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Question for Affiliates: should cookies be first in or last out?

by Ron Douglas
8 replies
Question for Affiliates: should cookies be first in or last out?

For example, Clickbank credits the sale to the most recent affiliate to make the referral. If you refer the customer but he doesn't buy right away, another affiliate can send them back to the sales page after you, override your affiliate link and get credit for the sale.

If it was the other way around, there would be no affiliate theft (in theory) because the first affiliate to refer the sale would always get credit and their cookies couldn't be overridden.

I guess the downside would be that cookie stuffing would be more effective. I'm sure there are more pros and cons as well.

What do you think? Affiliate sales - first referrer or most recent?
#affiliates #cookies #question
  • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
    Hi Ron,

    Although it wouldn't surprise me if it all evens out in the end, the credit now goes to the "closer". They were the one that "closed" the deal, in other words provided the necessary nudge to get the sale whether intentional or not. The buyer may have just needed some reinforcing information to make the decision, or perhaps the thought incubation period had expired and a predetermined decision to buy was enacted.

    Sometimes it's just a case of the second mouse getting the cheese.

    As you noted, if the first affiliate always got the sale cookie stuffing would be rampant. That's not a good system.

    Ideally, the affiliate that does the best sales job (convinces the prospect to buy) should get the credit, and if that happens to be the first affiliate, so be it. A good sales person will always want the first crack at the prospect.

    But as I said before, if it all evens out in the end it wouldn't surprise me.

    KJ
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Williams
    For many cases, I think it would be fair if the first referrer would get credited. Because you refer the customer, they read, and might want to do some more research. While doing the research, they can come to another affiliate`s page, and be referred to the product page from there as well. And if they buy, they do that probably because you showed them what to buy?

    On the other hand, if that was the case, for some popular products new affiliates would have very low chances to make a sale, as the veterans would have been placed their links all over the place.
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  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    Personally, I like the "last referrer" method. As Joe said, the one who closes gets the credit. That means the affiliate can more effectively use tools like free bonuses.

    Think of it...

    If it's first referrer, then affiliate competition may even drop. I have no reason to give prospects a free bonus for buying through my link, because I have no idea if someone has cookied the prospect before me.

    Affiliates don't have to worry about doing reviews, warming up prospects, etc. Just get prospects to click on a link -- even if you have to trick them to do so or "stuff" the cookie -- and call it a day.


    ***

    I've seen people use first referrer and it probably has its advantages in some cases. But as an affiliate, I prefer last referrer. This is especially true if I'm promoting a popular product.

    In fact, if I just stumbled on a popular product and it was "first referrer," I wouldn't even bother joining the aff program because I'd figure lots of my prospects were already cookied at some point. (Unless I'm doing things like promoting locally, etc.)

    Cheers,
    Becky
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    • Profile picture of the author mlevenhagen
      Yep, I look at it the same way.. just like in the real world, the credit should go to the person that closes the sale. The first or prior affiliates might have done a crappy pre-sell job, didn't answer all their questions or just came into the buyers cycle at the wrong stage..

      Credit to the guy or gal that seals the deal.

      Of course, sometimes it isn't always fair in the case of theft etc, but that's not a reason in my opinion to overturn the above thinking..
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      • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
        Originally Posted by mlevenhagen View Post

        didn't answer all their questions
        That's another good point.

        When I'm promoting a "most recent" affiliate product, I'll go out of my way to answer my prospect's questions about the product. If it's first referrer, affiliates aren't going to be as likely to bend over backwards and close the sale, because they can't be certain that they're the first affiliate.

        (Hence the reason why passive methods like cookie stuffing or "tricks" to get a click on the affiliate link might be the promotion of choice for some affiliates.)

        Cheers,
        Becky
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  • Profile picture of the author SeanSupplee
    Last referrer I know I tend to stay away from programs that tell me they are cookie based. If I don't get my site seen first well then I am out of luck even if its my promotion efforts that push that sale its going to someone else. Go with last referred in my opinion
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    I agree for the most part. As a product owner, there is one instance where I would want it to be 'first in.' If you're doing a launch and you want to motivate JV partners to send emails early during the pre-launch phrase, setting it up as first in may be an option.

    The problem with doing a launch is, unless you're Frank Kern or somebody that well known, many JV partners won't mail during the pre-launch. Instead they will wait until the product launches to promote it, if you're lucky. What's the point of providing all the pre-launch content and building up anticipation for the launch if nobody knows about it until it's live?

    I understand that the person who closes deserves the sale, but what if you promote during the pre-launch and the product isn't ready to purchase yet? You may have closed the sale in the customer's mind already but then someone comes along with their link and takes away your sale.
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    • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

      I understand that the person who closes deserves the sale, but what if you promote during the pre-launch and the product isn't ready to purchase yet? You may have closed the sale in the customer's mind already but then someone comes along with their link and takes away your sale.
      Ron,

      I think this is the core reason that folks add bonuses to their offers.

      Knowing in advance that a predominant method of marketing is nothing more than "interception marketing" where people create paths to intercept targeted traffic, and in many cases adding nothing to the equation, you create a scenario where buying from you provides the greatest value.

      It's human nature to want to get the most out of any given purchase, and let's face it, buyer loyalty is a myth at best once any product becomes a commodity (available in many places), so adding bonuses is a good way to make your offer stand out.

      So to address your question, if during the pre-launch phase you can also provide your JVs with after-the-sale materials that have limited distribution rights, e.g. you have to be a JV to get the materials, then you are giving them additional traction once the sale goes live.

      They can add those materials you provided as bonuses the interception marketers don't have access to thereby ensuring additional value to the sale. If that additional value is substantial enough in the mind of the buyer the merchant of choice becomes a no-brainer.

      That's the theory, of course, but in reality marketers share a great many prospects over many lists and the overlap can be huge. So the prospect can see the same offer from different trusted folks and the purchase comes down to the proverbial coin toss. Hence a good reason for piling on unique additional bonuses.

      Faced with competition that has a three pronged attack, trust, JV bonuses, and unique bonuses, an interception marketer faces an uphill battle.

      At least they do when my credit card comes out...

      KJ
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