More than ever, performance matters more than promises—and that’s where benchmarking makes the difference. With tighter budgets, shifting consumer behaviour and a competitive affiliate landscape, knowing how your program stacks up isn’t just nice to know. It’s business-critical.
Whether you’re optimising for growth or defending spend, Commission Factory’s Benchmark Reports turn raw data about your affiliate program into strategic insights. Here’s how to use them effectively this quarter.
1. Focus on Metrics That Matter
Start by zeroing in on three key benchmarks:
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Average Order Value (AOV)
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Cost Per Action (CPA)
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Conversion Rate (CVR)
Each tells a story about where your program sits in the market (and where to go next). Do you notice a lower AOV than your competitors? It might reflect your product mix, your pricing model (like subscriptions), or simply a lack of spend-driving incentives. Identify the cause, then adjust your approach.
💡 Quick win: Use integration partners for bundling, product recommendations, or dynamic coupons. These small tweaks often unlock big lifts in AOV without increasing acquisition costs.
2. Treat Data Like a Team Sport
Benchmark Reports work best when used together. For example, if your CPA is low, CVR is high, and ROAS is outperforming the market—congrats, you’ve built an efficient, scalable affiliate engine.
But if you’re under-indexing in one area, the fix often lies in another. Maybe your CVR is lagging, not because of poor product appeal, but because your affiliates are using expired promo codes or leading users to out-of-stock items.
3. Re-Engage or Replace Underperforming Affiliates
Check your Affiliate Activity Status report:
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Do you have many Click-Active affiliates but few Transaction-Active ones? You’ve got interest but not intent. Start with better onboarding, updated creatives, and improved tracking hygiene.
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Too few active partners? It might be time to diversify your publisher mix.
💬 “Set and forget” is the fastest way to lose affiliate momentum. Keep publishers updated with fresh campaigns, timely assets, and clear performance incentives.
4. Commission Smarter, Not Just More
If you want to reward loyalty without overspending, we strongly recommend looking into Custom Commissioning.
This lets you:
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Reward better for new customers and high-margin products.
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Set strategic rates by publisher type.
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Match spend to outcomes, not averages.
💡 Tip: Review your Commission Rate Benchmarking chart to see how competitive your payout is. Too low? Affiliates may favour your competitors. Too high? Your ROI might be taking a silent hit.
5. Recruit with Purpose
Your Top Affiliate Contribution report shows if your program is overly reliant on a few publishers. If 80% of your revenue comes from just five partners, that’s a risk.
Explore new affiliate types via:
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The Affiliate Directory for vetted partners
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The Influencer Hub for creators aligned with your brand
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The Integrations Marketplace for plug-and-play solutions that boost revenue
👀 Use the Affiliate Channel Distribution report to see what types your competitors are working with. That’s your blueprint to fill the gaps.
6. Don’t Just Track Performance—Shape It
The Placements Marketplace gives you access to short-term boosts with long-term impact. Use it to:
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Reach new audiences through fixed fee or boosted commission placements
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Test partner performance before committing long-term (hello, network-wide placements)
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Plan seasonal campaigns around what works, not just what’s trending
💡 Huge brands have used Benchmark Reports and Placements to reduce reliance on a few top publishers and diversify their revenue stream. The result included measurable growth, smarter spend, and a stronger affiliate channel overall.
Benchmarking Isn’t Just a Report—It’s a Roadmap
It’s not about comparing, for comparison’s sake. It’s about making confident decisions backed by market data and your own goals.
Whether you manage in-house or work with our Client Strategy team, make this year the year you benchmark with intent and optimise with purpose.
Need help interpreting your Benchmark Reports? Our Service Packages and Plans give you tailored, hands-on support to turn data into results. Speak to your Account Manager or explore which service option is the most suitable for your business objectives and budget.
Commission Factory is not only the Asia-Pacific region's largest affiliate platform, working with more than 900 of the world's biggest brands, it is also a performance marketing platform that allows affiliates, partners and content creators to earn money and online businesses to increase sales.
Connect with the Commission Factory team to learn more about how we help brands and partners build and grow their affiliate marketing strategies.