If you are a merchant considering dropping your affiliate programs because you feel you are being unfairly charged – or an affiliate who wonders why a merchant doesn’t appreciate their affiliates – this could be why!
The problem showing ShareaSale sales is the same one we have been seeing. A sale would come in and the referrer would be a google search for flasks. Now we’re # 1 in google for flasks so I’m reasonably certain they found us there. However, Share A Sale (or one of the other affiliate sites) would claim credit for it.”
With Google Analytics attributing those referrals and sales to a different source is it any wonder many would wonder why affiliate programs were claiming credit for them? It makes perfect sense because of the way analytics and affiliate sites track conversions.
When I checked into the disparity in conversions between various statistics sources I pulled data for a one week period and discovered:
- ShareASale claimed credit for 11 sales generating $569.92 in revenue and for which they charged $71.86 in commissions
- Yahoo Analytics for those dates shows 135 visits, 2 sales, and revenue of $54.66 from ShareASale
- Google Analytics for the same dates showed only 159 visits from any ShareASale affiliate and no sales.
You can imagine how both online stores using affiliate programs and those promoting affiliate products would feel seeing such an enormous difference in visits, revenue and sales. You can also imagine that an online retailer could believe they were paying affiliate programs far more than they deserved IF you didn’t know the difference between how Web Analytics programs and affiliate programs track sales.
Once you analyze how each of these track visits and conversions it makes more sense:
- An affiliate program claims credit for a sale if the person making a purchase has a cookie from one of their affiliates any time within the time your account uses. Most are 60 days. If a buyer clicked on an affiliate link a month ago, decided to buy today and does a Google search for that item the affiliate program counts that as an affiliate sale.
- If your buyer searches at Google and arrives at your site from a ppc ad or an organic search analytics gives credit to that source. Google Analytics gives credit for the conversion to the source of the last visit.
- Yahoo Analytics apparently does not track exactly the same way Google Analytics does. Yahoo Analytics credited a couple of the sales I tracked to the affiliate instead of the last visit source. I’d have to know more about how Yahoo Analytics works to determine what the difference is. If anyone reading this knows more about this please leave a comment. Feel free to add a link to any related resources that might clarify how YA tracks conversions.
- This is the cause of the difference each analytics package gives as the conversion source generated for the same sale.
Let us think this through thoroughly. We now know that Yahoo Analytics and Google Analytics do NOT track conversions the same way and it is obvious why affiliate programs claim credit for far more sales than other analytics programs will ever attribute to them.
The big question is this: Did the customer buy BECAUSE:
- An affiliate recommended you previously and the buyer recognized your business name?
- They only knew about your product because of the affiliate?
- They were just searching for flasks today and it had absolutely nothing to do with the affiliate?
If there is any way to truly know which of the above REALLY generated the sale – and more importantly – whether you would lose that sale without either your ppc ads or your affiliates – I don’t know what it is. What do YOU think?
We recommend the free ten part Mastering Google Analytics ecourse because it explains in plain English what Web analytics and particularly Google Analytics can do for you. Even those already using it will learn about new features they’ve never noticed.
WEB ANALYTICS EXPERTS on TWITTER:
- KISSmetrics – KISSmetrics Blog – Follow KISSmetrics at Twitter
- Author of Mastering Google Analytics – Follow ValueGuardian at Twitter
- Web Analytics Demystified Blog – Follow Eric T. Peterson at Twitter
- Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik – Follow Avinash Kaushik at Twitter (Occam’s Razor is probably the best known of all Analytics blogs. Not easily understood by beginners; best for more advanced users or very serious students.)
- Web Analytics World – Follow WAWorld at Twitter
- WebTrends Blog – Follow WebTrends CEO Alex Yoder at Twitter (WebTrends is a major analytics program more suitable for large to Fortune 500 businesses.)
- Ben Gaines, blog author at Omniture – Follow OmnitureCare at Twitter (Omniture is the other major analytics program used primarily by very large to Fortune 500 businesses.)
See also a Twitter Channel for Web Analytics Professionals
UPCOMING WEB ANALYTICS EVENTS:
WEB ANALYTICS BLOGS:
The following list starts with those who write for the general public and gets progressively more challenging to understand. The first three are the easiest to follow. Those at the end are more relevant for very large companies (Fortune 500 and major corporations). The comments below may save you some unnecessary clicks.
- KISSmetrics Blog – suitable for those new to analytics
- ROI Revolution – from basics to advanced
- Web Analytics Demystified – basics to advanced concepts – probably understandable for most
- Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik – Very advanced – not suitable for beginners
- Read the latest posts from other best Web Analytics blogs at AllTop
WEB ANALYTICS ARTICLES:
- REVIEW: Free Mastering Google Analytics ecourse (highly recommended)
- SEO and Analytics: Four Useful Ways to Access Your Organic Traffic
- Start Using Google Analytics with their Getting Started Guide
- Don’t Get Stuck: 5 Ways to Simplify Analytics and Avoid Analysis Paralysis (from KISSmetrics – suitable for all expertise levels)
- Recession Busting Analytics (Occam’s Razor blog – best for advanced users only)
AFFILIATE PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Derek Semmler (Twitter) How the Bridaluxe Wedding Affiliate Program Hits the Affiliate Network Nail on the Head
- Weddex (Twitter) Bridaluxe: Wedding Affiliate Program for Wedding Pros
- GrowMap (Twitter) How to Evaluate a Gift Affiliate Program
- ExecGiftsBlog (ExecGifts) Executive Gift Shoppe Gift Affiliate Program
AFFILIATE MARKETING for AFFILIATES:
- Derek Semmler (Twitter) Case Study: Getting Started with Affiliate Marketing
- AffiliateXFiles (Ron Cripps) How to Become an Affiliate Marketer
- AffiliateXFiles (Ron Cripps) How to Create a Product Review Site That Sells
- Derek Semmler (Twitter) Building Affiliate Stores
- Adam Riemer (Rollerblader) How to Pick Merchants to Promote
- Derek Semmler (Twitter)How to Add Affiliate Products to Your Site
- AffiliateXFiles (Ron Cripps) Affiliate Marketing Tips For Long Term Results
- AffiliateXFiles (Ron Cripps) Affiliate Marketing FAQs – Ask your questions here and get answers from successful affiliate with 9+ years experience
AFFILIATE MARKETING FOR MERCHANTS:
- Murray Newlands (Twitter) Affiliate Marketing for Merchants
- Adam Riemer (Rollerblader) What You Should Expect from your Affiliate Management Company aka OPM
- Adam Riemer (Rollerblader) Common Mistakes When Hiring an Affiliate Manager
- Adam Riemer (Rollerblader) How to Select an Affiliate Management Company
- Adam Riemer (Rollerblader) How Small Businesses Can Compete for Affiliates
- Adam Riemer (Rollerblader) Why Merchants Should Offer Affiliate Commissions on Gift Certificates
Related articles by Zemanta
- Wedding Boom Predicted for Next 22 Years (growmap.com)
- How to Evaluate a Merchant Gift Affiliate Program (growmap.com)
- How to Attract Affiliates to Your Program (marketersdaily.com)
- The Way I See It: State of Affiliate Marketing Part 1 (revenews.com)
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I’ve had the same experience on a number of the campaigns I’ve ran in the past. Glad to see that I’m not the only one dealing with this.
Aaron would love you to read ..WhyPark Domain Parking Service Review
Hello,I will be noting that tips.I am not expert in affiliate marketing but i still believe through your content,i start building my own.
Twitter: MakeItYourRing9
November 4, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Twitter: @MakeItYourRing9
Wow! Well spot out the truth of Affiliate sites and Google Analytics. The one I’d prefer ShareAsale. The best affiliate system that got AWARD of the year 2010.
MakeItYourRing Diamond Engagement Rings would love you to read ..Buy Black Diamonds Online
Twitter: bloggingtalks
October 19, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Twitter: @bloggingtalks
Hey your post is very informative.This is one more thing to keep in mind,:O cheers
samrat kafle would love you to read ..Are you frustrated and tired of blogging?
Thanks for sharing these tips and information. Stats are very important to us especially when we are doing internet or affiliate marketing. Good job on this post!
Anne would love you to read ..Custom Simpson Wood Doors
I’ve noticed a few times lately when my analytics and conversions haven’t matched up. I really didn’t know what to do about it. Thanks for sharing the tips.
Appliance Reviews would love you to read ..Cuisinart PerfecTemp Cordless Electric Kettle Review
My Google analytics haven’t been matching up. Thanks for the explanation.
ship car across country would love you to read ..Shipping Cars Overseas
Good post.
If advertisers have the resource then i would suggest using something like Intellitracker. Or for a lower budget but just as good there is a new product called Insitetag. Both of these will show you the full customer journey so you can see how customers engage with your various marketing channels.
Great blog!! You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned.
That’s why I don’t use Google Analytics to track my sales. Actually, I don’t use it anymore to track my visits, I don’t trust them anymore. Probably the JS code doesn’t load on many occasions, I don’t know, but the Awstats stats are way too different from what Analytics shows me.
Patel
Urvisha Patel would love you to read ..Treatment for Diabetes In Dogs
Twitter: baby
October 12, 2010 at 6:28 am
Twitter: @baby
This is just what I needed, thanks a lot! Keep up the good work!
i have viewed your site.it is very useful for everyone, i shall be grateful if you help me in the promotion of my site named nzforus.com
http://nzforus.com/category/affiliate-tracking/
i just emailed this article to my friends! thanks!
Web analytics is a large part of Search Engine Marketing. Knowing the difference between Google and Yahoo analytics continues to grow in importance.
.-= Rachel@ web design Chicago´s featured blog ..How to Use Google Analytics – Part 2 =-.
Good post I agree, google analytics is the best tracking program out there.
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Great post! I?m looking for an easy but lucrative affiliate program to get the hang of since I?m new to affiliate marketing. Is this a good choice to begin my affiliate marketing endeavors with?
Twitter: shareasale
June 15, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Twitter: @shareasale
Good post – and good discussion on all these metrics. They can definitely be confusing at time and we answer a lot of questions on this issue…
There are 3 important things to remember when discussing attribution in the Affiliate channel vs. PPC.
1. As you pointed out – the Affiliate ad may have been visited some time ago (an account setting) and could be 15 or more days prior for example. Affiliate programs are told to track this to an affiliate…so they do. Affiliate programs typically are charged with looking at the last “Affiliate” click, not the last “overall” click. So the last referrer, while it may show a Google search, may not be the last Affiliate referrer. Both can be correct.
2. Affiliates are not paid anything on a per-click basis. So, while all of those other campaigns (PPC etc…) cost a Merchant money on the front end…. the Affiliate relys on the conversion for commission. That is one of the reasons that the 15-30 or even 60 day delay is used. While the issue of attribution is important, it is also critical to remember that those Affiliates that are out there promoting Merchant’s products are doing so essentially for free until a conversion takes place. That makes the interpretation of the metric entirely different from a PPC ad. While one may see a single commission and look at it as a greater cost – failure to remember that the previous 100 clicks were free is an important error.
3. Affiliate commissions can be voided, adjusted, or in extreme cases the affiliate can be removed from the program if continual evidence of channel conflict seems to point to the affiliate.
Imagine what would happen if you requested money back from a PPC search engine because you felt like there was overlap in the channel… Affiliate Marketing allows greater flexibility and allows for these kinds of things to be researched and properly corrected.
Twitter: @
Thanks for sharing such important information. I have bookmarked this page and looking forward to read more of your articles.
Excellent explanation! It can be very irritating to see different stats, if you aren’t aware of the different techniques each uses for tracking.
.-= Eric@Wealthy Affiliate´s last blog ..Wealthy Affiliate Price Increase Coming In June =-.
good post. Its so important to track affiliates marketing so intensively to find out what works and what doesn’t.
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Twitter: iamkaiser
March 9, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Twitter: @iamkaiser
If you want to trace your sales you can create script or trace it manually. 3rd party software like google analytics is not perfect.
.-= Kaiser @ Webthesurfi Rugs Webdesign´s last blog ..FastCraft Ferry now Available in Lupon – Davao City =-.
Twitter: iamkaiser
March 9, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Twitter: @iamkaiser
Google analytics is not perfect and affiliate site is created in many ways. Tracking traffic and sales cannot be the same. I hope Google analytics can take this difference
.-= Kaiser @ Webthesurfi Rugs Webdesign´s last blog ..FastCraft Ferry now Available in Lupon – Davao City =-.
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