Dear gosquid,
You'll be pleased to know that there is, after all, a way to track
Amazon affiliate orders on a per-page basis. Although this method is
not heavily advertised on public pages, you can read about it on several
discussion-board threads once you've signed up for an Amazon Associates
account.
The key is to use different tracking IDs for each contributor's page. A
tracking ID is not the same as your Associate ID, and by default you
are assigned a single tracking ID when you sign up. However, you are
entitled to a separate tracking ID for each campaign you wish to run,
whether on different sites or at different locations on the same
site. Since you consider that each of your contributors is running a
separate advertising campaign, you should ask for as many tracking IDs
as you have contributors.
When you log in to Amazon Associates Central, you can view daily,
cumulative, or per-item sales reports independently for each of your
tracking IDs. There is also a summary listing showing the total number
of clicks, items ordered, items shipped, and revenue for each tracking
ID on your account.
The following two items in the Associates FAQ -- which is cleverly buried
in the bowels of Amazon! -- tell you how to obtain tracking IDs.
12. I have more than one URL. Can I register all of them as
Amazon.com Associates?
You have two options:
* You can sign up once for all of your URLs. If you
choose this option, you will see all of your earnings and
traffic reports for all of your sites in one report that
you can access online at Associates Central. You will
have one Associates ID, and there will be no way for you
to know which of your sites is generating the most sales.
* You can submit an application to our program and then
write to assoc-pgm@amazon.com to request the number of
tracking ID?s you need assigned to your account.
13. Can I get multiple tracking ID's?
Yes, to get multiple tracking ID's, submit our online
application, and then write to assoc-pgm@amazon.com and
request the number of Tracking ID's that you need. These
Tracking ID's will be assigned to your account, and
you'll be able switch between IDs online when using our
self-service Web site, Associates Central.
Amazon Associates: Program Overview
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/associates/join/faq-overview.html/103-1395235-8222249#url
So you ask for new tracking IDs by email, and these are shortly assigned
to your account. Then, when you're logged in to Associates Central,
you switch to a given tracking ID in order to generate an affiliate link
for the page you associate with that tracking ID.
The other affiliate program I was going to recommend is the eBay Affiliate
Program. The company that provides affiliate tracking and reporting
technology to eBay is called Commission Junction, and the Commission
Junction tools let you follow revenue flowing from individual campaigns or
even from individual links. Furthermore, you don't have to make an email
request for new tracking IDs -- or Shopper IDs, as they are called here
-- since these can be generated automatically or constructed manually
from your own account.
eBay Affiliate Program: Join the Program
http://affiliates.ebay.com/join-program/
The following are the benefits of Commission Junction's reporting
functionality:
[...]
* The ability to measure campaigns and optimize
accordingly
[...]
* Performance metrics for individual advertisements as
well as entire campaigns
[...]
Additionally, these metrics are useful in identifying, for
instance, your campaign registration rate (clicks-to-registration
ratio), which banners have the highest click-through rates, and
which landing pages are most effective at converting visitors
into active registrations. Such analysis enables affiliates to
proactively adjust creatives, landing pages, and placements to
maximize ROI and further increase profits.
eBay Affiliate Program: How It Works: eBay Affiliate Reporting Tools
http://affiliates.ebay.com/how-affiliate-program-works/reporting/
With the Shopper ID (SID), Commission Junction provides
advanced tools that enable affiliates to track transaction-level
metrics. SID Tracking allows affiliates to track the origin of
each transaction [...].
[...] By adding SID parameters to their tracking URLs, Commission
Junction affiliates are able to monitor which specific link
produced each transaction (lead, bid, Buy It Now).
eBay Affiliate Program: Shopper ID (SID) Tracking
http://affiliates.ebay.com/tools/tracking/
Other sites that use the Commission Junction system include Half.com
(an eBay property) and the gadget retailers ThinkGeek.
Half.com: Affiliate Program
http://half.ebay.com/affiliate/index.cfm
ThinkGeek: Affiliate Program
http://www.thinkgeek.com/affiliates/
You also expressed an interest in per-page tracking for a PPC program.
Happily enough, AdSense lets you do just that by means of what they
call channels, which are essentially groups of pages. You can make new
channels at any time and then assign several pages to a given channel,
or the same page to multiple channels. Your revenue reports are grouped
by channel, so you can tell which ones are performing best. The logical
strategy for you is, of course, to make a separate channel for each
content contributor's page.
Channels provide you with a way to view detailed reporting
about the performance of your pages. By assigning a channel to
any combination of pages, you can track a variety of metrics
across your sites. Track your leaderboard performance versus the
performance of your towers, or compare your motorcycle pages
to your automobile pages, by assigning each group of pages to
a specific channel and comparing results in your custom channel
reports.
AdSense Support: Channels: What are channels?
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=9868&topic=152
The following page gives you step-by-step instructions on making a new
channel and assigning pages to it.
AdSense Support: Channels: How can I create custom channels?
://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=9869
It has been an interesting challenge to address this question on your
behalf. I do hope my answer meets with your full satisfaction.
Regards,
leapinglizard |
