affiliate marketing may seem like in hieroglyphics. To help you out, we’ve put together an article with all the conversion types, their abbreviation, and a small explanation of what you need to do to convert customers depending on the type of offer.
Types of Affiliate Conversions
Just as a pre-warning, there are MANY types of conversions, so we’ll break them down into three groups to keep things organized. Each type will be categorized into easy, medium, and hard based on the conversion difficulty, plus we’ll also use the most common acronyms so you understand what they mean later on.
But first… QUIZ TIME!
Easy Conversions
Easy conversion types are beginner-friendly, so they don’t require extensive knowledge or a large budget. These are also more affordable than medium and hard conversions, not to mention the fact that they’re easy to optimize, so they’re ideal for affiliates that need to learn the ropes.
We also recommend reading: The Easiest Verticals to Start With
SOI
Single opt-in conversions are the easiest to achieve. All you need to do is convince users to leave their contact information, like full name, email address, and such. Each time a user submits his or her information you get a conversion. Furthermore, SOI conversions are commonly found in sweepstakes, dating, and gaming offers, plus you may see them in finance as well but these are less common.
Note that this conversion type is sometimes used for more complicated offers.
1-Click
One-click conversions take place on mobile devices. This conversion type is used for mobile content offers where a user needs to click on the landing page to get subscribed to the content provided.
2-Click
Two-click conversions are similar to 1-click, but users have to confirm the subscription in order to be valid. Also, this conversion type is paid because users are more “qualified.”
Click2Call
In click-to-call conversions, affiliates are paid to generate phone calls. An affiliate is paid once the connection between a user and a call-center is established.
Click2SMS
Click-to-SMS conversions occur when a user prompts an SMS.
CPI
Cost-per-install conversions are among the most common in the affiliate world. To complete a conversion, users have to download an app and open it. These are also available for desktop browser extensions and follow the same flow.
Push Subscriptions
In this conversion type, affiliates get paid for generating subscriptions to push notifications. All you have to do is have users accept the subscription for push and presto.
APK
APK is the acronym for a file format known as the Android application package. All you need to know is that these conversions work like CPI models, so users have to download the file, install it on their device, and open it.
Medium Conversions
Medium-difficulty conversions are better left to more seasoned affiliates that understand how the ecosystem works. They’re more complex than the previous set, but they also offer a much higher payout.
DOI
Double opt-in conversions are similar to SOI. The difference is that the former requires confirmation, which is usually done by email or phone. Users sign up, receive an email, confirm it, and you get your conversion.
CPE
Cost-per-event is a model where the user needs to download a mobile app, install it, open it, and finally perform a certain action, which is known as the event. An event can consist of purchase, subscription, or similar activities defined by an advertiser as in-app action.
Free Trial
Free trial conversions are used for mobile app marketing and sometimes even desktop (for example, streaming offers). The aim of this type of conversion is to encourage users to accept a free trial.
What does that mean? Try an app or service for free for 3-7-30 days depending on the offer and then shift to the paid version. This requires the submission of certain information, which sometimes includes credit card data, so free trials are regarded as medium-difficulty conversions.
COD
Cash-on-delivery is among the most common types of conversions in eCommerce. In this model, affiliates need to convince users to leave their names and phone numbers after viewing a product. Then, the advertiser’s call center will contact the user, ask questions, and try to sell products as well as upgrades to that person. Once the user confirms the order, the affiliate receives payment.
Some variations of COD conversions rely on a long contact form that users have to fill out, which usually includes address details. In cases where the users can’t be reached via phone, the company attempts the delivery and tries to sell the item directly to the potential buyer.
CPO
Cost-per-order and cost-per-sale are similar to COD. The main difference is the name used and the way they are presented, but the idea remains the same.
Pin Submit
Pin submit conversions are ideal for mobile content, you can also sometimes find it in video and gaming verticals. This type is a more complicated version of 2-Click. In this conversion model, users submit their phone number, receive a text with a PIN, and submit this code to generate a conversion.
Pin submits are paid very well and also used in lead generation when the phone number should be verified (for example, when the next step is a talk with call-center).
Hard Conversions
This category includes conversion types that are recommended for all-star affiliates that have large budgets, sophisticated optimization strategies, and blacklists as well as whitelists readily at hand.
CPL
Cost-per-lead is one of the most popular conversion types you’ll encounter. It’s available for almost every vertical and it consists of generating qualified leads for advertisers. This is done by collecting extensive information about users, including email addresses, gender, name/surname, some more details (can be even a Tax Number – in financial offers).
The main idea is to collect the exact data necessary for the further processing of the lead to convert them into active clients. They are common in sweepstakes, insurance, home improvement services, and other mainstream verticals.
FTD
First-time deposits are popular in betting, igaming, finance, and cryptocurrency offers. Affiliates get a fixed amount every time a new user makes a deposit, regardless of its size.
CPS
In cost-per-sale conversions, affiliates get a fixed amount whenever they produce a sale. Very often an affiliate is paid on a revshare basis within the cookie lifetime (note that cancellations are also impacting the final payout amount).
They’re common in finance and especially eCommerce. You can also encounter CPS in the VPN niche.
Hybrid Conversions
Hybrid conversions can consist of a combination of CPI and CPE, registration and deposit, or free trial and CPS. As a rule of thumb, the first part of the conversion isn’t usually paid, so you need to complete both in order to get the payout.
Note that the first part is usually fairly simple and is required to make the optimization process easy. It’s essential for affiliates to understand: there are conversions but these conversions do not translate into leads (i.e., users don’t perform the target action). Meaning affiliates have to make certain changes.
PayPerCall
PayPerCall conversions aim to convince users to call a specific number. Each user is charged for each second or minute (depends on the offer) of the call and affiliates get paid accordingly.
Here’s an example: if an offer says that only 3-minute calls will be paid, it means that a call of 2:59 minutes will not be paid.
CC Submit
In credit card submits, users need to input valid credit card details in order to make a purchase or the chance to win something. When a valid credit card is registered, a conversion is generated. Validation is usually done through the charge of $1-2 right after the card was added.
[Case Study] The Sneakers, CC Submit and Sweepstakes (ROI 87%)
NOTE: In Propeller, you can set the conversion type while creating a campaign (you should select an auto-optimization tool, though). This way, our algorithms can help you drive more targeted traffic.
There are many different conversion types you have to get acquainted with. We hope the tips above can help you master the fine art of affiliate marketing and allow you to choose the best conversion flows for your campaigns.
Meanwhile, you can join our Telegram chat and share your quiz results in the comments below!
