Many marketers doubt the legitimacy of all the conversions that their affiliate partner is presenting them. Is affiliate really driving conversions?
TradeTracker is unique in the fact that they provide an attribution feature as an affiliate network, namely ‘Real Attribution’. Most affiliate networks work with last-click attribution as their only model which makes them dependant on last-click conversions, meaning that they can only count sales when it occurs directly out of a click from an affiliate publisher. TradeTracker is very keen on presenting positive commercial results. But since conversions are never the result of one publisher or promotion touchpoint, are these optimistic results really the outcome of your TradeTracker affiliate program? So how can marketers see through the mist and pinpoint the real value that an affiliate program has to offer?
Marketers cannot rely on only one data source
TradeTracker uses a combination of post-click and post-view windows to attribute conversions to its campaigns. Meaning that all conversions that happen after clicking or viewing a blog or ad will be attributed to that specific promotion. Although this method gives validation about your promotions, publisher, and or ad, it doesn’t communicate if the particular ad was decisive in completing that conversion. Without the context of other touchpoints, marketers remain clueless about what is really generating their conversions.
If marketers want to truly understand the value of their affiliate program, insight into the complete customer journey is required. So what is the solution that marketers seek?
The solution marketers need to understand their affiliate marketing
The easy answer is a viable attribution model, that is capable of combining data from multiple sources. There are quite a few attribution models that are being practiced by marketers. Odyssey believes in multi-touch attribution due to its effectiveness and simplicity. The Odyssey attribution formula gives an [Incrementality index] (https://odysseyattribution.co/academy/incrementality/), based on multi-touch attribution calculations. This Incrementality index grants a percentage based on the value of that particular publisher, campaign, or traffic source in the context of the complete range of conversion occurrences, so in comparison to all the other customer journeys. The multi-touch attribution model works on a variety of versions:
- First Click Linear
- Linear
- Last Click Linear
- U-Shaped
- Custom model
So what about the real performance of TradeTracker affiliates?
Odyssey starts with a seamless connection with Google Analytics and will offer exciting multi-touch attribution insights right when the connection is done. Additional integration with more ad platforms is hugely advised because it will empower Odyssey with the right data to offer razor-sharp spend recommendations. Odyssey not only allows TradeTracker data to be imported, but all your marketing platforms are complementary to the Odyssey dashboard. Not a fan of adding another platform to your workload? No need to be worried. It’s even possible to get Odyssey’s attribution direct into your current marketing dashboard, Odyssey is compatible with environments like Google Data Studio or Klipfolio and many others. Click here to see more.
