Affiliate link tracking

[cn1watts]

I just got my website up and running. It is a bunch of affiliate programs together on one site relating to one specific topic.
I did not want to use a lot of different banners or text links to clutter up my site, so I created my own links that match my site and contain the affiliate URL addresses.

What I need to know is this: I got the URL addresses out of the affiliate banner and text link codes, and then I used them to create my own links in Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Since I did not use the entire HTML code, will this affect tracking of my sales? Am I getting the sales or is someone else? I have noticed that I have received a few clicks, but no sales according to CJ, BeFree, and Shareasale. Would doing this screw all of the tracking up? I am not selling anything, I am just offereing free quotes to consumers. I figured that I should have more sales for the amount of clicks I have received, since it is free to the consumer to fill out the forms.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Michael Anthony]

The best way to test this is to click on each of the links, then check in your affiliate accounts to see if the click has registered. Provided that the affiliate program will allow you to report by individual advertisers, this will establish that the clicks are being tracked.

I use CJ links quite a bit in Adwords, and as long as you have the www.***.net/click-12342567-1234567" (numbers changed to protect the innocent and stay within the TOS) string in your link then it definitely works.

If you're very new to aff marketing, then prepare to be suprised at how few clickers go on to buy. If you're converting 1 in 20 clicks, you're doing well.

[cn1watts]

Thank you for this information! I have clicked on my links before, and I think that they are tracking, but I am not positive. It never seems like the stats in any of these third party affiliate managers work right. Same thing with the Google AdWords stats! It is rather annoying! Well, thanks again!

[cn1watts]

I just tried what you told me to do, and it appears that my Shareasale affiliate programs are tracking correctly, but my CJ and BeFree programs are not. I am not sure what to do about this. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Michael Anthony]

Copy and paste the URL that you are using in the link string into your browser and see if it returns an error.
If so, check your code. The entry from my earlier post should work in your browser - if it doesn't, then it needs editing. For CJ, only use the [q****.net...] part of the HTML code, nothing else. No quote marks or anything.

For the other networks, I can't comment as I don't use them.

I would also suggest that you pause any PPC stuff and maybe put up a temporary "site down" page whilst you experiment - this way you know for sure that you're the only one clicking and you're not generating real sales without any payback.

CJ takes around 10 minutes to register clicks, so make sure u wait a while.

[cn1watts]

All of my links seem to be working properly. I receive no error messages when I click on them from my website. Yesterday when I did the clickthrough tests on my links, nothing showed up for new clicks in my stats. I checked again today, and it looks like the stats for yesterday showed up today. I guess they are just delayed?

I believe that my links are structured according to what you have said to be correct. I am confused about the lack of "sales" because I am offering free mortgage quotes. I have had over 50 clicks, but no "sales" yet. This is why I am questioning the sales tracking. It seems like people that clickthrough on my website would most likely fill out the free quote mortgage application. Maybe I am assuming too much, but I have to wonder why I have not received anything after this amount of clicks. I appreciate your help, and I am always open to new suggestions! Thank you!

[skibum]

If people have to give up personal info, then conversion rates will frequently tend to be low. People have to trust the site and they probably anticipate a barrage of solicitations if they fill out the forms with personal info for mortgage quotes. Like most anything on the net mortgage quote sites are probably a dime a dozen and people will choose carefully. Affiliate marketing takes time to get the hang of.