This article was written by Angela Ballard, Sr. Solutions Director overseeing CJ’s Tracking and Data-Privacy solutions.
In performance marketing channels like affiliate, accurate tracking and measurement is key to understanding outcomes and to optimising partnerships. While affiliate has traditionally been a channel focused on driving customer engagement through bottom-of-funnel actions, we’re now in an era where we know customer engagement in all phases of the customer journey is more effective than traditional, last-click models alone. The partnership opportunities in this channel have grown exponentially with more partner models, like influencers, working in the channel and working on a performance model.
Take Action for Better Affiliate Tracking
Taking advantage of the wide range of partnership opportunities available in this channel requires that you have the means to measure every customer touchpoint accurately and persistently and that’s where tracking solutions come in. Affiliate networks are invested in providing tracking solutions that enable measurement across all consumer touchpoints, and we’re invested in working with you to adopt these solutions and maximise the benefits to your programme.
Here are some actionable steps we recommend:
1. Get a measurement refresher. Measurement challenges are constantly arising. Affiliate networks have the tools and technology to track and measure your programme accurately. Make sure you know what your provider’s best-in-class solutions are, and how you can use them.
2. Do a mobile tracking checkup. Tracking consumers shopping on mobile devices can sometimes require different tracking solutions than your website, and it’s critical to make sure your tracking is set up to capture these consumers. More than £2 trillion of e-commerce transactions were made through mobile devices in 2023, and if you drive significant sales through social media, accurate mobile tracking is even more critical. Mobile apps require entirely separate tracking from your website, and CJ supports integrations with all major mobile-measure platforms. Speak with your affiliate network to ensure you are measuring all sales and engagement from consumers on mobile devices.
3. Audit your tracking accuracy. As your ecommerce business evolves, so will the technologies that are used across your website and mobile app. When platforms are updated, it’s critical to make sure your affiliate tracking remains in-tact. Doing regular audits of your tracking tags and affiliate links will help keep your programme’s tracking healthy.
4. Make sure you’re using privacy-compliant tracking methodologies. With growing privacy regulations worldwide, ensuring compliance without sacrificing tracking precision is critical. As an example, CJ’s Loyalty Exemption Solution supports advertisers and publishers by enabling compliant tracking for transactions driven by loyalty publishers, such as cashback and reward sites, without requiring consent when specific criteria are met. This approach aligns with recent clarifications from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on how cookies used to provide reward services may be considered strictly necessary cookies, ensuring tracking remains both privacy-conscious and effective.
5. Think beyond the last click. While last-click measurement is still the most common model in affiliate, many brands now recognise that the affiliate customer journey extends well beyond the moments before conversion. Dig into your affiliate network’s ability to measure and compensate partners throughout the customer journey. Split commissions, flat-fee payments, and bonus commissions are affiliate partner strategies that are growing in popularity. At CJ, we have aligned our affiliate marketing measurement around full journey tracking, which helps brands understand the broader impact of their programmes, to prove the value and lobby for increased budget.
6. Learn more and start measuring incrementality. Incrementality is crucial for affiliate marketers to demonstrate the true value of their efforts. It proves that affiliate-driven sales wouldn’t have occurred without marketing intervention. To start measuring incrementality of your affiliate partnerships, we recommend taking these steps:
- Understand what incrementality is and how to calculate it
- Ensure any cross-channel measurement solutions include affiliate touchpoints
- Focus on the entire customer journey across all touchpoints, not just those in one channel
Want Help Implementing this Digital Marketing Strategy?
The CJ team would be delighted to connect with you to discuss this and other strategies to help grow your business. Ready to elevate your affiliate program with world-class tracking? Get in touch with [email protected]
CJ (formerly Commission Junction) is an established leader in global affiliate marketing technology. CJ is also a founding member of the APMA.
