Affiliate Tracking

This admonition was accustomed by an commodity accounting by Todd Farmer & Jeff Doak

Affiliate Managers and abounding added web marketers acquire started to use a array of tracking technologies and strategies, over the aftermost few years, in their adventure for accurately befitting clue of their referred customers. Tracking barter "from bang through to sale" can be able with assorted tracking methods, such as:

• Simple Absolute URL Links

• CGI/URL Tracking

• Cookie Tracking

• Self Replicated Pages

• Sub Area Tracking

• Database Almanac Bout Tracking

One of the adequate things about these methods is that anniversary of them has strengths, and anniversary has weaknesses. However, you’ll see that Cookie Tracking (which I mentioned in an aloft section) is the bright champ as the adopted distinct tracking adjustment aback it comes to reliable, flexible, and adequate tracking.

When you are analytic through the altered tracking methods, an accessory ambassador has to accede these things first:

• How adjustable is the method? For example: Can you clue aggregate that you appetite to clue and will it assignment with my arcade barrow or acclimation system?

• How attainable is it for the tracking to be started and

completed? Ask yourself: .Do I acquire to apply abundant accomplishment re-designing and advancement my website to assignment with the tracking method?.

• How abundant can you calculation on the tracking method?

• How calmly can an accessory with a lot of acquaintance defeat the tracking

method?

• Does this tracking adjustment affect the accomplishment of your website or web server?

Direct URL Links

A Simple, Absolute URL Articulation is the best basal and the best apprenticed anatomy of barometer tracking technology. The accessory ID is abandoned arresting to the chump in the URL aback you are application this adjustment because it passes the apropos affiliate’s ID anon to the URL of a specific folio that the accessory or YOU acquire (which charge be able with an adjustment form).

This specific folio is afresh coded with a script, which reads the apropos affiliate’s ID in the URL, and passes it into a "hidden field" in the adjustment anatomy on the folio or to a arresting "reference number", that can be printed or arise by the aggregation to the website.

While this simple adjustment is adequate at befitting clue of absolute sales on a single-page sales site, it cannot clue the accessory ID if the chump leaves this folio and allotment later. In that way it is inconvenient. Aback the accessory ID is arresting in the URL, barter can calmly defeat the tracking by artlessly removing the accessory ID from the URL.

CGI/URL Tracking

CGI/URL Tracking is a about effective, but array of inefficient agency of tracking that passes the accessory ID throughout the merchant’s absolute website. How it works is that the accessory ID is arresting in the URL aloof like in the aloft adjustment and "follows" the aggregation until she alcove the acclimation system, area the ID is detected from the URL string. This how it follows the chump throughout the armpit and, in best cases, by processing all centralized armpit links through a Perl calligraphy or JavaScript that does the following:

1. reads the accepted URL

2. grabs ascendancy of the accessory ID

3. Appends it to the URL of the abutting page.

This adjustment is a bit of a brittle one because it requires a abundant accord of accurate architecture of the website and aliment of every articulation that is included central of the merchant’s site. Of course, aback the armpit exists beneath abundant traffic, the calligraphy can become a "bottleneck" to the merchant’s web site. In addition, if the calligraphy anytime fails, the merchant’s armpit will fail.

The CGI/URL Tracking adjustment is usually acclimated in affiliation with "cookie tracking". This aggregate allows for the tracking of barter who acquire disabled their cookies. CGI/URL Tracking, however, is accident its acceptance as a advancement apparatus because in best circumstances, Internet users who are security-conscious abundant to attenuate accolade are additionally adeptness abundant to cross about the CGI/URL adjustment as well. Barter today can calmly attenuate the tracking by artlessly removing the accessory ID from the URL and re-entering the site.

Cookie Tracking

Cookie Tracking is the best accepted and annoying adjustment to clue barter "from bang through to order", because it is simple to apparatus & use, it doesn.t crave any cogent web architecture considerations, nor does it appulse the accomplishment of the web armpit or web server. This adjustment works by artlessly autograph a baby argument file, which is alleged a "cookie", to a user’s browser aback they bang on an accessory link. This cookie holds the apropos affiliate’s ID, which can be articular at the merchant’s adjustment folio to acclaim affiliates for referred sales.

Cookies accomplish tracking affiliate-referred-sales absolute adequate for the webmaster. The cookie can be apprehend and acclimated on any folio or on any form, and can be acclimated in affiliation with about any acclimation system. Not to mention, the cookie that annal the affiliate’s ID can "live" for as continued as the merchant wants it to. This is how the affiliates get acclaim for barter who clicked on a articulation weeks, or months, afore assuredly purchasing or authoritative a echo purchase.

Cookie Tracking is about airy to the user, because accolade are accounting and apprehend "behind the scenes". Unlike the added methods, the merchant’s URL does not charge to affectation the accessory ID for the tracking to work. The abandoned analysis with accolade is that a baby cardinal of web users anxiously "disable" cookies, and therefore, they cannot be tracked.

The cardinal of Cookie Enabled browsers is growing, because a majority of web surfers’ admired sites crave cookie use; plus, the advantage to attenuate accolade is not attainable in the two aloft browsers like internet charlatan and Netscape. Those users who booty the agitation to attenuate accolade are, oftentimes, the aforementioned users who will apparently be alert of added tracking methods and acquire abstruse to anxiously bypass those as well.

Self Replicated Pages

Self Replicated Pages (SRP), action affiliates a web folio that is based on a template, or assorted web pages, that is activate in their own agenda at the merchant’s website. SRP’s are an able and reliable anatomy of accessory tracking, but their use requires accurate planning, the conception of arrangement web pages, and advancing aliment in adjustment to be effective.

With SRP’s, the accessory receives one or added pages at the merchant’s website that is abandoned acclimated for that affiliate’s referred web visitors. Aback the affiliate’s website is appointed by a agenda name, the affiliate’s ID is absolutely amid aural the URL. Because of this, barter who do not ambition to be tracked can defeat this tracking adjustment by removing the accessory agenda from the URL, and re-entering the site.

In adjustment to be able to action best benefit, SRP’s are oftentimes acclimated in affiliation with cookie tracking: the SRP provides the accessory with a URL to which he can point his customers, and the cookie tracking takes over from that point.

Sub Area Tracking

Sub Area Tracking is a abundant accord like Self Replicated Pages, in that it provides an accessory with a abounding URL that can be acclimated by the accessory to absolute customers. Unlike Self Replicated Pages, though, this adjustment gives affiliates an absolute sub area at the merchant’s site, not a simple agenda aisle activate at the merchant’s capital domain.

The Sub Area action is one of the added time arresting and ambitious tracking methods. The action requires that the:

DNS is configured to point this fresh sub area to the adapted web casework on the web server

• web casework are created for this fresh sub area as able-bodied as the capital pages

• web casework point to the adapted files for surfers to appearance the sub domain. The web files charge either be created (just like SRP’s), or the web account charge point to a predefined base directory.

When merchants use this tracking method, their barter are able to see some anatomy of accessory identification, because the accessory ID is apparent in the URL as the sub area which makes it a lot easier. Although barter can see this identification in the URL, aback the sub area is allotment of the URL, attempts to defeat the arrangement by removing the sub area from the URL and entering the armpit with no sub area is beneath adequate than with added URL Arresting accessory tracking methods.

The Sub Area Tracking adjustment is absolutely absolute server intensive, aback web casework charge be created for anniversary and every sub area used, and it may crave added adamantine drive amplitude to be wasted. The website may charge to abide a aloft armpit analysis and aliment to handle sub area tracking. Not to mention, this adjustment requires the action of a web server and DNS administrator, or big-ticket scripting that can automate the process.

When you are because the use of this method, accessory managers acquire to anxiously plan the acclimation arrangement and its affiliation with the sub area option, and cookie tracking should be acclimated as a backup.