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Tracking affiliate links

by omgfirstmillion
20 replies
Hello guys,

I am promoting Clickbank and CPA products at my blog, and I am completely in the dark in regards to tracking clicks and conversions, which is of course essential. I got a lot of diversity of products promoted in each article (and got over 60 articles written on my site), so it varies a lot from page to page. I did add a Tracking ID for each different article whenever I created a hoplink at Clickbank, but I don´t know where do I see the stats for these clicks. When it comes to CPA is worse, as networks usually mention a "s1 parameter" for link tracking which I don´t know what it means. I have heard about tracking softwares Prosper202, Demon Tracking and of course, Google Analytics. Ideally I would like to track all my affiliate links from one single interface, mixing both the CB and CPA affiliate links in one place. So I would appreciate if someone could point me to an article, tutorial or course that covers the whole subject of tracking, and also recommendations for the best tracking software there is out there, free or paid.

Thanks!
#affiliate #links #tracking
  • Profile picture of the author NK
    There are a few options to choose from, such as our own Linktrackr and others like Improvely. Both lets you cloak, track clicks and also conversion. They're all web-based so you just need to add your links in the system and track by promoting the cloaked URL.

    Most link trackers now uses tracking pixel to track conversion rates, which are generally accepted by product sellers and CPA offers. Just copy and paste
    Signature

    Affiliate Link Cloaking & Tracking Software - The most powerful tool available for affiliate marketers who are sick and tired of making way too little money!
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  • Profile picture of the author ClickBank
    Originally Posted by omgfirstmillion View Post

    I did add a Tracking ID for each different article whenever I created a hoplink at Clickbank, but I don´t know where do I see the stats for these clicks. When it comes to CPA is worse, as networks usually mention a "s1 parameter" for link tracking which I don´t know what it means. I have heard about tracking softwares Prosper202, Demon Tracking and of course, Google Analytics. Ideally I would like to track all my affiliate links from one single interface, mixing both the CB and CPA affiliate links in one place.
    Hi omgfirstmillion,

    We are adding support for tracking pixels for both vendors and affiliates in a release deploying today. You can now setup tracking pixels to fire on the order form, the order confirmation (post-purchase) or both. Each can also be different depending on your role as vendor or affiliate. Lastly, you can now pass parameters of your choosing from the funnel back to your tracking scripts. This is a new feature launching today which many clients have requested. You can then view your stats through the tracking solution of your choice. More info here: https://support.clickbank.com/entrie...ales-Reporting

    Also, to answer your first question, if you have a tracking ID on the end of your hoplink, you can view hops, order form impressions and sales by tracking ID. In your account, click on the Reporting tab, then the Analytics sub menu option. On the left side, under "View as (x) affiliate ( ) vendor" you'll see expanding menu options for Hops, Order Form Impressions, and Sales. If you expand those, each one has a sub menu option for "By Tracking ID". Click on that option and the graph and data grid will update to show you your traffic by tracking ID.

    Thanks,
    ClickBank Team
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    • Profile picture of the author omgfirstmillion
      Originally Posted by ClickBank View Post

      Hi omgfirstmillion,

      We are adding support for tracking pixels for both vendors and affiliates in a release deploying today. You can now setup tracking pixels to fire on the order form, the order confirmation (post-purchase) or both. Each can also be different depending on your role as vendor or affiliate. Lastly, you can now pass parameters of your choosing from the funnel back to your tracking scripts. This is a new feature launching today which many clients have requested. You can then view your stats through the tracking solution of your choice. More info here: https://support.clickbank.com/entrie...ales-Reporting

      Also, to answer your first question, if you have a tracking ID on the end of your hoplink, you can view hops, order form impressions and sales by tracking ID. In your account, click on the Reporting tab, then the Analytics sub menu option. On the left side, under "View as (x) affiliate ( ) vendor" you'll see expanding menu options for Hops, Order Form Impressions, and Sales. If you expand those, each one has a sub menu option for "By Tracking ID". Click on that option and the graph and data grid will update to show you your traffic by tracking ID.

      Thanks,
      ClickBank Team
      Thanks for your help. I have logged into the reporting area where you told me and I can see the graph. One question though: what´s the difference between Hops and Order Form Impressions?
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      • Profile picture of the author ClickBank
        Originally Posted by omgfirstmillion View Post

        Thanks for your help. I have logged into the reporting area where you told me and I can see the graph. One question though: what´s the difference between Hops and Order Form Impressions?
        Hi omgfirstmillion,

        A Hop is the discrete click from a consumer on your referral link to a vendor's website. Hops count the number of times different consumers have visited a vendor's pitch page through the link you created.

        Order form impressions are the individual page loads of the ClickBank order form for each vendor. Keep in mind, we count every time the page loads as a single order form impression. This would include a consumer submitting for purchase, but having an error such as a mistyped credit card number. We do not filter by session or by consumer, but rather give you every click and page load.

        Thanks,
        ClickBank Team
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        • Profile picture of the author gibsonfive
          Using another tracker would involve creating LP code and renewing tracking link for all your cb affiliate links on your pages,
          GA would be a good fit.

          Good luck!
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          • Profile picture of the author Jonathan Mizel
            You really don't need any tools to track simple affiliate links, and you do NOT want to use Google. It's a stats/analytics program, not a link tracker. The "Event Tracking" option is overrated. It's not accurate, and it's also not real-time.

            All you need to make sure is the affiliate/CPA network supports SubID tracking. Virtually all networks do, including ClickBank. That's what the "Parameter" stuff is all about. You'll get an affiliate link like:

            http://affiliate.link.com/123/abc?sub1=

            The sub1= is the parameter where you put your tracking info. So if you had a few links on your blog to a specific offer, the first one might look like this:

            http://affiliate.link.com/123/abc?sub1=bloglink1

            Then, when leads and sales come it, your stats will show "bloglink1" as the link that made the sale or generated the lead. The other link programs are great (prosper, cpvlab, etc.), and you should definitely get a handle on how they work and pick one up if you plan to sell online, especially as you incorporate media buying into your traffic strategy.

            But SubID tracking is the simplest, fastest and most accurate tracking you can use, and it's totally free. If you just want to track a few simple links, it's what I would recommend to get started with. Your CPA rep would be glad to explain it to you I'm sure. Don't be embarrassed to reach out to them

            BTW, ClickBank's Sub ID feature is built into their link generator, and it's referred to as a TID (tracking ID).

            Jonathan
            Signature

            Your First Paid Traffic Campaign
            www.MarketingMonopoly.com

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            • Profile picture of the author omgfirstmillion
              Originally Posted by Jonathan Mizel View Post

              You really don't need any tools to track simple affiliate links, and you do NOT want to use Google. It's a stats/analytics program, not a link tracker. The "Event Tracking" option is overrated. It's not accurate, and it's also not real-time.

              All you need to make sure is the affiliate/CPA network supports SubID tracking. Virtually all networks do, including ClickBank. That's what the "Parameter" stuff is all about. You'll get an affiliate link like:

              http://affiliate.link.com/123/abc?sub1=

              The sub1= is the parameter where you put your tracking info. So if you had a few links on your blog to a specific offer, the first one might look like this:

              http://affiliate.link.com/123/abc?sub1=bloglink1

              Then, when leads and sales come it, your stats will show "bloglink1" as the link that made the sale or generated the lead. The other link programs are great (prosper, cpvlab, etc.), and you should definitely get a handle on how they work and pick one up if you plan to sell online, especially as you incorporate media buying into your traffic strategy.

              But SubID tracking is the simplest, fastest and most accurate tracking you can use, and it's totally free. If you just want to track a few simple links, it's what I would recommend to get started with. Your CPA rep would be glad to explain it to you I'm sure. Don't be embarrassed to reach out to them

              BTW, ClickBank's Sub ID feature is built into their link generator, and it's referred to as a TID (tracking ID).

              Jonathan
              Oh man, you´re crushing my GA super-tracking dream. Still it´s valuable info what you just gave, so I think I´m going to do both (tracking through the networks and GA). What I hate about doing it the way you say is that all my offers are distributed through a ton of networks (including ClickBank), so I don´t like having to login to each one of them every single time in order to do the tracking, scattering my attention that way. I have also contacted one of my AMs and he will help me with the sub IDs.

              What you said about not having the need to get a more sophisticated software makes sense to me, specially considering the fact that I´m not doing any media buying for the moment. There was one thing that I didn´t understand though: what do you mean when you say "simple affiliate links"? What would complex ones look like?
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        • Profile picture of the author omgfirstmillion
          Originally Posted by ClickBank View Post

          Hi omgfirstmillion,

          A Hop is the discrete click from a consumer on your referral link to a vendor's website. Hops count the number of times different consumers have visited a vendor's pitch page through the link you created.

          Order form impressions are the individual page loads of the ClickBank order form for each vendor. Keep in mind, we count every time the page loads as a single order form impression. This would include a consumer submitting for purchase, but having an error such as a mistyped credit card number. We do not filter by session or by consumer, but rather give you every click and page load.

          Thanks,
          ClickBank Team
          Thanks a lot, I got it now.
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    • Profile picture of the author John2810
      Originally Posted by ClickBank View Post

      Hi omgfirstmillion,

      We are adding support for tracking pixels for both vendors and affiliates in a release deploying today. You can now setup tracking pixels to fire on the order form, the order confirmation (post-purchase) or both. Each can also be different depending on your role as vendor or affiliate. Lastly, you can now pass parameters of your choosing from the funnel back to your tracking scripts. This is a new feature launching today which many clients have requested. You can then view your stats through the tracking solution of your choice. More info here: https://support.clickbank.com/entrie...ales-Reporting

      Thanks,
      ClickBank Team
      OH THIS IS GREAT!

      lol I was stuck a few days ago thinking about whether if I want to promote Clickbank stuff "blind" and lo and behold, it's implemented yesterday.

      I took a look at the settings, I have 2 questions.

      1) It's URL only. I am using both CPVLabs and Facebook, which has other code other than the URL. So do I just put into Clickbank settings only the http URL part?

      e.g. CPVLabs
      <iframe src="http://www.abc.com/cpvtrack/adclickf.php" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="display: none;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe>

      Facebook
      ****A whole lot of code (looks like Javascript) before the following img block. ****
      <noscript><img height="1" width="1" alt="" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?ev=1234567&amp;cd[value]=0.00&amp;cd[currency]=USD&amp;noscript=1" /></noscript>

      2) I see that we are only limited to one pixel, but I need both CPVLabs & Facebook to get the conversion data.

      CPVLab seems to have a "piggyback" function where I can add in Facebook's pixel in my CPVLab, and then input CPVLab's tracking pixel into Clickbank.

      But issue is CPVLab's support and docs state that their <iframe> version must be used.

      Will the following <iframe> pixel be supported?

      e.g.
      <iframe src="http://www.abc.com/cpvtrack/adclickf.php" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="display: none;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe>
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      • Profile picture of the author ClickBank
        Originally Posted by John2810 View Post

        I took a look at the settings, I have 2 questions.

        1) It's URL only. I am using both CPVLabs and Facebook, which has other code other than the URL. So do I just put into Clickbank settings only the http URL part?

        e.g. CPVLabs
        <iframe src="http://www.abc.com/cpvtrack/adclickf.php" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="display: none;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe>

        Facebook
        ****A whole lot of code (looks like Javascript) before the following img block. ****
        <noscript><img height="1" width="1" alt="" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?ev=1234567&amp;cd[value]=0.00&amp;cd[currency]=USD&amp;noscript=1" /></noscript>

        2) I see that we are only limited to one pixel, but I need both CPVLabs & Facebook to get the conversion data.

        CPVLab seems to have a "piggyback" function where I can add in Facebook's pixel in my CPVLab, and then input CPVLab's tracking pixel into Clickbank.

        But issue is CPVLab's support and docs state that their <iframe> version must be used.

        Will the following <iframe> pixel be supported?

        e.g.
        <iframe src="http://www.abc.com/cpvtrack/adclickf.php" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="display: none;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe>
        Hi John2810,

        We only support the URL at the moment. You can try putting the CPVLab tracking script URL that is contained within the iframe tag into our URL field for the tracking pixel and test to see if a page load is detected properly. Keep in mind, this must be an HTTPS connection. We require this because when the order form loads, we want the content all secured via HTTPS and if an HTTP connection were used to serve a tracking pixel, the consumer would receive a mixed content warning message and they may abandon their purchase. You will need to check with CPVLab to determine if they can support an HTTPS tracking pixel.

        Regarding Facebook conversion pixels, we are actively developing the feature to include Facebook conversions in our tracking system. I anticipate that will be available on or about mid July. Once that releases, you'll be able to add Facebook conversion pixels easily. Each pixel and tracker that you have configured for your account will load when the order form loads and the order confirmation page loads, allowing you to track via CPVLabs and Facebook simultaneously. Though, I will point out that we will permit only one tracker of each flavor at a time.

        We do not have plans to support an iframe tag at this time. We want to see how clients work with the pixel tags and new Facebook conversion pixels first, and then we'll consider other options as potential future enhancements.

        Thanks,
        ClickBank Team
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  • Profile picture of the author markgaperl
    Use the Google URL shortner tool. It is very effective and will give you lots of stats in addition to hiding your affiliate link
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    • Profile picture of the author omgfirstmillion
      Thanks for all your answers. I´ve been watching some Youtube tutorials on the subject and considering the fact that all of my affiliate links are inside my blog, I think what´s best for me is just to track goals via Google Analytics. This guy has a nice video on it:


      He´s tracking every single affiliate link in his blog with GA and it seems like he´s got 10 times more affiliate links than me, so I think I´ll be fine following his method.
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      • Profile picture of the author thedark
        Originally Posted by omgfirstmillion View Post

        Thanks for all your answers. I´ve been watching some Youtube tutorials on the subject and considering the fact that all of my affiliate links are inside my blog, I think what´s best for me is just to track goals via Google Analytics. This guy has a nice video on it:

        How To Track Anything With Google Analytics Event Tracking - YouTube

        He´s tracking every single affiliate link in his blog with GA and it seems like he´s got 10 times more affiliate links than me, so I think I´ll be fine following his method.

        You can track everything with google analytics.
        Signature

        Automatically add affiliate links in your website content with Auto Affiliate Links

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      • Profile picture of the author madabest
        how i track this affiliate link :

        https://tracking.warriorforum.com/a/...USpQh9UOc8uh1Q

        thanks in advance!


        Originally Posted by omgfirstmillion View Post

        Thanks for all your answers. I´ve been watching some Youtube tutorials on the subject and considering the fact that all of my affiliate links are inside my blog, I think what´s best for me is just to track goals via Google Analytics. This guy has a nice video on it:

        How To Track Anything With Google Analytics Event Tracking - YouTube

        He´s tracking every single affiliate link in his blog with GA and it seems like he´s got 10 times more affiliate links than me, so I think I´ll be fine following his method.
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        • Profile picture of the author Sergio Zekanovic
          Click.org also does exactly what you're looking for... It can add a Tracking ID for each different article, it can rotate links, send whatever # of clicks you want to any link and provides detailed tracking stats among other things. You can create a conversion code for every link or have conversion
          tracking where conversions are global and you can track unlimited conversions at any given time.

          There is nothing to install and absolutely no techy stuff to do. The entire click tracking system is hosted on their servers, so there's nothing to upload, install or set up - even if you're using your own domain names.

          Hope this helps
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan Mizel
    I hear you, and I wish it could be more centralized. I'm not sure GA is the right platform for you. I prefer CPVLab or AdTrakzGold. The reporting delay make GA useless to me. I need immediate data.

    By simple affiliate links I mean the links you get from your network. Using a link tracker requires you to indert your affiliate link in the interface, as well as make sure your pixel is set properly. Plus, on % deals or offers with upsells you'll never know what the actual commission amount is unless you login to your affiliate account anyway.

    Jonathan
    Signature

    Your First Paid Traffic Campaign
    www.MarketingMonopoly.com

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    • Profile picture of the author omgfirstmillion
      Originally Posted by Jonathan Mizel View Post

      I hear you, and I wish it could be more centralized. I'm not sure GA is the right platform for you. I prefer CPVLab or AdTrakzGold. The reporting delay make GA useless to me. I need immediate data.

      By simple affiliate links I mean the links you get from your network. Using a link tracker requires you to indert your affiliate link in the interface, as well as make sure your pixel is set properly. Plus, on % deals or offers with upsells you'll never know what the actual commission amount is unless you login to your affiliate account anyway.

      Jonathan
      Ok, thanks a lot for all the info!
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  • Profile picture of the author madabest
    hi,can someone help me track this :
    https://tracking.warriorforum.com/a/...USpQh9UOc8uh1Q
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  • Profile picture of the author razorz18
    There are few link tracker you could use. Free methods are using Prosper202, GA and bitly. Paid one you could you click.org and Hypertracker. I think plugin such pretty link could do simple tracking. My recommendation is to use at least 2 tracking to give much better information about your tracking details.
    Signature
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