AvantLink offers enhanced tracking features with Insights (formerly known as AvantMetrics), giving merchant advertisers the ability to gather enhanced clickstream insights and implement commissioning solutions based on clickstream data.
In addition to clickstream analysis and attribution support, Insights can also function as a tag manager. At the merchant’s discretion, AvantLink can use Insights to deploy certain affiliate tracking scripts on the merchant’s behalf. This can help simplify implementation and centralize affiliate tracking management.
Referral Group Reporting
This feature allows your program to identify affiliate clicks during different stages of the sales funnel throughout your referral period (cookie window). Reporting is based on the cookie window, not user sessions, which provides deeper insight into the customer’s path to purchase.
Referral Group Reporting categorizes affiliate partner clicks into three different Referral Groups: Introducer, Influencer, and Checkout Influencer. An affiliate may have a single touchpoint or multiple touchpoints throughout the path to purchase. The last affiliate click within each referral group will be displayed in Referral Group Reporting.
- Introducer referrals occur when a customer is introduced or directed to the merchant’s site for the first time within the cookie window.
- Influencer referrals occur when a customer has previously visited the site and clicks again before entering the checkout phase.
- Checkout Influencer referrals occur after the customer enters the checkout process.
Clickstream Commission Solutions
1. Shared/Modified Attribution
Insights’ shared/modified attribution solution allows merchants to adjust how commission is awarded based on where affiliates appear in the clickstream.
With Shared Attribution, when two or more affiliates are involved in a sale and are identified in different referral groups, AvantLink can split commission between them. The percentages assigned to each referral group are customizable and are applied to each affiliate’s base commission rate.
Example for when an order has two different affiliate touchpoints are involved. If both affiliates have a 10% base commission rate and one is credited as the Introducer, and the Introducer group is set to receive 70%, that affiliate would earn 7% commission on the sale. If the other affiliate is credited as the Influencer, and and the Influencer group is set to 30%, that affiliate would earn 3% commission. The merchant still pays 10% commission on the sale while two affiliates share the commission.
The following is an example of a Shared 50/30/20 attribution model:
With Modified Attribution, the same shared commission logic applies when multiple affiliates are involved. The difference is that some merchants choose to devalue the Checkout Influencer referral group. In those cases, the commission for that role is reduced according to the assigned percentage.
Modified Attribution can also apply when there is only one affiliate touchpoint on the sale. For example, if the only affiliate interaction occurred during the Checkout Influencer stage, the commission can still be reduced based on that group’s configured percentage.
Example for when an order has only one affiliate involved. If the affiliate has a 10% base commission rate and is credited as the Checkout Influencer, and the Checkout Influencer group is set to receive 20%, that affiliate would earn 2% commission on the sale.
The following is an example of a Modified 50/30/20 attribution model, specifically modifying the Checkout Influencer payout:
2. Network Deduplication
Insights can identify when a secondary affiliate network is part of an order’s clickstream. AvantLink’s network deduplication solution can automatically deduplicate the order across affiliate networks, ensuring merchants only pay commission to one network per order.
This helps prevent duplicate commission payments on the same sale when affiliates from different networks are involved. AvantLink will award the commission to the network with the last click.
3. Marketing Channel Deduplication
Insights can identify when additional marketing channels are part of an order’s clickstream. AvantLink’s marketing channel deduplication solution ensures that only one marketing channel is paid if multiple channels are part of the same order’s clickstream.
Insights can track marketing channels via UTM parameters and apply deduplication logic to award credit to the channel with the last click.
Tag Management Functionality
Beyond reporting and commission solutions, Insights can also be used as a tag management solution. Depending on the merchant’s implementation preferences, AvantLink can, at the merchant’s discretion, place approved affiliate scripts on the merchant’s behalf through Insights. This can reduce development overhead and streamline ongoing tracking management.
Features & Fees
All Clickstream Commission Solutions must include Referral Group Reporting.
Tag Management functionality is included in the Report Only plan.
Additional Questions
Our team is here to help. Please contact insights@avantlink.com with any questions.