7 replies to this topic

[MIDA]

I'm kind of surprised this issue has created as much confusion as it has - we want to know, in total, who is sending us traffic and sales. Specifically how much revenue.

We use Commission Junction where many publisher use our links and banner ads to sell our products for a commission.

I'm confused when I look in Google Analytics and see those same publishers showing up in the results as sending us traffic and sales (I have conversion tracking on and can see the sales that result).

I see numbers like:

Publisher A: $5000 sales

...when I look in the CJ tracking panel for the same publisher i might see:

Publisher A: $10,000 sales

Should I assume these are somehow duplicates or should I combine the numbers and assume Publisher A has sent us $15,000 in sales - some via Commission Junction and some from other URLs with no redirects?

Thanks!

[Jill]

Do you affiliate links have Google tracking codes appended to them?

I'm not sure how CJ does it these days, but if it's just redirecting to your home page via the affiliate link, Google Analytics may not be able to capture the affiliate information.

[MIDA]

Do you affiliate links have Google tracking codes appended to them?

I'm not sure how CJ does it these days, but if it's just redirecting to your home page via the affiliate link, Google Analytics may not be able to capture the affiliate information.

Hello Jill, no the links do not have Google tracking codes but that would be a good thing to take up with CJ. I can show you an example of a link - taking out our domain, if that's OK:

www.dpbolvw.net/96117mu2-u1HLJNMNOOHJIPKKOJQ?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ourdomain.com%2FProductDetails.asp%3FProductCode%3Dfairfaxjanuary%26click%3D13762&cjsku=fairfaxjanuary

This looks like a redirect to me.

EDIT: I signed up as a publisher and can see that they offer Javascript and HMTL links - this could be causing the discrepancy. Perhaps one tracks and the other doesn't? Still, both types of links are from scrambled domains that are neither "www.publisher.com" or www.cj.com - so I'm wondering if Google drops that tracking. I tried putting the nonsensical CJ domains in GA to see if they register but no results.

Thanks!

Edited by Jill, 30 March 2010 - 08:05 AM.

[Jill]

There's no way to tell by looking at the URL. What happens if you throw it into a server header checker?

And what is the ultimate URL one lands on (sees in their browser) when they use the URL?

[MIDA]

There's no way to tell by looking at the URL. What happens if you throw it into a server header checker?

And what is the ultimate URL one lands on (sees in their browser) when they use the URL?

What is a server header checker? If you add the URL to a browser address bar, it looks like a redirect - it pauses briefly and goes on to the destination URL.

Like this:

www.publisher.com > click on ad > get the URL above > pauses in browser for a sec > goes to www.advertiser.com

[torka]

What is a server header checker?

The one I usually use is WebBug.

After you install it, be sure to select HTTP 1.1 (it will default to 1.0, which is buggy). Enter the starting URL and it will tell you what the server header response is. You can tell from that what kind of redirect it is.

HTH!

--Torka

[Jill]

I think the main problem, regardless of redirect, is that there's no way for Google Analytics to capture the referral information.

[MIDA]

I did some additional testing and it seems that Jill is correct, that Google Analytics is not picking up any data at all using Commission Junction's regular JavaScript or HTML links. The link has to call out Commission Junction - or actually quickly send the user to their server to capture information, then on to the destination URL. I tested a handful of smaller affiliates who only use one web site to deliver ads. None of their domains were logged by GA. One some very large publishers seem to be sending traffic using stripped down URLs - those are registering in GA. Tricky!