How Does Conversion Tracking Work On The Aff Networks End?

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natekapi

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I've been wondering how networks are able to fire your Adwords/MSN/YSM/whatever conversion tracking pixel for you from an advertisers page since they don't actually display your pixel on the advertisers page anywhere. The only thing they place on the advertisers page is there own conversion tracking pixel or conversion tracking pixel + some javascript stuff. So how's it done?

Can someone school me on how they do this, with the technical details?
 


If the network has their own javascript on the conversion page, then they can output your tracking code pulled from their database. Otherwise, they can fire a request to your tracking code from their server when their own tracking code gets loaded. I'd say the second case is more likely. Knowing how it works isn't really useful for anything though.
 
I like the technical details ;) I'm trying to help this one network I work with get it setup, which is also why I'm asking now. They don't currently have anything to do this. So yeah. I wondering about the cookies though....won't the adwords code only record the conversion properly if it sees the users adwords cookie? I'm wondering how they get around that or how they trick it into working.
 
What about the reasons for delayed stats. I've promoted offers that have taken up to 4 days to be posted. I don't want to accuse anyone of scrubbing but what other possible reason could this be?
 
natekapi said:
I've been wondering how networks are able to fire your Adwords/MSN/YSM/whatever conversion tracking pixel for you from an advertisers page since they don't actually display your pixel on the advertisers page anywhere. The only thing they place on the advertisers page is there own conversion tracking pixel or conversion tracking pixel + some javascript stuff. So how's it done?

Can someone school me on how they do this, with the technical details?
Click to expand...

Ill answer this as best as i can. I do not know how to program but this is how i understand tracking to usually work.

There are two ways cookie tracking and tracking via variables

Cookie tracking is most common and easiest for advertisers to implement. A cookie is placed on the users machine when they click, that cookie is then read when a conversion occurs by the tracking pixel that is placed on the thank you page, this is usually a 1X1 image that is naked to the eye, when it loads it reads the cookie that was dropped on the click and credits the affiliate and offer for the conversion which is the information it gets from the cookie. I think 4% or 7% (not really sure) surf with cookies turned off, so you can expect a deviation of 4-7% in stats and what is real. Those using pixel tracking factor the loss in to the payout to affiliates.

Variable passing
Not used much but a variable is placed in the URL instead of using a cookie that variable is kept in the url then passed on the conformation page to the pixel. Since you cant surf with your address bar turned off there is typically no discrepancy in the count of leads, however the advertiser who has to place the pixel no also has to write code to pass the variable n to the pixel form their site. Most advertisers don't understand how to do this and pushback from doing it.

Hope that helps.
 
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