Many businesses earn much of their money by affiliate link tracking. Some companies even count on commissions to keep their heads above water. But it calls to reason not all link tracking processes are of equal standards. There are some which are definitely better than others. .

What are the methods used for affiliate link tracking? Let’s go back to the early days of Internet Marketing and work our way through a few different methods.

Old ways

There used to be a time when affiliate link tracking was a process achieved by using URLs and unique IDs which could be associated to particular affiliates. This method, when used alone is old and practically obsolete. Why? It was far too restricting as well as unfair. Any prospects would need to make a sale at precisely the exact moment they clicked on the link. Otherwise the referral may not go through, resulting in the business not receiving credit for their recommendation to the affiliate business and helping with sales.

The URL and unique ID would simply time out- even if the prospect bookmarked the website and went back to purchase. In a lot of ways, this method just made sure that affiliates could not be paid. It leads to marketers wanting a revised way to do affiliate link tracking. So they tried cookies.

The Recent

Not so long ago, cookies were a popular thing. They permitted prospects to do things they couldn’t do before, like leave a website, only to come back and purchasing at a later date. They were helpful to affiliates, allowing them to get paid for referrals that they rightfully worked for. This was possibly due to being hosted on Internet browsers and activity tracked for longer than one session.

But cookies had their drawbacks, too. Cookies only work when a prospect allows for a browser to accept them, uses the same browser to return to the affiliate’s website and visits the website while the cookie is still valid. It doesn’t have to be said that a lack in any of these areas can cause a referrer to lose major bucks. In the end, cookies required too much upkeep.

Software

There were several disadvantages with the previous affiliate link tracking customs, so now programs to help bring affiliate link tracking up to where it should be have been created. These programs work in conjunction with a database which independent from the activity of affiliates‘ and prospects‘ activity. There methods are a combination of unique URLs, cookies, referral IDs, and IP addresses, and even more to ensure all referrals get counted when they need to be. In addition to this, substantial data documents the relationship between referrer and prospect. Anyone would be hard-pressed to deny a business had sent a prospect to a specific affiliate link when the correlating cookies where in his browser, he used a referral ID and a unique URL.

If you look at it this way, it’s the programs actually doing the work needed to get each affiliate paid. This could be the selling point of these programs for every business dealing with affiliate marketing. This investment could prevent someone not receiving credit deserved for referrals they worked hard on. A great affiliate relationship is mutually beneficial. Affiliate programs work towards keeping it that way.

Many business owners know that an easy way to make money is to set up and use an affiliate mini-site. They’re easy to do and can be significantly profitable.

What is an affiliate mini-site?

They are basically mini-websites that have no more than 10 pages to them. They are designed to appeal to a very specific part of your target market. They also send traffic to your affiliates and your affiliates end up paying you for your effort.

Affiliate mini-sites exist so that business owners can profit from them. Every inch of an affiliate mini-site is used to launch prospects at an affiliate. That includes everything from forms to ads.

If they sound too easy to be true, they’re not. They do require a bit of work.

Knowing that prospects will likely only visit the mini-site for a very short period of time is a major part of creating affiliate mini-sites. You’ll have to think like that specific group of your target market and anticipate their every move. But if you’ve done your research into them, this shouldn’t be too difficult and can lead to big dollar signs.

What are the benefits of affiliate mini-sites?

Mini-sites can be used for yourself, too. While the sites are used with affiliates in mind, they can also increase your own conversion rate if you know what you’re doing.

In case you’re wondering, conversions can mean anything that you want your customers to do. Behavior on a website, including product purchasing and clicking on certain areas of the website, can all be considered to be conversions. Your main goal with affiliate mini-sites should always be to get people to your affiliates, though.

Reasons for an affiliate mini-site

Aside from their profitability, they can also give you insight into segments of your target market. Studying affiliate mini-sites means that you’re studying your customers. It can tell you what your customers really want and you can build something that will appeal to their desires.

It’s catering to your customers in one of the most obvious and mutually-beneficial ways.

By now, you’ve probably realized that this can mean major bucks for you through direct sales on the website or through affiliate commission. Regardless, clicks on mini-sites mean money in your pocket.

Affiliate mini-sites are cheap and can be quickly designed. However, you shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that you can get away with putting little effort into them. Their success will depend on how willing you are to make them successful.

For one, you can’t use free or anonymous web hosting. Your goal should be to build trust with your customers and link your valuable product to the website or send them to partners they can also trust.

You also need to be mindful of search engines, since they don’t seem to appreciate affiliate mini-sites too much. This is important because you want your target market to find your mini-site.

Lastly, you should continue to test your affiliate mini-site for its success even after it launches. You want to make sure that you’re appealing to your target market as much as possible, have an optimized website and are reaching click-through potential. After all, those clicks are what you’re aiming for!