This article will cover:
What is Click Tracking?
Click tracking allows you to measure how many consumers click on your Creative assets (e.g. emails, banners, social posts, etc.) and are redirected to the Offer's Landing Page. Click tracking also provides the foundation for cookie-based and server-to-server Conversion tracking, which allows you to measure if a consumer converts on the Offer.
How CAKE Tracks Clicks
There are two ways in which CAKE can track a Click.
- Tracking Links: A consumer clicks on a Creative asset that has a CAKE Tracking Link embedded within it and is redirected to the Offer's Landing Page.
- Direct Links: A consumer clicks on a Creative asset that has the Landing Page URL embedded within it, as well as CAKE Tracking Parameters appended to the URL, and is sent directly to the Landing Page where a CAKE Click Pixel, also referred to as a tag, will read the URL parameters for source and campaign attribution.
How to Generate a Tracking Link
A Unique Link in CAKE, also known as a tracking link, is a Campaign-specific URL used by affiliates to redirect users to an offer's landing page. Campaign Unique Links can be generated from two places in the Admin Portal, most commonly, from the Campaign Card.
From the Offer card, follow these steps:
- Click on the Campaigns tab
- Select the Campaign you want to generate a link for
- Press the Generate Link button on the home tab
From the main navigation panel:
- Hover over the Affiliates main tab
- Click on the Generate Unique Link option
On the Generate Unique Link Wizard, complete the following fields then press Next:
- Affiliate
- Campaign
- Creative
This link that is generated will include the following parameters:
- Affiliate ID
- Creative ID
- Sub ID 1 (for Sub Affiliate ID's)
- Sub ID 2-5 (these are additional Sub ID's that can be appended to the Unique Link)
- Offer Contract ID, when Original Campaign by Offer Contract is enabled
- Media Type ID, when Original Campaign by Media Type is enabled
Note: Since the Unique Link references the Creative ID, each creative available to an affiliate will have a different link. From the Creative ID, CAKE is able to lookup the Offer ID the campaign is tied to.
How to Generate a Click Pixel
A Click Pixel can be generated from the main navigation panel by the following the steps below:
- Hover over the Affiliates main tab.
- Move cursor down to Pixels.
- Slide over to Generate Click Pixel.
From the Generate Click Pixel wizard:
- Select the Affiliate clicks should be attributed to.
- Specify the Campaign.
- Select the Creative ID.
- Choose the Referrer Type of where the Click Pixel is placed.
How to Specify Click Cookie Days
Cookie Days determine how long a Cookie will live on a user's browser. Within the Cookie period, CAKE attributes a user's end conversion to the correct campaign and gives the affiliate credit for it. Click Cookie Days are set on the Attribution Tab of the Offer Card.
By default, a user can convert one time within the cookie period. If a user clicks on a CAKE Tracking Link again within the cookie period but after the initial conversion, they will be redirected to the Thank You Link or an Upsell Offer.
Note: If you receive additional revenue and would like to pay your affiliate for duplicate conversions from the same user, you will need to enable Allow Duplicates on the Events Tab of the Advertiser Card.
How to Set an Attribution Model
The Attribution Model setting allows you to control which affiliate gets credit for a conversion when multiple affiliates have tracked touchpoints within the user's journey.
- First Touch: This setting gives conversion payment to the affiliate that generated the first-touch impression or click, even though there were other clicks or impressions from other sources.
- Last Touch: This setting gives conversion payment to the affiliate that generated the last touch before the user converted, no matter how many touches the user engaged with previously.
The Payment Model can be selected on the New Offer wizard or on the Attribution tab of an existing Offer card.
How to View Clicks In Reporting
Click counts are displayed in all reporting views by default. From the Clicks column in any Master Report, you can click on the hyperlink to load the detailed click report that is pre-filtered for the entity you are viewing.
Master Reports can be found under the Reports main tab or the Stats sub-tab of the Affiliates and Advertiser main tabs.
The unfiltered Click Report can be found in the Traffic Report under the Affiliates or Advertisers main tab, by following the steps below:
- Click on the Stats sub-tab.
- Select Traffic from the list of available reports.
- Select Clicks from the options bar.
Or from the Reports main tab, by following these steps:
- Click on the Clicks / Conversions sub-tab.
- Select the Clicks report sub-tab.
Clicks may be considered duplicates if they occur within the Click Throwout Period specified on the Attribution tab of the Offer card, these would show within the Total Clicks column of a Click Report.
Note: If the Show All Clicks filter is enabled on the report view, duplicate clicks will appear on their own line item within the click report rather than in the duplicate click report within the Total Clicks column.