EPC - Earnings Per Click

What is EPC?

Earnings Per Click (EPC) is calculated by dividing total revenue (or commission) by the total number of clicks. If an affiliate campaign has generated 10,000 DKK in revenue from 2,000 clicks, the EPC is 5 DKK.

Formula: EPC = Total Revenue / Number of Clicks

EPC is primarily used in affiliate marketing, but can be applied to any marketing channel to assess how effectively each click converts into revenue.

EPC in Affiliate Marketing

For affiliates, EPC is the most important metric for assessing which programs are most profitable to promote. An advertiser (online store) with a high EPC is more attractive to affiliates because each click they send generates more revenue.

• Network EPC: The average EPC for an affiliate program, as reported by the network. Used by affiliates to select programs.
• Your personal EPC: Your actual earnings per click based on your own results. May differ significantly from the network’s average.

EPC vs. Other Metrics

• EPC vs. CPC: CPC (Cost Per Click) is what you pay per click on ads. EPC is what you earn per click. To be profitable, EPC must be greater than CPC.
• EPC vs. ROAS: ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) shows the return as a ratio. EPC shows it as an absolute amount per click.
• EPC vs. conversion rate: EPC combines the conversion rate and order value into a single figure. A low conversion rate with a high order value can result in a better EPC than a high conversion rate with a low order value.

What affects EPC?

• Conversion Rate: The higher the percentage of clicks that result in sales, the higher the EPC.
• Average order value: More expensive products typically yield a higher EPC.
• Traffic quality: Targeted traffic from relevant sources converts better than broad, unspecified traffic.
• Landing page: An optimized landing page that matches the ad increases conversions and, consequently, EPC.
• Season: EPC can fluctuate significantly throughout the year—Black Friday, Christmas, and other peak seasons typically increase EPC.

How to Improve Your EPC

• Optimize the conversion rate: Improve product pages, the checkout process, and the user experience.
• Increase order value: Upselling, bundles, and free shipping thresholds raise AOV and, consequently, EPC.
• Target traffic: Direct traffic to the most relevant pages. Generic homepage links result in a lower EPC than specific product links.
• Offer attractive deals: Promotions and discounts increase the conversion rate and improve EPC during the promotional period.