Do you know, affiliate marketers earn $59,060 per year? It is considered a reliable source of passive income. Isn’t it amazing? But how to set up and track affiliate links? Let’s find out in this blog.
What are affiliate links?
Affiliate links are special URLs that contain a unique identifier that associates a sale with an affiliate marketer. When a user clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase, the affiliate marketer earns a commission on the sale.
Affiliate marketing is a popular way for bloggers, influencers, and website owners to earn money by promoting products or services to their audience. It can also be a cost-effective way for businesses to reach new customers and increase sales.
What does affiliate tracking mean?
Affiliate tracking refers to the process of tracking the performance of affiliate marketing campaigns. It involves using a unique tracking link or code to monitor clicks, conversions, and sales generated by affiliate marketers.
When an affiliate marketer promotes a product or service, they include a special affiliate tracking link or code in their content. When a user clicks on the link and makes a purchase, the affiliate tracking software records the transaction and attributes the sale to the affiliate.
The tracking software then calculates the commission owed to the affiliate based on the agreed-upon commission rate and other terms and conditions of the affiliate program.
This allows businesses and affiliates to track the performance of their campaigns, monitor their earnings, and make informed decisions about their marketing strategies.
Affiliate tracking can be done using a variety of software tools and platforms, including affiliate networks, third-party tracking software, and in-house tracking systems.
These tools typically provide detailed analytics and reporting features, which allow businesses and affiliates to analyze their performance data and optimize their campaigns for better results.
Why is link tracking important for affiliate marketers?
Let’s look into a few reasons why link tracking is important for affiliate marketing:
Monitor campaign performance:
Link tracking enables businesses and affiliates to track clicks, conversions, and sales generated by their marketing campaigns. This information can help them identify which campaigns are performing well and which ones need improvement.
Optimize marketing strategies:
With link tracking, businesses, and affiliates can analyze data to identify trends and patterns that can inform their marketing strategies. For example, they can determine which marketing channels or tactics are driving the most sales and focus their efforts on those areas.
Calculate commissions accurately:
Link tracking ensures that affiliates are credited for the sales they generate, and they receive accurate commissions based on the agreed-upon commission rate and other terms and conditions of the affiliate program.
Avoid Scam:
Link tracking can help prevent fraudulent activities, such as click fraud or cookie stuffing, which can artificially inflate clicks and conversions and result in inaccurate commission payments.
What to look for in affiliate tracking software?
When selecting an affiliate tracking software, there are several key features and factors to consider. Here are some important things to look for:
Reliability and uptime:
The software should be reliable and have a high uptime to ensure that tracking is accurate and uninterrupted.
Compatibility:
The software should be compatible with the platforms and systems used by your business and affiliates, such as website platforms, payment gateways, and advertising networks.
Customization:
The software should be customizable to meet the unique needs of your business and affiliates, such as commission structures, tracking parameters, and reporting features.
Tracking accuracy:
The software should provide accurate tracking to prevent fraudulent activities such as click fraud or cookie stuffing.
Reporting and analytics:
The software should provide detailed reporting and analytics features, such as campaign performance data, earnings reports, and conversion rates.
Integration with third-party tools:
The software should integrate with other tools and services used by your business and affiliates, such as marketing automation tools, email marketing software, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Customer support:
The software provider should offer reliable customer support and resources to help businesses and affiliates use the software effectively and resolve any issues that may arise.
Best affiliate link tracking tools
Selecting the right affiliate tracking software is an important decision for businesses and affiliates, as it can have a significant impact on the accuracy, effectiveness, and profitability of their affiliate marketing campaigns.
Here are some of our recommended tools.
Replug
Whether you’re an affiliate marketer or looking to enhance your personal brand, Replug is a top contender. With Replug, affiliates can create custom short links that feature their own branding and logo, making it easy to promote their business or product across different channels.
Replug’s powerful set of features help you promote your brand across multiple channels and monitor your performance with its analytics and reporting capabilities.
Additionally, its link retargeting and call-to-action features can help you increase engagement and conversions on your content. Thus, making Replug an excellent choice for those looking to enhance their branding and track their performance.
Some of the key features of Replug include:
Branded URL Shortening:The platform enables users to create custom-branded short links, which can help increase brand visibility and recognition.
Link Tracking: This feature enables users to monitor how their links are performing and make data-driven decisions.
Call-to-Action Overlays: The platform allows users to add call-to-action overlays to their links, which can help increase engagement and drive conversions.
Custom Domains: Custom domains give the user the option to use custom domains, which can enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of the links.
Link Rotators: The platform provides link rotators, which allow users to rotate multiple links within a single shortened URL, making it easier to manage and track multiple campaigns.
Retargeting: Replug enables users to create retargeting campaigns for their links, which can increase the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
Bio Links: The platform enables users to create custom bio link webpages so that you market your share their links on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Also Read: How to Disguise a Link Using a URL Shortener?
How to set up affiliate link tracking using Replug?
To set up affiliate link tracking with Replug, follow these steps:
If you haven’t already, sign up for an account with Replug.
Let’s say we want to change a long messy URL into an affiliate link:
Make a new campaign or select any previous one (if you have one).
For the said case, I am using an already created campaign.
Now copy and paste the link to shorten and click on create.
Now you can edit this shortened link with your brand name or affiliate e-commerce store name.
With Replug, monitor the performance of your links and make data-driven decisions. Lastly, share your banded links on social media platforms, email campaigns, or other marketing channels to drive traffic and conversions.
Pricing: It offers three pricing plans, Basic $19, Professional $49, and Agency $79.
Tapfiliate
Tapfiliate provides an easy-to-use platform that allows businesses to set up their affiliate programs quickly. It also allows businesses to track sales from their affiliates. Tapfiliate offers white-labeling options that allow businesses to customize the platform’s branding to match their own.
Pricing: It offers three plans; Essential $89, Pro $149, and a custom plan.
Pretty Links
Pretty Links can be a useful tool for affiliates, as it provides a way to create customized, shortened links to use in their marketing efforts. Affiliates can track clicks and conversions on their links, as well as monitor which sources are driving the most traffic and revenue.
It also provides an automatic link replacement feature, which can be useful for affiliates looking to update their links across their entire site. Pretty Links also offers advanced features such as split testing, which allows affiliates to test different variations of their links to see which performs best.
Pricing: It offers three pricing plans; Beginners $99, Marketer $149, Super Affiliate $199.
Click Meter
ClickMeter is a web-based link tracking and optimization tool that provides users with powerful insights into how their links are performing. It also enables users to create custom tracking domains, which can help improve the credibility and trustworthiness of their links. ClickMeter allows users to perform A/B testing on their links, which can help optimize their performance over time.
Pricing: It offers two different plans in two categories
For everyone: Lite $12/month, Essential $28/month, Professional $85/month.
For business: Professional plus $359/month and a custom plan.
Sniply
Sniply offers a unique perspective on affiliate marketing, with its call-to-action overlay feature allowing you to promote your own products or services while sharing third-party content with your audience.
By directing traffic back to your own site, you can increase visibility and potentially boost conversions. Moreover, Sniply’s analytics and reporting features help you track your success and identify areas for improvement.
Pricing: It offers a basic plan of $9 per month, a pro of $29 per month, a Business $59/per month, and custom pricing.
Bitly
Bitly is a versatile and powerful tool for anyone looking to manage and track their affiliate links and campaigns. This link management platform allows users to create shortened, customized links to share on social media, email, or other online channels.
With Bitly, users can create branded links that incorporate their own domain name, as well as track clicks and conversions on their links.
Pricing: It offers a free plan, starter $8/month, basic $29/month & premium $199/month.
Voluum
Voluum is a comprehensive affiliate marketing platform that provides tools for tracking, optimizing, and managing affiliate campaigns. One of the key benefits of Voluum is its ability to track traffic from multiple sources, including paid advertising, organic search, and social media.
It also offers integrations with a wide range of advertising networks, affiliate programs, and other marketing tools, making it easy to manage all aspects of an affiliate campaign in one place.
Pricing: It has 3 pricing plans, profit $149/month, scale $299/month, and start-up $499/month.
PixelMe
Customize the appearance of your links to match your brand using PixelMe. PixelMe allows users to create shortened, trackable links for their marketing campaigns. It also provides features such as retargeting and conversion tracking to help users optimize their advertising efforts. PixelMe integrates with tools, such as Google Analytics and Facebook Ads.
Pricing: It offers Growth at $99/month, Scale at $149/month, Elite at $249/month, and a customized pricing plan.
Affiliate tracking: Wrap up
In conclusion, affiliate links have become a popular and effective way for businesses to expand their marketing reach and drive sales, while also providing an opportunity for affiliates to earn a commission for promoting products or services.
By using affiliate tracking tools such as Replug and tagging links with UTM parameters, businesses, and affiliates can track the performance of their affiliate campaigns. Overall, affiliate links can be a valuable tool for businesses and affiliates alike, as they provide a way to reach new audiences, increase revenue, and build long-term partnerships.
FAQs
Can Google Analytics track affiliate links?
Yes, Google Analytics can track affiliate links, provided that the links are tagged with UTM parameters. UTM parameters are tags that can be added to the end of a URL to track the source, medium, and campaign name of traffic to a website.
What is a good percentage of affiliates?
The percentage of commission for affiliates can vary widely depending on the product or service being promoted, the industry, and the affiliate program. Generally, commissions for affiliates can range between 5% to 30% of the sale price.
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