A typical affiliate link might look something like this: www.affiliatetracking.com/demo/12345. This example will show you how an affiliate link might look.
Look closely at the elements of the link. The “affiliate tracking” would be the name for this fictional company. The “demo” is one of their products, and “12345” would be your unique affiliate ID number.
Affiliate links are all unique to each product, so every time someone clicks a link, a cookie is left on the browser of that person doing the clicking.
Every time someone clicks that link, the click is tracked as having come from your affiliate link through a combination of cookie (little piece of code), and the IP address of the person doing the clicking.
A cookie is a little piece of code that tracks where you’ve gone and it makes it easier for your computer to reopen that website when you go back.
It’s a very accurate way of tracking referrals so affiliates can get paid a commission on any sales they referred.
Note: if this all sounds like mumble-jumble to you, don’t worry.
You don’t need to know how it works, you just need to know that it’s very accurate.
And it ensures that you get paid your commissions on all people you refer to the website you’re promoting.
First touch vs. last touch affiliate tracking, what’s the difference?
Most affiliate programs are last touch because it’s the fairest kind.
With the last touch affiliate program, the affiliate that brings in the sale gets the commission.
Even if someone buys 3 months after clicking on your affiliate link.
You still get the credit for the sale, unless they click someone else’s affiliate link after yours.
With first touch, someone else might have gotten a click from a lead, but didn’t produce a sale.
Then you come along spending your time to get that person to click again and see the offer and they buy.
You got that person to buy.
But you don’t get paid because that person clicked someone else’s link a long time ago.
Most people would agree that it’s not fair at all, and that’s how the first touch works.
How to get faster sales by focusing on one traffic method
Once you have an affiliate link or links your only goal is to get people to click that link and look at the offer.
If you drive enough of the right people to a high converting offer, a small percentage will buy, which will result in you getting paid commissions.
New affiliates who want to make money with affiliate marketing should focus on just one method of traffic.
After you pick the right offer to promote then focus like a laser beam on driving traffic to it.
Focus on only one type of traffic and become good at it.
The more targeted prospects you can get to click your affiliate link, the more money you will make.
The target market and the offer you’re promoting must be a match
Whenever someone clicks your link.
They get sent to the another page and then the business you’re promoting takes it from there.
I’ll let you in on a little secret.
Most companies you promote only pay you a one-time commission when you send them a customer.
Then, they follow up and make additional offers to that customer for more expensive products.
And this is where the real money is made.
Next Post: Finding the right niche
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