How do you test an affiliate link?

[positivecarry]

Just put in some affiliate links,(images that are links themselves, I am assuming), after I got some advice from the wonderful Lisa. I used the search function to look for affiliate tracking, etc. Couldn't find anything. Can I click on my affiliate image too see if it takes me to the page? Are you not supposed to do this?

What can you do to test if a purchase actually goes all the way through, short of actually buying the product?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Linda Buquet]

You should always test your links. As long as it's not pay per click you won't get in trouble. So click, then watch the url in your browser after you get to the merchant and you'll usually see your affiliate ID in the URL string. Then go into the affiliate program reporting and see if the click registered. (Most clicks record in real time but there can be a delay. Also if you click 5 times in a row it may only record one click, so dont worry if that happens.

Also check after you click to be sure it dropped a cookie on you. Just clear cookies, then click, then check cookies and see if there is one from the affiliate network or merchant, depending on what type of link it it.

The only way to absolutely test all the way to the buy is to do a test purchase. IF you have reason to believe your links arent tracking you can try asking the affiliate manager to do a test purchase on your link. They can buy something and just reverse the sale.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Now depending on what network you are using,,,,
hmmmm, can't remember exactly and can't find the info but
it seems like I remember either LinkShare or CJ links not working right in WordPress.
That may have been affiliate video links, can't remember.

 

[positivecarry]

great info , thanks much

I searched around for it with the search tool, but didn't find anything. Im sure its in here somewhere. Hope other n00bs see it. Thanks again.

 

[positivecarry]

Checked the link , clicks recording, but cookie?

It is putting a cookie in , but how do I tell if this an affiliate cookie and not just a typical site cookie? Or is the site cookie all I need? Surprisingly , I had 8 clicks before I tested and this site didn't even hit the search engines yet. And I highly doubt it was type in traffic, its an odd .org. Can bots click? Maybe it was just the AM checking out my site.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Is the affiliate program through a network? If so it would be the network cookie you are looking for. If the affiliate program is in-house and the affiliate link uses the same domain as the merchant, then I'm not sure how to tell if it was the affiliate cookie. The affiliate manager should be able to tell you.

The thing is Im just guessing because there are so many variables all I can do is give you a pretty generic answer and my answers could be wrong since I don't know for sure what you are dealing with.

 

[positivecarry]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Yes , it is an in-house program. It looks like everything is running as it should. A little time will tell. Thanks much