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Use Tracking ID's

by James English
16 replies
I've just learned a very important lesson. At this point I am not 100% sure exactly how I should go about solving this issue.

I have been slacking for the past week or so due to finishing finals, christmas shopping, etc. so I haven't been working online as much. I logged into my Clickbank account just now to see that over the course of this week I had made around 5 more sales for about $150.

The problem here is, I did not use tracking ID's for any of these hop links. I had multiple articles going on multiple directories. I have no idea where these sales came from. I don't know if it was from a specific article, a specific directory, or what.

Moral of the story for anyone who is just starting out in this stuff. Use tracking ID's for all your hop links so you know where they are coming from.

Now a few questions for the veterans out there. Would you suggest using a unique tracking ID for each and every article or only a unique ID for each directory for a given product? How do you track your sales as far as this area is concerned?
#tracking
  • Profile picture of the author anthony2
    i use my own tracking software like adwatcher or adtrackz

    they work very well if you need to track....clicks,leads,sales etc
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  • Profile picture of the author The GoTo Team
    Thats a really good idea. Track every sale so you know who your audience is and where your product is going.

    Nice tip. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author AllanJames
    Originally Posted by tjames20 View Post


    Moral of the story for anyone who is just starting out in this stuff. Use tracking ID's for all your hop links so you know where they are coming from.

    Now a few questions for the veterans out there. Would you suggest using a unique tracking ID for each and every article or only a unique ID for each directory for a given product? How do you track your sales as far as this area is concerned?
    Cheer up, we've all made that mistake at times :-)

    You're right of course, even when doing free traffic generation methods (articles etc) it's vital to track - even your time has a cost to it (in my mind the biggest cost, because once spent it can't be replaced).

    I track *each* article. In fact I never put a link out *anywhere* that's not tracked, that way I can get reports showing me clicks, conversions, costs, and therefore return on income. For example the links in my sig are tracked. I know exactly from my tracker reports how many clicks on them result in someone taking up the online tools suite I offer or visiting my training center.

    BTW you can get tracking for as low as $9 a month and save yourself a fortune in lost time and/or money
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  • Profile picture of the author Stangracer
    Originally Posted by tjames20 View Post

    I've just learned a very important lesson. At this point I am not 100% sure exactly how I should go about solving this issue.

    I have been slacking for the past week or so due to finishing finals, christmas shopping, etc. so I haven't been working online as much. I logged into my Clickbank account just now to see that over the course of this week I had made around 5 more sales for about $150.

    The problem here is, I did not use tracking ID's for any of these hop links. I had multiple articles going on multiple directories. I have no idea where these sales came from. I don't know if it was from a specific article, a specific directory, or what.

    Moral of the story for anyone who is just starting out in this stuff. Use tracking ID's for all your hop links so you know where they are coming from.

    Now a few questions for the veterans out there. Would you suggest using a unique tracking ID for each and every article or only a unique ID for each directory for a given product? How do you track your sales as far as this area is concerned?

    Hey Tjames20,

    Here is a thread where we had a very similar discussion. I go over some PHP code you use to track each article and the directory as well.

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-question.html

    It's pretty easy to setup too.

    There are a few other WF threads listed in that post that should help out as well.

    I hope this helps out...

    If you have any questions just ask.

    Thanks,

    Derek
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    • Profile picture of the author AllanJames
      Yo Derek, as a tracking freak <grin> I had a look at your post.

      Am I missing something? I got the feeling you're focused on tracking click throughs, am I right?

      Because it I am, I worry for the anyone reading this thread, because clicks are only a part of the story, a very small part.

      Clicks may make you feel good, but clicks don't make you money.

      Conversions ( optins to your list, or sales) are the only thing that makes you money.

      That's why you have to track clicks (sure, it's part of the picture), but more importantly you have to track actions (optins or sales), and the costs in getting your conversions.

      Then you have the whole picture.

      A good tracker will crunch the numbers and you end up with the return on income - how much it cost you to get the action V the return on the action.

      In business, this is the bottom line. Did I make a profit? Can I improve my profit? What do I need to do to improve my profit? Should I put my money (or time), here, or here? What works well? What's only OK?

      Whens the best time to email my list to get the best results? Weekends? Night? 6Pm. or 6am?

      That's what a good tracker will do.

      Good, full function, trackers save you money and make you money, and some don't charge you an arm and a leg to tuck into your business toolbox.

      Please, don't rely on clicks, track actions and conversions.
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      • Profile picture of the author Stangracer
        Originally Posted by AllanJames View Post

        Yo Derek, as a tracking freak <grin> I had a look at your post.

        Am I missing something? I got the feeling you're focused on tracking click throughs, am I right?
        Hey Allan,

        I think you missed a little bit.

        The OP asked about tracking which articles are getting the sales. So I offered a post where we have had that discussion before.

        I'm a firm believer in End-to-End tracking, knowing which marketing link whether it's PPC, articles, email or Web 2.0 properties are bringing in the sales.

        The code that I talked about in that thread shows how to add a unique code to each article link and then when someone clicks that link and comes to your site add the code to your affiliate links so you know which articles are actually bringing in the sales.

        End-to-End tracking that's simple and works well.

        I like using tracking software myself, I actually use a few different things at the same time and get lots of data. That data is your guide to success.

        It tells you if people like your web page, where they're clicking, how long they stay and tons of other cool tidbits that are useful to really start to understand your market, which keywords are working, which websites are bringing you visitors, etc.

        Why guess when you don't have too.

        I totally agree with tracking everything by the way. I think everybody should get to know at least two different types of tracking software and use both for everything they do.

        One being some sort of Analytics on their website (I like Piwik it's FREE too) and the other a link tracker (Prosper202 is FREE and works pretty good). That's the minimum in my book to really get the kind of info that will guide you to success.

        My other favorite is Affiliate Prophet. I really like the fact that the tracking is done at the page level instead of with Java Script or a tracking link so you can track SEO as well with it. The best feature though is the AIDA time on page capability. You'll know real quick if you're message is liked by the market or not and for which keywords or web links. It has many other benefits as well.

        It's especially great for sales pages and longer presells, but can be adjusted for use with any length page.

        I've rattled on enough... I do love this stuff.

        Thanks,

        Derek
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  • Profile picture of the author James English
    Allan, I think you may have misinterpreted what I was saying. Yes I am tracking clicks. I am not merely tracking clicks to see how many I get however.

    What I meant in my post was that I think it is important to know where your traffic is coming from. I wasn't singling out clicks as the only thing a person should track.

    Great, you track actions and conversions, but what good is it if you have no idea where the original source of traffic came from. I am not saying you shouldn't track other things, I was merely stating the fact that it is important to know where your visitors are coming from and not just be content that you have visitors.

    If I write 100 articles and submit them to 5 different directories I may get a few thousand visitors to my site. But what if 90% of those visitors came from only 1 of the directories I submitted to. I could be wasting my time with the other 4 directories and not even know it. See what I am getting at?

    On another note, yes, one should not rely on tracking clicks alone, they should track anything and everything they can to see the best results.

    Edit: Looking back over this, it looks like you may have been referring to Dereks thread in your post above, if that is the case, sorry for the harsh response! I'll be looking in to some new tracking software, thank you!
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    • Profile picture of the author AllanJames
      Originally Posted by tjames20 View Post

      Edit: Looking back over this, it looks like you may have been referring to Dereks thread in your post above, if that is the case, sorry for the harsh response! I'll be looking in to some new tracking software, thank you!
      Absolutely no offense taken :-)

      Actually the cause of the misunderstanding was my loose use of language.

      What I was trying to say was that, for profitability, you have to track everything - all sources, clicks, actions (sales or optins) and then have good reporting functions on each of these items, and software that calculates to ROI on that event.

      For example: if you were to click on the link in my sig for the online tools suite I offer (which includes comprehensive tracking as one of the tools), my tracker would report that the click came from here, the time of the click then, as you arrived at my site, what you did from there, did you request the overview information email series?, did you join for the 30 day free trial?, did you join, look around for half an hour then select the appropriate paid service package to meet your needs?, did you arrive at the site, take a moments look at it then blow the whole thing off as not for you? etc. With this information at my finger tips, and trend reporting over time I'm then able to make meaningful business decisions.

      I think that longer example will have made what I tried to say before more clear.

      Well, I hope so anyway :-)
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      • Profile picture of the author ayolov
        Originally Posted by AllanJames View Post


        What I was trying to say was that, for profitability, you have to track everything - all sources, clicks, actions (sales or optins) and then have good reporting functions on each of these items, and software that calculates to ROI on that event.

        For example: if you were to click on the link in my sig for the online tools suite I offer (which includes comprehensive tracking as one of the tools), my tracker would report that the click came from here, the time of the click then, as you arrived at my site, what you did from there, did you request the overview information email series?, did you join for the 30 day free trial?, did you join, look around for half an hour then select the appropriate paid service package to meet your needs?, did you arrive at the site, take a moments look at it then blow the whole thing off as not for you? etc. With this information at my finger tips, and trend reporting over time I'm then able to make meaningful business decisions.
        Well said! You have to know where your buyers are coming for. You might have a lot of traffic coming from a certain page or keyword, yet none of it converts! A lot of people mistake sales with traffic, they think if they have more traffic they'll have more sales but this is not necessary the case.

        Keep an eye where your sales are coming from, this is crucial or you are working with your eyes closed
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    • Profile picture of the author anthony2
      Originally Posted by tjames20 View Post

      Allan, I think you may have misinterpreted what I was saying. Yes I am tracking clicks. I am not merely tracking clicks to see how many I get however.

      What I meant in my post was that I think it is important to know where your traffic is coming from. I wasn't singling out clicks as the only thing a person should track.

      Great, you track actions and conversions, but what good is it if you have no idea where the original source of traffic came from. I am not saying you shouldn't track other things, I was merely stating the fact that it is important to know where your visitors are coming from and not just be content that you have visitors.

      If I write 100 articles and submit them to 5 different directories I may get a few thousand visitors to my site. But what if 90% of those visitors came from only 1 of the directories I submitted to. I could be wasting my time with the other 4 directories and not even know it. See what I am getting at?

      On another note, yes, one should not rely on tracking clicks alone, they should track anything and everything they can to see the best results.

      Edit: Looking back over this, it looks like you may have been referring to Dereks thread in your post above, if that is the case, sorry for the harsh response! I'll be looking in to some new tracking software, thank you!

      Looking for new tracking software

      adwatcher which is 29 a month (worth it)
      adtrackz is 97 dollars one time

      there both very good tracking software
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      • Profile picture of the author AllanJames
        Originally Posted by anthony2 View Post

        Looking for new tracking software

        adwatcher which is 29 a month (worth it)
        adtrackz is 97 dollars one time

        there both very good tracking software
        Wow! Probably? value for money but..... Oh, maybe I'm just spoiled in that I get tracking and another 7 essential tools (autoresponders, capture page builders and hosting, live conference room, hosted blog, full contact manager and the list goes on) starting at only 9 bucks a month.

        Hmm... I'm starting to feel spoiled, didn't realize these other services were the price they are.

        Let's see:Aweber 500 subscribers $20, now I know about it adwatcher 29 a month, hosted capture page builder, about $19 a month, conference room, say $9 a month, contact manager, say another $9 a month, hosting, maybe as low as $5 a month. What are we up too? Over $90 a month!

        No thanks, at less than $20 a month, I'm staying right were I am!
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        • Profile picture of the author anthony2
          Originally Posted by AllanJames View Post

          Wow! Probably? value for money but..... Oh, maybe I'm just spoiled in that I get tracking and another 7 essential tools (autoresponders, capture page builders and hosting, live conference room, hosted blog, full contact manager and the list goes on) starting at only 9 bucks a month.

          Hmm... I'm starting to feel spoiled, didn't realize these other services were the price they are.

          Let's see:Aweber 500 subscribers $20, now I know about it adwatcher 29 a month, hosted capture page builder, about $19 a month, conference room, say $9 a month, contact manager, say another $9 a month, hosting, maybe as low as $5 a month. What are we up too? Over $90 a month!

          No thanks, at less than $20 a month, I'm staying right were I am!

          AllanJames good for you

          But remember don't put all your eggs in one basket.

          If that service you are using goes out of business then you may be out

          of business too. I think it is important to have a tracking software that is

          hosted on your own domain. Like i mentioned above if that service goes

          belly up then all your tracking links that you have all around the internet

          will go DEAD!! Just something to remember
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          • Profile picture of the author AllanJames
            Originally Posted by anthony2 View Post

            AllanJames good for you

            But remember don't put all your eggs in on basket.

            If that service you are using goes out of business then you may be out

            of business too. I think it is important to have a tracking software that is

            hosted on your own domain. Like i mentioned above if that service goes

            belly up then all your tracking links that you have all around the internet

            will go DEAD!! Just something to remember
            Very valid point, in general terms. However I've been with the provider for four years, their business has grown year on year, the tools suite has been added to and upgraded twice now, their customer service is outstanding and they use distributed whatever (servers?), so I'm pretty calm about the future with them.

            Actually, through experience with them over time, I've developed as much trust in them as I have for Hostgator who host a couple of my legacy sites
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            • Profile picture of the author anthony2
              Originally Posted by AllanJames View Post

              Very valid point, in general terms. However I've been with the provider for four years, their business has grown year on year, the tools suite has been added to and upgraded twice now, their customer service is outstanding and they use distributed whatever (servers?), so I'm pretty calm about the future with them.

              Actually, through experience with them over time, I've developed as much trust in them as I have for Hostgator who host a couple of my legacy sites
              You mentioned the company you are with, has grown over the years....Thats good to hear.

              Especially the way the economy is now.

              Also You mentioned hostgator...i feel the same way.

              I have alot of websites hosted with them and i have developed

              so much trust with them also.
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  • Profile picture of the author ayolov
    Originally Posted by tjames20 View Post

    Would you suggest using a unique tracking ID for each and every article or only a unique ID for each directory for a given product? How do you track your sales as far as this area is concerned?
    You can track where your visitors came from by placing the tracking code everywhere on your site(s) where you are using the affiliate link. You can use statcounter if you don't have any (it's free) or Google Analytics both tell you where the visitor came from, you can then use the tracking ID from clickbank for your keyword. If you can't place tracking then yes, you definitely should use the clickbank ID to help you figure out which of your articles and/or sites is bringing the sales.

    If might be a bit more work, but it will save you a lot of money and time in the long run.

    Does this answer your question?
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  • Profile picture of the author G Duniam
    Great thread guys. I'm looking at using adwatcher now. Tried ad tracks for a while but didn't like the fact that when it's redirecting a 'one moment please' message comes up. Gives away the fact that it's a cloaked affiliate link which could prove costly in the IM niche.
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