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How to pre populate through an affiliate link...

by brentb
11 replies
I am trying to figure this out for my affiliates so I have complete access to the affiliate software and the landing page and I make the rules

I want to offer the affiliates pre populating forms on the landing page and have coded it with php. So it does work going to the regular url www. Mylandingpageurl.com/?firstname=John&lastname=Smith&email=johnsmith@yah oo.com <- this works!

The affiliate software provides each affiliate with a link like: http:// mylandingpageurl.affiliatesoftwareprovider.com/affiliate/goto_offer/2/26/33/1/

So I figure to add this on: ?firstname=John&lastname=Doe&email=johndoe@yahoo.c om

It doesnt carry through to the landing page and pre populate the form. What can I do to get this to work?
#affiliate #link #populate #pre
  • Profile picture of the author weblink29
    I don't know but having affiliates supplying urls that use their first name, last name, and email address in the url sounds like a security nightmare. That's a good start for identity theft.

    just sayin...
    Signature

    Nothing to see here folks.....move along.

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  • Profile picture of the author brentb
    How so? They already have the info from their email lists, and are sending them to sign up on my site? Wheres the security risk?

    Pre populating forms is quite common... how else would you do this without passing the info through url variables?
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Putting the info in the link is only the first step.

      Next, you need to add a bit of code to parse the information from the link and assign it to variables.

      Finally, you need to insert those variables as the value for the form fields.

      If you have basic html pages, you should be able to find code snippets online for doing what you want. If you use Wordpress, there is at least one plugin that will do this.
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      • Profile picture of the author brentb
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        ...you need to add a bit of code to parse the information from the link and assign it to variables.

        Finally, you need to insert those variables as the value for the form fields.
        I have already done this using php variables and it works (see above). It just doesn't work when I use the affiliate link.
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      • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
        If it doesn't push the data in the URL for the landing
        page, then your php script won't be able to pull the
        data from the URL.

        Another option is to pull the data from the cookie that
        the affiliate software drops.

        For example, with Rapid Action Profits, I can pull the
        affiliate nickname from the RAP cookie and then
        auto-insert the affiliate ID into the web-form
        automagically.

        Dedicated to mutual success,

        Shaun
        Signature

        .

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        • Profile picture of the author brentb
          Via cookie is a good idea, never used cookies like this before but I will look into it.
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          • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
            That's what I get for speed-reading. Is the form code posted in an iframe or something? That might not allow the variables to 'cross over'.

            Another possibility is that the form code isn't correct for picking up the passed variables.
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            • Profile picture of the author brentb
              value="<?php $firstname = $_GET['firstname']; echo "$firstname"; ?>"

              This is the code that is added into the first name input.... it works fine if I am just pre populating the field for my traffic because i do not track through the affiliate software. I just need it to work for my affiliates.....

              BTW: no iframes or anything like that... its a pretty simple, clear cut page...
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              • Profile picture of the author michael_gourlay
                The affiliate software could be chopping off all that extra stuff.

                Could you have your affiliates go to a custom page you've created and pass all the values, including their affiliate information, then you can drop the cookie and redirect to the affiliate url, when the affiliate software eventually redirects to your form, you could grab the values from the cookie there.
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  • Profile picture of the author weblink29
    I guess I'm missing the big picture of how you use your affiliate landing pages. You want your affiliates to be able to send their affiliates to your landing page????
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    Nothing to see here folks.....move along.

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  • Profile picture of the author brentb
    My affiliates send their traffic to my landing page from their emails, the users sign up, my affiliates earned their pay (CPA offer).

    They would obviously get more conversions if when their traffic gets to my landing page, the form is already halfway filled out.
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