A Guide to Affiliate Marketing Tracking Methods

Affiliate marketing has transformed dramatically thanks to its precise and efficient method of tracking and rewarding online referrals from partners to brands. 

This evolution is powered by affiliate tracking software, which simplifies the tracking of sales, making the entire process more straightforward and reliable.

Tapfiliate is one of the best software options available, with its extensive range of tools that maximize affiliate marketing for brands and their chosen affiliates. 

Affiliate Tracking: What Is It? 

Affiliate tracking is at the foundation of affiliate marketing. It allows brands to monitor purchases or activities sourced by their chosen affiliates. 

This tracking is essential because it guarantees that affiliates receive fair compensation for their marketing efforts, promoting a win-win partnership between affiliate partners and brands. 

Many brands use affiliate tracking software such as Tapfiliate to automate tracking and commission processes, saving time and resources.

Find out how to automate your affiliate tracking with Tapfiliate. Enjoy our 👉 14-day free trial!

What Are Affiliate Marketing Tracking Methods?

Various affiliate sales tracking methods are tailored to meet diverse business needs. Choosing the right one hinges on understanding these methods and how they align with your specific objectives, ensuring your affiliate marketing strategy’s success.

Let’s explore further: 

Manual Tracking

Manual tracking is the oldest method of tracking affiliate referrals, sales, and partner commissions within the affiliate marketing industry. 

Manual tracking is based on manual, detailed analysis and data correlation from several sources, such as ecommerce sites, Google Analytics, and other marketing and sales tools. 

The downside of manual tracking is that it’s a labor-intensive but direct method of allocating sales to individual affiliates without the need for automated affiliate tracking software.

The manual tracking process usually consists of many phases, the first of which is sending each affiliate partner a unique referral code or affiliate link. These specific identification methods are essential for assigning the right source to sales made. 

The affiliate’s unique code or link must be manually compared to the transaction the e-commerce platform records whenever a sale is made. 

Cross-referencing data from the platform where the transaction happened and any tracking data from the affiliate’s actions is frequently needed to achieve this.

Businesses that use manual tracking must constantly examine and evaluate their Google Analytics data to understand consumers’ future paths to reach their websites. 

This process involves using the unique IDs to determine the referral source for each transaction and crediting the corresponding affiliate. 

Manual tracking is also prone to human error by nature. Inaccurate commission payments may result from mishandled data interpretation, improper sales attribution, and matching process supervision, which can put pressure on affiliate partner relationships.

Cookie Tracking

Cookie tracking is a crucial element that helps companies track and credit online activity, like purchases, clicks, and registrations, to the correct affiliate partners. 

This process uses cookies, which are small data files placed on a user’s device when clicking an affiliate link. 

First-Party Cookies

In light of recent developments, it’s crucial to highlight that Chrome, the world’s most widely used browser, is taking a significant step towards enhancing user privacy. Chrome is now integrating a “decline cookies” option directly into the search bar interface. This move signifies a pivotal shift in how internet users interact with online tracking mechanisms.

Affiliate monitoring has substantially evolved with the switch from third-party to first-party cookies. 

First-party cookies are placed by the website the user visits, providing a more dependable and private means of tracking affiliate referrals.

Numerous pieces of data, such as the affiliate ID, the visit’s timestamp, and certain navigation activities the user takes on the website, can be stored by this cookie. 

First-party cookies are considered safer and more private than third-party cookies because they’re managed directly by the website that the user selects to interact with. Here are some advantages of using first-party cookies: 

Improved Privacy Compliance

First-party cookies conform more closely to legal specifications. As long as permission processes are in place, they’re usually more permissible under privacy rules such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because they are directly tied to the website the user is dealing with.

Enhanced Tracking Accuracy

First-party cookies are less likely to be banned by browsers than third-party cookies. Because fewer cookies are blocked, first-party cookies offer a more reliable way to monitor user activity. 

Improved User Experience

These cookies may contribute to a more seamless and customized online user experience. They make the user experience smooth and enjoyable by remembering login credentials, user preferences, and other website personalization features.

Outdated Tracking Method: Third-Party Cookies

For a long time, third-party cookies have been essential to affiliate marketing strategies.

These cookies are mainly used to track user behavior across different websites, target ads, and evaluate the success of online marketing campaigns, including affiliate marketing initiatives. 

They are set by a domain other than the one the user is visiting or a “third party.”

Third-party cookies are downloaded to a user’s browser by the brand or outside partner that the website collaborates with. 

These cookies gather information on a user’s preferences, online activities, and interactions with various websites. 

Some key features of third-party cookies include: 

Cross-Site Tracking

Third-party cookies allow brands and affiliates to track user actions across the internet and identify which websites they visit before making a purchase. This ability is necessary for determining the efficacy of campaigns and affiliate links distributed over several platforms. 

Conversion Attribution

They monitor a user’s online activity to assist in attributing sale conversions to the appropriate affiliate or marketing channel. Accurate affiliate compensation and performance-based marketing strategy optimization processes depend on this. 

Personalized Advertising

Information obtained by third-party cookies helps target ads better to match users’ interests and habits. This might lead to higher conversion rates for products that affiliates promote.

Third-party cookies are still used in some countries, but they have faced several obstacles that have contributed to their decline in recent years:

Privacy Concerns

Both customers and regulators are becoming concerned about privacy due to the wide tracking capabilities of third-party cookies. Tracking someone throughout the internet without their express agreement violates their right to privacy.

Impact on Regulation

Stricter guidelines on using third-party cookies have been imposed by US laws like the CCPA and GDPR in Europe. These laws give users more control over their data and demand explicit consent.

Browser Restrictions

Large online browsers like Firefox and Safari have implemented safeguards to automatically ban third-party cookies in response to privacy concerns. Additionally, Google Chrome has said it will gradually stop supporting third-party cookies, significantly influencing monitoring. 

Server-to-Server Tracking 

Affiliate marketing tracking technology has advanced to include server-to-server (S2S) tracking, often called postback URL or pixel tracking. 

S2S tracking provides a safer, trustworthy, and privacy-compliant alternative to the conventional dependence on cookies for tracking affiliate referrals, conversions, and other essential actions. 

This technique is helpful in an online environment where browser limitations and strong privacy laws are becoming increasingly prevalent. 

The technological foundation of the S2S tracking process is direct communication between the brand’s website server and the affiliate’s server or the server of an affiliate tracking platform. 

This technique avoids several issues related to cookie-based tracking by removing the requirement for data storage on the user’s browser. 

Unique Click ID 

When a potential client clicks on one of the affiliate links, a unique code is generated. This code is now produced as a transaction ID. Without depending on browser-stored data, this unique identifier is essential for monitoring user activities between sites. 

User Redirection with Click ID

Once the click ID has been created, the user accesses the brand’s website. The click ID is usually sent along with the URL as a query parameter to keep it linked to the user’s session.

Conversion Event Tracking

The brand’s website’s server logs the event and the click ID when a user completes a conversion, such as purchasing something or starting a trial. This event can be anything that the brand and affiliate deem worthwhile. 

Data Transmission to Affiliate Software

With the unique click ID, the brand’s server uses postbacks or pixels to transmit data to the affiliate’s server (or a third-party tracking platform) after the conversion event. Without using browser-based cookies, this server-to-server connection securely transfers data about the conversion.

Conversion Attribution and Commission Calculation

The affiliate tracking platform or affiliate software compares the click ID to the conversion. Through this attribution process, the program can determine the commission due following pre-established agreement conditions and accurately reward the appropriate affiliate for the conversion. 

Reporting and Payment

Lastly, the affiliate monitoring platform gathers and converts all this information into valuable reports, providing brands and affiliates access to performance statistics, conversion rates, and other vital metrics. 

Payments are sent to affiliates using the data under the terms and schedule of the affiliate program.

Advantages of Tracking from Server to Server

Improved Accuracy and Reliability

When server-side data transfer is used, browser limitations, ad blockers, and cookie deletion cannot interfere with S2S tracking, which results in more accurate tracking of affiliate referrals and conversions. 

Enhanced Security

The tracking process is more secure overall as data sent between servers is less vulnerable to tampering or interception. 

Privacy Compliance

S2S tracking reduces the amount of data stored on the user’s device. It is designed to follow user permission settings and comply with privacy rules. 

Flexibility and Customization

This technique allows building more complex tracking systems that track conversions and unique user activities in addition to clicks and purchases.

What Tracking Methods Can I Use with Tapfiliate?

With Tapfiliate, brands can easily track, manage, and maximize their affiliate marketing campaigns thanks to a comprehensive affiliate management system. Tapfiliate provides various efficient tracking options to meet marketing goals and strategies. 

Try out our 👉 tracking and attribution features for free today!

Let’s go through the tracking methods Tapfiliate offers: 

Online Tracking

One of the core features of Tapfiliate is its advanced online monitoring strategy, which enables brands to follow and log conversions made online. 

Conversions are more than just sales; they may also be trial sign-ups, form submissions, or any other targeted activity that fits your brand’s marketing goals. 

Tapfiliate does this through various integrations with several platforms, such as payment processors, ecommerce platforms, SaaS solutions, and more. 

These integrations make tracking actions in different online contexts easier, guaranteeing that each conversion—regardless of location—is precisely recorded and linked to the correct affiliate.

Offline Tracking

Tapfiliate provides tools for measuring offline sales because it understands the value of offline marketing initiatives. Coupon codes are the primary tool used to achieve this. 

Affiliates can distribute them through traditional marketing materials or in person. Tapfiliate records the transaction and assigns the sale to the relevant affiliate when these promo codes are used. 

This method helps provide a complete picture of an affiliate’s contribution to a brand’s sales and conversion rates.

Lifetime Commission Tracking

Tracking lifetime commissions is one of Tapfiliate’s most notable features. For the duration of the consumer’s engagement with the brand, this capability connects the client to an affiliate. 

The linked partner gets credit for the sale each time a consumer purchases, regardless of whether it’s their first transaction. 

This creates a win-win situation for affiliates and the brand by rewarding them for bringing in new clients and encouraging recurring business.

Click Tracking 

When brands optimize affiliate marketing activities, they require an understanding of how marketing materials function. 

With Tapfiliate’s powerful click tracking features, brands can evaluate the effectiveness of various influencers, campaigns, and affiliates. 

By tracking clicks, brands can learn a lot about successful tactics, how affiliate partners connect with their target audience and the affiliates that generate the most traffic. 

What Impact Do Ad Blockers and Privacy Settings Have on Affiliate Tracking?

Current browsers have been updated with more stringent privacy options, enabling users to reject or limit cookies, particularly third-party cookies, which are essential for user tracking across domains. 

When users set their browsers to reject these cookies, tracking systems cannot get the information required to identify conversions, comprehend user behavior, and customize user experiences.

Ad-blocking software and strict browser privacy settings seriously challenge traditional affiliate marketing monitoring techniques. 

Ad blockers have the potential to interfere with the correct operation of cookies or tracking scripts, which may result in incomplete or inaccurate tracking of conversions and affiliate attributions. 

Brands adapt to these privacy challenges by utilizing first-party data strategies, server-to-server tracking, and creating more privacy-conscious tracking techniques that respect user preferences while yielding insightful data for marketing optimization.

One of the main reasons browsers switch from third-party to first-party data is the reduction of ad blockers. First-party data is less likely to be restricted by privacy settings or disabled by ad blockers because the cookies are set by the domain being visited and not by external domains. 

S2S tracking is also preferred over third-party data tracking because it doesn’t depend on cookies, making it immune to ad blockers. It also allows for more secure data exchanges and reduces the risk of tampering and loss. 

Key Takeaways

One of the most important things a brand can do is adapt to first-party data collection methods. Third-party cookies are outdated and pose many privacy violation risks. 

Implementing S2S tracking will ensure that brands can still accurately track conversions and user actions using direct server communication strategies. 

There is an increasing demand for user-protected privacy, and brands that adhere to current and new regulations will generate a larger trusting customer base. 

Prioritizing attribution in multi-channel marketing is essential. By using AI and machine learning technologies, brands can accurately analyze the impact of their and their affiliate’s successes. 

Ultimately, trust is developed by interacting with your brand’s audience and informing them about your data practices. 

Transparent data collection, usage, and protection information will encourage consumers to feel more at ease with your tracking methods, lessening their desire to disable tracking completely.

Ready to explore affiliate marketing tracking methods? Tapfiliate is here to help!

CTA: Ready to explore affiliate marketing tracking methods? Tapfiliate is here to help!