I served a cookie - You served a cookie - So who get's the commission?

[-Edwin-]

I was wondering, multiple site owners connected with the same merchant affiliate program...

Internet shopper browses the net, goes through the SERP's and get's cookied by multiple site owners.

Ms. shopper lands first on a shoe site that promotes a shoe product from a merchant who offers a wide variety of women items as well as shoes.

Then Ms. shopper lands on a perfume site because for some algorithmic reason in the SERP's a Page Title holding her favourite perfume brand persuaded to check it out.

"Wow! 40% Discount" - she reads on the site.

Goes straight for the buy - pulls out her creditcard and places the order.

The shoes she had on her mind has been cancelled...for now

1: Same merchant
2: Two affiliates
3: Ms. Shopper visited both sites
4: Got cookied by both affiliate sites

So who gets the commission?

How does this work?

Is there data that can identify the affiliate?

Thanks!

[Rob_TID]

Usually the latest cookie overwrites earlier cookies.

[Linda Buquet]

Great question Edwin and I like the fun way you worded it.

Yes usually the last cookie wins.

EXCEPT... and this is the question I thought you were going to ask about, when I read the subject line...

EXCEPT in the case of merchants that are on 2 different networks or have both an Indie and a network program. Then the last cookie scenario doest work.

I think for most merchants they have to program something on their end or do some manual checking to find out which referral was the last one in if the customer hit a CJ link then a SAS or in-house affiliate link. In many cases the merchant does not check and just ends up paying twice for the sale.

I know lots of little naive merchants that think being on a 10 different affiliate networks is just like being in 10 different PPC search engines - the more the better. Many times they don't even think about or realize they could be paying out double or triple.

[-Edwin-]

Thanks for the insight Linda

I am not a technical programmer so i don't know how feasible it is but what if you approach it like this?

IP: connects to Page/Product X referred to by URL which is designated to aff X

That way should the product/service be purchased the original referrer for that specific program would be credited.

This could eliminate the whole cookie implementation which i find so unreliable from the beginning i learned of this method.

Everyday i do a scan with Ewido, wiping away all the cookies i have collected through me visiting various sites.
Should i return directly without going through the aff site, and why should i because i know the URL and will find my way again, then the aff would not be credited...even though the aff created the awareness either through SEO or PPC or whatever strategy that took effort or money.

On the other hand this method described above could kill additional commissions because future purchases would not be tied to your URL whilst if a cookie was still present you would be credited for these purchases as well.

It's kind of a double edged sword

[Linda Buquet]

Yep true. Cookie tracking is more of a problem these days but there is really not a good replacement.
IP tracking has it's own drawbacks, like you said.

Companies have been working on other options,
but so far there is not a great solution out there yet.

[Oregon Coast Guy]

It can also depend on the merchant.

I work with an affiliate program where some of the links given for visitors to click on actually write a permanent cookie that cannot get overwritten. Even if the cookie is deleted, the affiliate program re-associates the visitor with the affiliate and re-writes the cookie.

It's pretty clever.

[-Edwin-]

Hi Tony

It rewrites the cookie based on IP recognition then i guess?

But if the visitor came on the merchant's site through another path? Through another affiliate?

Example Scenario 1:

Visitors lands on aff site A and is redirected to the merchant, does not buy anything.

Cleans out their computer with some sort of anti spyware solution and the cookie is gone.

Visitor starts researching again on Google for the same product and lands on the merchant's site via affiliate's site B that the visitor found.

Aff A get's nothing in this scenario right?

Scenario 2:

Visitor is looking for product A and lands on aff site A and is redirected to the merchant.
Visitor goes back to Google to research some more, this time another type of product and ends up at aff site B through the SERP's.

Visitor is redirected to the merchant and as you say the cookie can't be overwritten it means aff B does not get the commission but aff A does get the commission?

How would this work

[Oregon Coast Guy]

I'm not sure the exact ins-and-outs, but I do know that the program associates the person who buys through your link, permanently with you, through a sequential database identifying process. It looks at their credit card number, name, address and other identifiers and, by way of those, marks you with that person for good. There are a few other ways of getting a permanent cookie. Nothing cooler than knowing that wherever someone ends up on the `Net, they are yours. =]

I can provide you the URL if you PM me (don't want to incur the wrath of the mods)

[-Edwin-]

PM sent Tony

[Oregon Coast Guy]

PM answered, my friend