Tracking affiliate programs is what makes it special from other types of marketing. You can monitor the whole procedure. This can include tracking potential customers who clicked on your link and those who completed a purchase. Learning how to track affiliate program is also necessary so the merchant rewards you accurately.
You can use this to promote various types of sites and still be able to track affiliate programs. There are usually certain actions agreed upon by both parties for earning a commission.
For example, here are some types of actions that may result in commissions:
- Cost per Action or CPA – a general yet particular action that gives a fixed commission. For example, the affiliate may earn a commission for letting a user download something or sign up for a newsletter.
- Cost per Lead or CPL – this may be a lead like a potential sale that results on a fixed commission
- Revenue Share, Cost per Sale, or CPS – this is the percentage of the purchase amount which is agreed upon by the merchant and affiliate
- Cost per Click or CPC – there may be a fixed amount given to the affiliate for every click-through. This click-through leads to the website. The commission for CPC is usually very small.
Tracking Affiliate Program
A successful campaign requires tracking affiliate programs. This also allows the merchant to give commission to the appropriate affiliate with the right commission.
There are certain tools and software that allows for tracking affiliate programs. Such tools are typically provided and supported by an affiliate network. But the affiliate and the merchant may also have their own tracking tools to use. This will let them guarantee that there are no discrepancies when tracking affiliate programs.
Each affiliate can have their own identifier or unique URL through the tracking software. A cookie is then set on the customer’s computer through the links. Lastly, when tracking affiliate programs, the cookie allows sale tracking.
The URL for affiliate tracking is longer than the main product link because the referral ID or affiliate ID are provided in the end. The link usually includes the following:
- Affiliate network
- Affiliate ID
- Merchant ID
- Programme ID (there can be more than one programme on a network)
- Used media
- The click destination
Data Analytics
The cookies let the tracking tool gather data needed to award the commissions. This happens when the customer completes the action required on the site of the merchant. For instance, if an affiliate link is used by a customer, here are the data that the software gathers:
- The affiliate and their referring URL
- The sum of the price of sale for the commission
- The sale’s time and date
- The sale’s distinct order number.
This data makes tracking affiliate programs much easier. The merchant is supported with the appropriate data and confirms if there is a valid sale. The price of commission which is due is also shown. All of this is possible without revealing personal and private information.
Even if there was no action completed, the software still collects sufficient data. It will help both parties understand how the campaign can be further optimized. Remember the TAO acronym. This means track, analyze, and optimize.
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You can use these numbers and figures to check if the marketing efforts are a huge success. Affiliates can invest money in different merchants. This data can also be used to check if they can promote the mechant. It also allows them to check and decide how much should be invested in promoting them.
Meanwhile, the data can be utilized by the merchant to optimize the campaign. For instance, a banner can be improved based on how the good banners look like.
How Long the Cookie Lasts when Tracking Affiliate Program
Cookies have different expiry periods. This is an important thing to consider when you’re tracking affiliate programs. They aren’t just for affiliate marketing. They also use these to save information for a site to remember you when you visit. It is the domain owner’s decision to check how long the cookie will last. Most refer to this as the cookie period.
When tracking affiliate programs, the merchant must decide the cookier period. Then, commission is only given to the affiliate if the action occurs during the said cookie period. Some only let the cookies be available for one session. This means once the user leaves the site and tries to come back, then there is no commission. If the user purchases only a day after, then the affiliate will not get their reward. Usually, cookie period for affiliate marketing reaches up to 30 days. Consider this when you’re tracking affiliate programs. You also want to know that the 90 days cookie period is for higher-value items. There are longer purchase considerations like package holidays abroad and huge technologies. For affiliates, a longer cookie period is highly desirable. This increases the chance of them getting higher rewards with a commission.
Merchants may also offer an affiliate lock-in. The first affiliate who can refer to a certain product or service earns the commission for the customer forever. This means that all purchases that this user makes will reward the affiliate.
Issues with Tracking Affiliate Programs
Any digital marketing campaign, not just affiliate marketing, requires tracking. One issue with tracking affiliate programs is the multiple referral and one sale. So, who gets the reward? A potential customer may visit a merchant’s site through different affiliates. This is common if there are so many affiliates. Most of the time, they consider the latest referral by a certain affiliate. They reward the affiliate behind this with a commission. But some merchants also offer compensation to certain affiliates in the process of the sale.
Another issue is the deletion of cookies. Many consumers are smart enough to do this and affiliates will never be given their commission. It does not have a dramatic effect and affiliates may still calculate this in their ROI.
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