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What_Do_Affiliate_Tracking_Services_Do
| What Do Affiliate Tracking Services Do?
Some affiliate programs design their own internal software to
track affiliate referrals, calculate commissions, and process
payments. It is far more common, though, for programs to
outsource these functions to an affiliate tracking company.
Knowing which affiliate tracking company a program uses allows
you to quickly assess how many of the aspects of their affiliate
program will operate. What follows are some of the aspects of an
affiliate program that are largely influenced by the affiliate
tracking company used.
Targeted linking
Also known as deep linking, targeted linking is the practice
of allowing affiliates to direct traffic to whichever page on
the affiliate programs site best fits their pre-selling
strategy. The alternative to targeted linking is to direct all
referred traffic to the home page of the site. Programs that
offer targeted linking often, though not always, have much
higher conversion rates.
Tiered commissions
Some programs will reward affiliates for bringing new affiliates
into the program. While this reward can take many forms, it is
usually a small percentage of what the new affiliates earn. In
such programs, there are often a handful of affiliates who are
very successful recruiting and earn a steady income even though
they make few direct sales. Some affiliate tracking companies do
not have the capacity to offer tiered commissions, although most
do and leave the choice up to the individual program manager.
Tracking return customers
Most purchases on the internet do not occur the first time a
visitor comes to a page. Often they will bookmark the page and
return to the site hours, weeks, or sometimes months later to
purchase. Using a combination of cookies, IP tracking, and
domain referral tracking; affiliates can still receive
commissions on customers that do not make immediate purchases.
While the exact window of customer action may vary from program
to program, most affiliate tracking companies use the same
tracking methods (cookies or IP tracking) across all of their
programs.
Traffic and Sales Reporting
A practice so common as to be considered standard, affiliate
tracking companies allow affiliates to log on and review the
traffic and sales that they have generated over certain date
periods. Some companies allow affiliates to create campaigns by
which they can track the effectiveness of different marketing
methods. The type of reporting available tends to be consistent
across all affiliate programs a company tracks.
Payment Frequency
The industry standard is to send commission payments on a
monthly basis when an affiliates earnings reach a certain
minimum balance. Some programs send checks more or less
frequently. On rare occasions a company will not send checks
automatically, instead requiring that affiliates log on and
request a payment. This is often a sign of an untrustworthy
company trying to avoid paying all commissions due. Anything
other than automatic payment is uncommon.
Network of Programs
Some tracking companies cater to affiliates who wish to
participate in multiple programs. An affiliate who is part of
their network can examine and join other programs they track,
pending the approval of each program manager.
Training
Any program that leaves training of affiliates solely in the
hands of their tracking company is doing their affiliates a
great disservice, but the tracking company can help. Kowabunga,
for example, provides affiliates with a database of affiliate
marketing articles, FAQs, and a quick start guide. A tracking
company cant provide training for a specific product or
service, but they can educate affiliates on the general aspects
of the industry.
About the author:
Clay Mabbitt writes articles about online income opportunities.
He is the founder of a community of Internet entrepreneurs
sharing knowledge and experience at
http://www.affiliatescreen.com
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