This article will cover the following:
Round Robin Rotation
Round Robin distributes traffic evenly and in sequence across all active offers in your rotation. The first click goes to Offer A, the second to Offer B, the third to Offer C, and then the cycle repeats.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple to set up — no weights or data needed | Doesn't account for offer performance differences |
| Gives every offer equal exposure for fair testing | May send traffic to lower-converting offers indefinitely |
| Ideal starting point for A/B testing offers | Not optimal once you have clear performance data |
Tip:
Round Robin is the best starting point for any new smart link. Let it run for at least 500–1,000 clicks per offer before switching to Weighted or Performance-Based rotation.
Round Robin is the best starting point for any new smart link. Let it run for at least 500–1,000 clicks per offer before switching to Weighted or Performance-Based rotation.
Weighted Rotation
Weighted Rotation lets you assign a percentage of traffic to each offer in your rotation. CAKE routes clicks according to those proportions — an offer with 70% weight receives roughly 7 out of every 10 clicks.
1
Add offers to your smart link rotation.
2
For each offer, enter a weight percentage. All percentages must add up to exactly 100%.
3
Click Save. CAKE immediately begins routing traffic according to your weights.
Note:
You can adjust weights at any time without creating a new smart link. Changes take effect immediately for new clicks.
You can adjust weights at any time without creating a new smart link. Changes take effect immediately for new clicks.
Tip:
If one offer is clearly outperforming others but you don't want to drop the others entirely, a 60/30/10 split lets you capitalize on the winner while still feeding traffic to alternatives.
If one offer is clearly outperforming others but you don't want to drop the others entirely, a 60/30/10 split lets you capitalize on the winner while still feeding traffic to alternatives.
Performance-Based Rotation
Performance-Based Rotation automatically allocates more traffic to offers with higher conversion rates or earnings per click (EPC). Underperformers receive progressively less traffic over time.
Caution:
Performance-Based rotation requires a meaningful volume of historical click and conversion data to function well. Using it on a new smart link with no data may produce unpredictable traffic distribution. Start with Round Robin or Weighted until you have at least a few weeks of data.
Performance-Based rotation requires a meaningful volume of historical click and conversion data to function well. Using it on a new smart link with no data may produce unpredictable traffic distribution. Start with Round Robin or Weighted until you have at least a few weeks of data.
| Metric | What It Signals |
|---|---|
| Conversion Rate (CVR) | What percentage of clicks turn into conversions — higher is better. |
| Earnings Per Click (EPC) | Average revenue generated per click — accounts for both CVR and payout amount. |
Setting Up Routing Rules
1
Open the smart link and click Edit.
2
Scroll to the Routing Rules section and click Add Rule.
3
Choose a condition type (Country, Device Type, Operating System, Time of Day, or Sub-ID).
4
Set the condition value — for example, Country = United States.
5
Select the target offer — the offer traffic matching this rule should be sent to.
6
Set the rule priority. Lower numbers are evaluated first.
7
Click Save.
Note:
Rules are evaluated in priority order. The first matching rule wins; subsequent rules are not checked for that click. Place more specific rules above broader ones.
Rules are evaluated in priority order. The first matching rule wins; subsequent rules are not checked for that click. Place more specific rules above broader ones.
Example rule stack:
| Priority | Condition | Target Offer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Country = US AND Device = Mobile | US Mobile Offer |
| 2 | Country = US | US Desktop Offer |
| 3 | Country = CA | Canada Offer |
| Default | (no match) | Fallback Offer |
Troubleshooting Routing Issues
| Issue | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Smart link URL not redirecting | All offers in the rotation are paused or capped and no fallback is set. | Set a fallback offer or reactivate at least one offer in the rotation. |
| Traffic not hitting a routing rule | The condition isn't matching — e.g. geo detection mismatch from VPN traffic. | Check the click report geo column against your rule condition. Consider broadening the geo rule. |
| Wrong offer receiving traffic | Rules are in the wrong priority order. | Review rule priority order and move more specific rules above broader ones. |
| Performance-Based rotation not shifting traffic | Insufficient conversion data to calculate a meaningful distribution. | Switch to Round Robin until more data is available, then re-enable Performance-Based. |
If you have any questions, please reach out to your dedicated CAKE Client Success Manager/Account Manager or contact the CAKE Support Team at support@getCAKE.com.