There's been some discussions about this in previous threads, but I haven't seen a discussion that really breaks down each method and how it affects affiliates. There's probably affiliate programs who've done many studies on where tracking can leak, and I'm guessing software like NATS has a built-in standard.
I definitely want to get better educated on this and would love to see some experts chime in. Maybe we could also get programs to post how they track signups from linking codes and why it's better than others.
So questions I have...
1. Is there an industry standard and if not, why?
2. If only url tracking is used, there seem to be many ways the affiliate might lose that sale (user returns later by typing in the site's domain, user removes the affiliate tags, etc). Why aren't cookies added to help prevent this loss?
3. For cookie tracking, what's the "optimal" or fairest expiration period? (The way I understand expiration is that the initial affiliate to refer a customer holds the rights to that customer until the expiration period has elapsed.)
4. For programs that incorporate a combination of url and cookie tracking, I assume cookies override url tracking (when cookie exists) and url tracking is used when cookies aren't enabled. Do I understand that correctly?
The way I see it, most affiliate programs don't want holes in their referral tracking. Even if they could financial benefit from leaks, they'd rather their affiliates make more money with their program and retain that affiliate long-term. That's also why I think tracking methods should be fully understood and even disclosed upfront to potential affiliates (assuming the various methods can make a difference to everyones bottom line).
Look forward to hearing some expert opinions...
I definitely want to get better educated on this and would love to see some experts chime in. Maybe we could also get programs to post how they track signups from linking codes and why it's better than others.
So questions I have...
1. Is there an industry standard and if not, why?
2. If only url tracking is used, there seem to be many ways the affiliate might lose that sale (user returns later by typing in the site's domain, user removes the affiliate tags, etc). Why aren't cookies added to help prevent this loss?
3. For cookie tracking, what's the "optimal" or fairest expiration period? (The way I understand expiration is that the initial affiliate to refer a customer holds the rights to that customer until the expiration period has elapsed.)
4. For programs that incorporate a combination of url and cookie tracking, I assume cookies override url tracking (when cookie exists) and url tracking is used when cookies aren't enabled. Do I understand that correctly?
The way I see it, most affiliate programs don't want holes in their referral tracking. Even if they could financial benefit from leaks, they'd rather their affiliates make more money with their program and retain that affiliate long-term. That's also why I think tracking methods should be fully understood and even disclosed upfront to potential affiliates (assuming the various methods can make a difference to everyones bottom line).
Look forward to hearing some expert opinions...
Both would be good.
Comment