As affiliation becomes increasingly popular, it’s important for brands to seize this business lever. Especially since we are on a performance-based solution that only asks you to pay for results.
To fully understand this system, you need to look at several things:
- Choosing a business partner (the affiliate);
- Payment method (CPC, CPA, CPL…) ;
- The attribution model.
You’ve guessed it: in this article, we’re going to focus on the last one, which is often misunderstood by advertisers.
After reading these few lines, you’ll see that the attribution model will hold no secrets for you!
What is an attribution model?
First and foremost, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that you should not to confuse remuneration and attribution models.
The remuneration method is the way in which advertisers pay their affiliate partners. In affiliation, the CPA (Cost Per Action) model is often used. Not forgetting Revenue Share, CPC, CPM, CPL or CPI. These are just some of the payment methods advertisers can use in their affiliate programs.
The attribution model, on the other hand, enables to share remuneration more or less equitably between the players who made the conversion possible.
Let’s take a concrete example:
You have set up several affiliation campaigns in partnership with different affiliates. How do you know who to pay for each sale made thanks to your campaign? And how high?
Defining the attribution model for your affiliate program will help you answer these questions. To offer total transparency to your partners.
Note: attribution models are used for many channels. Here, we’re talking about its use in affiliation, but what follows will also be useful if you’re using web analytics tools (Google Analytics, for example).
What marketing attribution models are available in affiliation?
Good to know: a poor attribution model can cost you a lot of money for mediocre results.
What’s more, it can scare off your affiliate partners, who may consider it unattractive to create commercial links with you.
That’s why it’s important to choose the right attribution model based on your business, your users’ habits and industry standards.
Last-click attribution and last-customer attribution, excluding direct traffic
Last-click attribution is the traditional attribution model used by many tools (including Google Analytics).
Its principle: attribute the conversion to the last registered click. This means that only the partner who has enabled the conversion to take place will receive the credit for the sale, and therefore the related remuneration.
The advantage: it’s very easy to install.
The downside: it’s a simplistic attribution model that doesn’t reflect the increasing complexity of today’s online customer journey.
Indeed, a user may have discovered your offer via a partner (an influencer or on social networks, for example) and take advantage of a promo code or cashback on another site to complete the act of purchase. With the last-click model, only the last partner is remunerated, to the detriment of the others.
Over time, another last-click attribution model emerged: last-click attribution excluding direct traffic. This means excluding all direct access (by typing the URL directly into the browser) from the conversion path.
First-click attribution
First-click attribution is the exact opposite of last-click attribution. Here, only the first interaction will earn the conversion fee.
Or, to take the previous example, the influencer or the social network.
The advantages and disadvantages are therefore the same.
Allocation taking conversion paths into account
Attribution based on conversion paths associates a weight to each affiliate according to its position on the conversion path.
In a growing model, affiliates closest to conversion are the best paid. The opposite is true in a decreasing model.
Linear allocation
Linear allocation is an attribution model that puts everyone on an equal footing. In this way, all contact points and touches are remunerated equally and equally.
Allocation according to a parabolic model (U-shaped allocation)
Another possibility is to pay more for inbound and outbound contact points. Other keys benefit from lower remuneration.
This is the principle of attribution to the parabolic model.
Which attribution model is best for affiliation?
If you’re new to affiliate marketing, you can start with one of the above models. Then, after a few exchanges with your affiliates and a good understanding of the buying path of Internet users, you’ll be able to guide you towards a customized marketing attribution model.
This will help you refine the remuneration linked to each key and contact point by taking into account your different channels according to their contribution to conversion.
The ideal: to be able to to remunerate each partner’s contribution at fair value by creating a set of rules that’s both fair and profitable for you.
Looking for a high-performance attribution tool? Choose an affiliation platform!
Many companies are reluctant to get involved in affiliation because of the complexity of setting up this type of marketing campaign. It’s a shame, because in addition to offering excellent emarketing exposure, it’s also an effective way to boost website traffic. Regardless of the field of activity.
If you’re just starting out in affiliate marketing and would like step-by-step help and relevant advice, take advantage of the expertise of a affiliation platform such as Casaneo.
In addition to working with you to identify the best channels for your strategy, user profile and objectives, we provide you with powerful tools sophisticated tracking link, dedicated interface with extensive statistics.
Contact us for more information.
Affiliation Marketing at your fingertips
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