Time for first click wins? KISS!

[Mike_Scott]

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It seems to me that more than ever nowadays there is alot more uncertainty we regards to which affiliate should be rewarded a commission for a given sale.
(I've just been reading the Sky thread)
It annoys me when I hear of the hard working affiliates losing out on money that arguably should be theirs.

For me, there is no doubt that this has now blown out of control following the birth of cashback sites and voucher code sites over recent years.
I didn't like the sound of either of them when I first heard the concepts and the reasons why are now all too apparant.

I don't fully understand deduping or duping or whatever its properly called.
It seems extremely complicated that sales are tracked right to the last click (cookie drop). Its no wander mistakes are made.
It must also be very demanding on merchants and not cost effective.

KISS
I think it would be much simpler to reward the affiliate with the first click with the sale.
It should not be overwritten until the cookie has expired its given time period.
For me the first referer is the one who gives most value to the merchant.

This would eventually squeeze the cashback and voucher code sites commissions back to a level which is more proportionate to the value they offer. IMO
And maybe even get rid of them altogether. They should never have been accepted by the affiliate community in the first place.
(and yes I do own a cashback site/voucher site, but who doesn't)

If cookies can't hold up? There really is a need for better tracking methods.

Affiliate marketings a mess...
Time for a clean up me thinks!

Would most affiliates prefer it this way around?

Mike

[thebusiness]

If cookies can't hold up? There really is a need for better tracking methods.

Affiliate marketings a mess...
Time for a clean up me thinks!

Not sure we'll ever see fist cookies - google's network pays on last click so don't expect that to change when they set up shop here.

I'm not really bothered tbh, I've probably overwritten my fair share of cookies but then I guess 'fair' is the operative word? If networks cleaned up their acts then I wouldn't be able to complain - but they won't will they?


Correct me if I'm wrong though, but as I understand it, you get paid by amazon when someone adds something to their cart - not when they check out? If that's the case then it goes some way to addressing the problem and explains why I earn a damn site more with amazon than I do the others combined?

[kcheung]

there are models which allow commission to be attributed to every affiliate in the chain leading to a sale, the only problem is that not many merchants have taken up this model, i think Ebay does something quite 'revolutionary' with their quality click, but i'm not really in the loop as to how that works.


the thing about first clickwins is that it will increase 'cookie stuffing' and some affiliate will start forcing clicks. sure Discount code sites may be affected (in reality this isn't really the case based on some stats i've seen), but ultimately the problem will simply move to another type of affiliate.

[Mogga]

I'd like to know more information about the life of a cookie...

I suspect that cookie napping happens after people have put stuff in the merchant basket - so the voucher site steals the cookie at that point.

[MattSweet]

I'd like to know more information about the life of a cookie...

I suspect that cookie napping happens after people have put stuff in the merchant basket - so the voucher site steals the cookie at that point.

I don't have a problem with last click in is traditional form to be honest as I'm sure I've overwritten a few cookies and others overwrite mine. But a lot of people do feel voucher sites in particular steal sales.

Maybe Moggas point above can be worked into a solution. Something like a lead being recorded when items are initially added to the basket which converts to a sale when the customer actually buys.

If a voucher site is used when another affiliate has already been credited the basket lead, then they get no commission.

Obviously this would involve a lot of work by merchants and networks but for anyone looking for a a bit of gimmick to sell their programme it could be worth looking at.

Not even sure if its possible tho.....