Research desk
Affiliate Marketing Statistics & Data Sources
Source-linked affiliate marketing statistics, data definitions, and a practical method for using industry reports without inventing campaign benchmarks.
ABC Editorial Team · Editorial review: Figures are limited to linked primary reports and are shown with their original scope. · Updated 2026-08-21
Reliable affiliate planning starts with a clear distinction between a market report and a campaign forecast. This resource records only figures that can be checked at the original publisher, then explains what the number can and cannot support.
Verified data points
| Metric | Figure | Period & scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US digital advertising revenue IAB’s annual report measures market revenue, not affiliate revenue or a campaign payout benchmark. | $294.6B | Full year 2025 · report released April 2026 United States digital advertising market | IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2025 |
| Year-over-year revenue change Use this as market context only. It does not predict CPM, CPA, conversion rate, or revenue for an individual offer. | 13.9% | Full year 2025 · report released April 2026 Same IAB United States digital advertising revenue series | IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2025 |
How ABC qualifies a statistic
A publishable data point needs a named publisher, original report link, period, geography or sample scope, and an explanation of the metric. We do not convert broad ad-market figures into an EPC, CPA, CTR, approval-rate, or profitability promise.
Read the scope before using a number
Industry revenue can describe demand around an advertising market, but it cannot validate a particular traffic source, offer, vertical, or GEO. Keep the original unit, period, and population visible in a campaign brief; then test your own funnel with a pre-agreed loss limit.
- Separate market size from a campaign-level forecast
- Record the source date and original methodology
- Compare like with like: same GEO, period, currency, and conversion definition
What this page deliberately does not publish
ABC does not present anonymous “average” CPMs, EPCs, conversion rates, or payouts as universal truths. Those measures are affected by traffic quality, creative, offer rules, attribution, approval process, seasonality, and compliance. If a figure cannot be traced to a source and scope, it is excluded.
Frequently asked questions
Are these affiliate campaign benchmarks?
No. The listed figures provide industry context from the named report. They are not a prediction of campaign performance, commission, or profitability.
Can I use an industry report as proof that an offer will convert?
No. Use it to frame a research question, then validate the offer, landing page, permitted traffic, tracking, approval rules, and economics with a controlled test.