How to set different commission rates based on product taxonomies

Affiliate for WooCommerce plugin helps you to add, manage affiliates, and track performance from a single place – commissions, sales, payout, leaderboard, etc. Earn money without hard work. Increase your brand outreach, and get potential customers.

You can set different commission rates based on product taxonomies like categories, tags, attributes, brands, shipping classes, and more.

This lets you reward affiliates differently depending on the type of product sold — whether it’s offering higher commissions for specific brands, promoting seasonal collections, or boosting sales for certain product categories.

You can also combine taxonomy-based rules with other conditions like affiliate-specific, product-specific, etc, to create powerful commission strategies.

This document explains how to create and manage commission plans based on product taxonomies.

You can assign commission rates based on any custom or core taxonomy registered for WooCommerce products, including:

1. Product Categories: Broadly group products into navigable sections like Accessories, Hoodies, T-shirts, etc., to make browsing easier for customers.
2. Product Tags: Associate products with keywords like Summer, Giftable, Outdoor, etc., to help with search and discovery.
3. Product Attributes: Define detailed product features such as Color (Red, Blue), Size (Small, Medium), Fabric (Cotton, Wool), etc.
4. Product Types: Specify the nature of the product, such as Simple, Variable, Grouped, Subscription, Bundle, etc.
5. Product Brands: Assign the manufacturer or brand name to products (e.g., Nike, Apple, Munchsmith).
6. Product Visibility: Control whether a product is public, hidden, featured, or search only. Useful for setting different commissions for featured products.
7. Product Shipping Classes: Group products that share similar shipping requirements, such as Bulky Items, Fragile Items, Free Shipping, etc.
8. Other Custom Taxonomies: Any additional product taxonomies created via third-party plugins or custom development, such as Collections, Seasons, Designer Labels, Material Types, Product Folders, etc.

Note:

• All registered product taxonomies appear in the dropdown when setting up a rule.
• Ensure that taxonomy terms (e.g., categories, brands, or attributes) are already created in your store — only existing terms will be available in the search result.

You can follow the steps mentioned below to create a commission plan based on product taxonomies:

1. Go to WordPress Admin > WooCommerce > Affiliates > Plans.
2. Click on the Add a Plan from the top right.
3. Enter a Name for the plan (e.g., 10% for Fall Collection).
4. Set commission rate under the Commission field (learn more) and choose the type – percentage (%) or flat amount (learn more).
5. Set up commission rules. In the Rules section,
   1. Choose the taxonomy from the dropdown (e.g., Product Attributes, Product type, Product Visibility, Product Tags, Product Shipping Classes, Brands, etc).
   2. Select ‘any of‘ (to include) or ‘none of‘ (to exclude) product taxonomies.
   3. Then type to search and select the specific product taxonomy.
6. Under Actions, define how to calculate commission for multiple products and the other products in the order that don’t match the plan’s rules. Learn more about setting the actions here.
7. Set the plan as Active from the drop-down at the top.
8. Click Save.

Let’s say you want to offer a 10% commission to an affiliate named John Doe when customers purchase products from brands Munchsmith or Trendora.

Note: You must create those brands on your store so they appear in the search results.

1. Commission – 10%
2. When > all > rule groups pass
3. This group is a “pass” when > all > of the following rules are true.
4. Affiliate – John Doe
5. Brand – Munchsmith/Trendora
6. Apply to – all matching products in the order
7. And then, for remaining products in the order… continue matching commission plans

As per the actions, this plan will be valid for all the products of the order that match the rules of the plan. For other products, it will continue matching other commission plans.

One of our clients was using a plugin and created Folders as a product taxonomy and set a commission plan to provide commission based on those folders.

You can also set specific commissions based on:

1. How to set up rules for affiliates?
2. How to set up rules for affiliate tags/affiliate groups?
3. How to set up rules for products?
4. How to set up rules based on referral medium?
5. How to set up rules based on the user’s first order?
6. How to set up rules based on user roles?
7. How to set up rules for subscription parent and renewal orders?

Yes! You can create separate plans with different commission rates for each brand.

Absolutely. You can combine affiliate, product, or any other rules with taxonomy rules within a single plan for more targeted commissions.

Have a feature request or enhancement suggestion for Affiliate For WooCommerce? Submit a feature request or send it to us from here.