Glossary

Commission tier

A payout level in a deal that rises with volume: reach a set number of FTDs or a set amount of NGR in a month and your rate steps up. Not to be confused with GEO tiers, which group countries.

Also called: commission tiers, tiered commission, tiered RevShare, volume tiers, sliding scale.

A hypothetical tiered RevShare reads like a ladder: 25% up to 10 FTDs a month, 30% from 11 to 30, 35% above that. CPA deals do the same with fixed amounts per FTD. Tiers give the manager something to offer a growing affiliate without rewriting the deal. They have nothing to do with Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3, the country groups by ad cost and purchasing power (see Tiers).

The money sits in 3 details. First, does the higher rate cover the whole month or only volume above the threshold? With hypothetical tiers of 25% up to $5,000 of NGR and 35% above it, an $8,000 month pays $2,800 if the top rate covers everything and $2,300 if it covers only the last $3,000. Second, does the counter reset monthly? Third, does it count raw FTDs or only qualified ones?

A ladder nobody climbs is a 25% deal with good marketing. Ask the manager what share of partners in your GEO actually reach the top tier, and whether a flat rate in the middle is on the table instead. A steady 30% can be worth more than a 35% you reach 2 months out of 12.