How do you differentiate a conversion that was triggered directly by an ad from one that was “only” influenced by a banner or a link? Cookies and the analysis of the user's journey until the sale (or registration) make it possible to establish this Distinction between post click and post view conversion.
Both approaches are important in campaign management and should ideally be paid accurately, based on their role in the conversion chain.
Reminder: difference and definitions
Post-view (post-printing)
La Post-view conversionrelies on the display (the Display) .It is a campaign during which the user makes a purchase without clicking on the ad or the link displayed on the affiliate's site.
This approach is not the most common, as it is often preferred to be paid at cost per click, per action or per lead. However, post-view conversion must be taken into account to better understand the user's journey and reward the links in the conversion chain that helped popularize the advertiser and its offers, right up to the final sale.
It is limited on one point: we cannot guarantee that the user has actually seen X or Y banner among the many elements of a page, in any case not to the point of being able to guarantee that it is a source of conversion.
Although it is tempting to focus only on direct results (post-click), advertisers and affiliate campaign managers should not rule out post-impression analysis to get quality information about their business. For example: when did the user see an ad? What actions did he take? So what context do retargeting campaigns take place in? These are all elements that post-view analysis can help refine.
Let's take the case where the user does not click on a banner that was displayed to him, but comes to the site a few days later, then makes a purchase or a conversion by clicking on an organic link or an advertisement. By tracking conversions well, you can attribute part of the action to the display campaign that has been set up... and therefore maximize the optimization of ads and the budgets allocated to them!
The post-click
La Post click conversion occurs when an Internet user clicks on a link or an advertising banner and makes a sale (or other action) in the process, or in the attribution windowplanned. The latter can be a few days, 30 days, 2 months, for life... it is a choice made by the advertiser.
While this model is the most common, it is nonetheless limited: Indeed, the user journey is more and more complex. Before buying, he browses numerous sites, is exposed to various messages, articles and banners, surfs on social networks and review sites, even couponing... in the end, by attributing a post-click conversion to a single site (often the last one), the rest of the chain is not taken into account. This limits the understanding of the user's behavior, who may have seen one or more banners, developed a better understanding of the brand and its products, before coming back a few days later to visit the site and order.
On the other hand, one of the advantages of post-click campaigns is that it is much easier to work on their optimization, for example by creating landing pages specific to each offer and message.
Cookies play a fundamental role
To track these conversions, we use cookies, small Cookies deposited on the browser while the user browses various sites. They are of course used for different purposes (preferences and browsing history, etc.), but their role is fundamental in advertising and affiliate campaigns.
We then speak of post click cookies and post view cookies. The latter are attached to a attribution window, generally 30 days for post-click, which will allow you to validate or not an action. In this time frame, if an Internet user clicks on a banner and orders 28 days later from this site and without having “scattered” elsewhere, the affiliate is paid (this is a deferred conversion).
If he converts after seeing a banner without clicking on it within 24 hours, post-view conversion can then apply. On the other hand, if he sees a banner then clicks on a link from another site and converts in the process, there is a good chance that the first site will not be paid.
Post-click tracking can also be done by sessional. However, this narrows the scope of analysis.
The problem to be solved: who contributed to what?
When running an affiliate marketing campaign, it's important to understand all the steps a user goes through before converting. This has a direct impact on ROI, but also on the quality of the long-term affiliate network... in fact, rewarding the various links in the chain as accurately as possible helps to maintain a network of sites and blogs in a sustainable way.
Where is brand awareness built? What is happening on YouTube, social networks, specialized blogs, or big Publishers ? What are the stages of visibility and research, until conversion?
This is one of the most important challenges to overcome when it comes to membership.
Manage post view and post click conversion well with a final-attribution model
To precisely address this complex browsing and buying journey, you need to set up a precise attribution model to see who contributed to a sale, how and to what extent.
If he does not exist No model that is unanimously accepted, however, we can identify large families:
- Parabolic: the 1st and the last interaction are preferred
- Linear: all visits have the same value
- Time decay: the last interactions are given more weight (often at the expense of levers such as SEO and social networks)
- Arbitrary attribution: a channel is systematically preferred (or a specific event).
Of course there are others. Whatever the one chosen, it at least has the advantage of thinking differently about navigation and of being interested in the details of the journey to conversion... and not only in terms of digital channels!
The reflection on the attribution model must be accompanied by that on the award window and the rules that will be attached to remuneration, while taking into account the cross-device.
In any case, the return to a tracking tool reliable and accurate is essential.
Our Marketing Studio solution allows you to define your multi-touch attribution model and detects advertising fraud so you can invest in the right levers.
