Open Web, Not Funnels
No opt-in walls. No drip sequences blocking the good stuff. The kit is optional; the whole reference is free without it.
The whole reference. Free. No opt-in wall.
The affiliate marketing reference
that doesn't cost anything.
Compliance, conversion tracking, and the definitions the pros actually use — sourced, current, and free. No paywall, no email gate blocking the good stuff.
41
Glossary Terms
4
Topic Hubs
3
Free Calculators
$0
Forever
Start here
Four hubs. Everything a working affiliate needs.
The reference is organized around what actually matters day to day — staying compliant, tracking your conversions, the deeper guides, and the vocabulary that ties it together.
Compliance
Stay on the right side of the FTC
Who regulates affiliate marketing, how to disclose correctly on every platform, the legal requirements, your taxes, fraud, and a quarterly audit.
Open Compliance
Tracking & Attribution
Get credit for every sale you drive
Click IDs, postback URLs, first-party data, Conversion API vs pixel, and the attribution models that decide who gets paid.
Open Tracking
Guides
The in-depth reference guides
Beginner foundations, real income data, the best programs and networks, and the software tools affiliates and merchants run on.
Open Guides
Glossary
Every term, decoded
41 clear definitions — EPC, CPA, postback URLs, click IDs, bridge pages, attribution — with real examples and how to use each one.
Open Glossary
Our approach
Pick traffic. Know your audience. Match offers.
Most affiliate advice tells you to pick a high-commission offer and chase traffic for it. That's why most affiliates quit within six months. The publishers who actually compound — NerdWallet, Wirecutter, every successful niche-site operator — flip the order: they pick a traffic source first, study who's on it, build for that audience, and only then attach offers.
It's the framework AffBuddy is built around, and it's the foundation playbook to read first.
Glossary
Affiliate marketing vocabulary, decoded.
EPC, CPA, postback URLs, bridge pages, click IDs — the terms that get thrown around in every course and offer page. Clear definitions, real examples, how to use each one.
EPC
Earnings per click — the single fastest way to compare offers.
Click ID
gclid, fbclid, ttclid — the parameter that ties a click to a conversion.
Postback URL
Server-side conversion tracking that survives iOS 14 and ad blockers.
Bridge Page
The standalone page that sits between your ad and the affiliate offer.
Free Calculators
Run the numbers before you commit.
Which offer is worth promoting, how much you can afford to bid, how many sales it takes to hit your goal. Instant, in-browser, no signup.
AI Toolkit
Your AI co-pilot for affiliate content
Generate platform-specific prompts, browse 17+ AI tools with free tier info, and copy proven prompt packs — all in one place.
Prompt Generator
Pick a platform, add your niche, get a ready-to-use prompt. No prompt engineering degree required.
AI Tool Directory
Searchable table of AI tools filtered by use case and free tier. Stop guessing, start building.
Quick Prompt Packs
One-click copy prompts for hooks, SEO briefs, product angles, repurposing, and thumbnails.
Beginner Guides
New to affiliate marketing? Start here.
The honest, no-upsell essentials. What it is, what affiliates actually earn, whether it's legit, and which programs are worth joining in 2026.
Beginner Guide
The complete 2026 walkthrough — what it is, how it works, where to start.
How to Start
The 7-step action plan for your first 90 days.
Real Income Data
What affiliates actually earn — with percentiles, not screenshots.
Best Programs 2026
High-paying programs by category — SaaS, hosting, finance, e-commerce.
Why AffBuddy
Free reference. No funnel.
Most affiliate marketing content is a funnel disguised as education. You get the first answer free, then hit a paywall, an upsell, or a $997 coaching pitch. The actual information takes a back seat to the sales machine.
AffBuddy is the opposite. Every guide, every definition, every tool — fully open, no email gate, no premium tier hiding behind a button. The entire reference is free because the best way to earn your trust is to actually help you first.
And because affiliate marketing is a compliance-and-tracking game before it's a traffic game, we source the parts that matter — the FTC rules, the platform docs, the tracking mechanics — instead of rewriting the same recycled advice.
Sourced, Not Recycled
Compliance and tracking content points to the primary sources — FTC guidance, platform docs — not a rewrite of someone else's blog post.
Current, Not Stale
Privacy rules, click IDs, and platform policies change every year. We keep the mechanics up to date for 2026, not 2021.
Independent Recommendations
No affiliate links, no sponsored placements, no commission incentive on any tool we mention. If a free option does the job, that's what we point you to first.
The whole reference. Free, forever.
Start with the two things that make or break an affiliate — staying compliant and tracking your conversions. No signup required.