Tradedoubler & Linkshare to iTunes

[almo136]

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Hi,

I have a question regarding itunes with tradedoubler and Linkshare.

If a user in the US clicks my tradedoubler link to the UK itunes store I'm assuming I wouldn't get any commission for this?

How do other people deal with this? Do you provide users with different links depending on their location?

Thanks!

[TDSalla]

Hi almo136,

You would get paid commission for sales generated through your TradeDoubler links even if the user was based in the US, we do not provide different links depending on location.

But as a guideline you should use TradeDoubler links for UK traffic and Linkshare links for US traffic.

Kind Regards,

Salla

[almo136]

Hi Salla,

Just to clarify if I use only tradedoubler links I will commission no matter which iTunes store that person then goes on to use?

Thanks,
Alan.

[TDSalla]

Hi,

Yes, you will get commission for your TradeDoubler links as those always direct users to the UK iTunes store.

If users would buy through US store, you would not receive commission for that from TradeDoubler.

Kind Regards,

Salla

[jlakes]

I just switched over to a new service for dealing with international affiliate traffic for iTunes. Capitalize on your Global Affiliate Traffic - GeoRiot

[foxtucker]

Hi almo136,

You would get paid commission for sales generated through your TradeDoubler links even if the user was based in the US, we do not provide different links depending on location.

Salla

YOU'RE WRONG! and frankly this is this the kind of misinformation/mismanagement of the iTunes affiliate program that we affiliates have faced for years!

I've been working with iTunes traffic for 2.5 years, and while you at tradedoubler may think your tracking sales/commissions for international (USA) traffic, you're not!

When a USA itunes user clicks a 'tradedoubler itunes link' the iTunes software DOESN'T send the user to the item. Instead the USA users get a popup message from the itunes software stating that the item is not avalailable in the USA iTunes store.

Likewise, a UK itunes users clicking a a 'linkshare itunes link' gets a popup saying that the item is not available in the UK iTunes store.

This IS NOT in fact a tradedoubler or linkshare issue. It's both 'digital rights management' issue and a 'currency conversion' issue that's built in to itunes to stop LOCAL users from getting access to itunes content (music, tv shows, movies and apps etc) from other/international sources.

Trust me. I've spent many, many hours woking on this very issue.

I'll provide clear examples if required.

So, after spending over 500 working hours on itunes in the UK and USA, the ONLY fix I can suggest for affiliates and iTunes is to have iTunes (Apple) choose just one Affiliate Network to manage the whole thing for ALL countries/regions.

This will never happen as it'll require a significant investment of techincal time and money from the chosen/preferred affiliate network and the numerous iTunes operating companies in the various countries/regions.

Jeesh - The muppets at Tradedoubler can't even handle the simple task of updating the 'Free Single' every week (as stated in their promo blurb for the link). I've made numerous attempts to contact Gemma at tradedoubler to let her know that their auto-update isn't working. I'm still showing the free single from numerous weeks ago which results is a 'Item NOT Available' message for the user. It makes my site/me look like a twat to my users.

I've just tried to contact gemma again. I've given up leaving voicemail messages as I haven't gotten a reply call from previous attempts to tell them that we're all losing money/creating an entirel;y rubbish user experience.

[jlakes]

Foxtucker is absolutely right!

When a USA itunes user clicks a 'tradedoubler itunes link' the iTunes software DOESN'T send the user to the item. Instead the USA users get a popup message from the itunes software stating that the item is not avalailable in the USA iTunes store.

Likewise, a UK itunes users clicking a a 'linkshare itunes link' gets a popup saying that the item is not available in the UK iTunes store.

The iTunes Store now exists in over 60 countries. There are affiliate programs for 20+ of those countries. Each store (with or without an affiliate program) has a unique set of IDs for each item in the store. This means that a deep link designed for one store WILL NOT WORK IN ANOTHER COUNTRY'S STORE! And each affiliate program is different for each store as well so the tracking code for one specific store WILL NOT WORK IN ANOTHER COUNTRY'S STORE even though the country's store is administered by the same affiliate network. EX. - A link for the UK store through TradeDoubler won't work for the German store even though iTunes DE is also managed by TradeDoubler. Does that make sense?

So, after spending over 500 working hours on itunes in the UK and USA, the ONLY fix I can suggest for affiliates and iTunes is to have iTunes (Apple) choose just one Affiliate Network to manage the whole thing for ALL countries/regions.

I too have spent a ridiculous amount of time using the iTunes Affiliate Program as well (See skimoviemusic.com) and unfortunately wasn't aware of the issue I laid out above for a long time. After countless hours of research and hounding the poor people at Apple/iTunes, LinkShare, DGM and TradeDoubler I figured some stuff out.

This is where my and Foxtucker's view differs slightly. Because my projects bring a large amount of international traffic it was essential to capitalize on a larger percentage then I previously did using just one affiliate network/country. I started working with a programmer and we created a service that will allow sites to correctly and accurately generate revenue from their international traffic. The project is called GeoRiot. Want to see it in action? Go to skimoviemusic.com and click on an itunes link for a song/artist/album. Hopefully (crossing my fingers as we aren't 100% done with it yet) you will end up in the iTunes Store for the country you came from using the proper affiliate network's tracking code. Did it work?

Want it on your site? Let me know.

Foxtucker - We want you to beta test this service for us. You interested? It seems like you are one of the leading minds on the iTunes Affiliate Program for at least the UK, if not globally.

[pandadragon]

Seeing this thread just concretes my opinion and troubles i have had with Tradedoubler over the years.

The last post here was a week ago, now considering TD have been corrected in this post, they seem to have wriggled out of answering your questions, highly unprofessional !

Im without a doubt using other networks where possible,

[foxtucker]

Seeing this thread just concretes my opinion and troubles i have had with Tradedoubler over the years.

The last post here was a week ago, now considering TD have been corrected in this post, they seem to have wriggled out of answering your questions, highly unprofessional !

Im without a doubt using other networks where possible,

You and I BOTH! In the case of iTunes I'm tied to TD, but would give my left nut to have it managed by a more competent affiliate network.