PayperSale

Pay-per-sale (PPS) is an affiliate marketing model in which a publisher earns a commission only when a referred customer completes a sale. It is often described as pay-for-performance, since earnings depend on a purchase rather than on clicks or impressions.

In a PPS program, advertisers provide tracking links to publishers. When a user clicks the link and completes a purchase within a specified attribution window, the transaction is recorded and the publisher receives a commission. Tracking is typically achieved through cookies and unique referral IDs, managed by an affiliate network or the advertiser’s own program.

Commissions in PPS are usually a percentage of the sale value or a fixed amount per sale. Terms commonly specify the cookie duration, minimum payout thresholds, and payment schedules. Some programs employ tiered or bonus incentives to reward higher performance.

Advantages of PPS include a lower risk for advertisers, since payment is tied to actual sales, and the potential for scalable, performance-driven growth. Publishers benefit from transparent, revenue-based earnings that align with their marketing efforts. Drawbacks can include the risk of fraud, longer verification and payout cycles, and attribution challenges across multi-channel journeys.

PPS is widely used across e-commerce, software, digital goods, and service markets. It is typically facilitated through affiliate networks or direct partnerships, which provide link tracking, reporting, and dispute resolution to ensure transparent and auditable commerce flows.