CPS(CPS)
Advertising
Advertising
CPS (Cost per Sale) is what you pay per actual sale — with affiliates and marketplaces often a fixed percentage of order value.
With CPS the risk sits with the partner: you pay only when there is revenue. That is attractive, but the fee per sale is higher than with CPC.
Watch overlap with other channels. An affiliate bidding on your brand name or working through discount codes often earns a fee for a sale you already had.
In practice
CPS says nothing about margin. Check per product group whether the percentage still works after cost of goods, shipping and returns.
Related terms
- CPCCPC is the price you pay per click on your ad. Your average CPC is ad spend divided by clicks.
- CPACPA is ad cost per conversion: total spend divided by conversions, such as enquiries or purchases.
- Affiliate marketingIn affiliate marketing you pay partners a fee per sale or lead they bring in, usually through a tracking link.
- ROASROAS is revenue generated by your ads divided by what you spend on them. A ROAS of 4 means €4 revenue per euro spent.