Affiliate Marketing Tracking Software: Complete Guide for Marketers

To thrive in the affiliate marketing competitive landscape, effective monitoring, and optimization of campaigns are essential. This is where affiliate marketing tracking software comes into play, revolutionizing the way marketers manage and measure their campaigns.

The software simplifies the management of campaigns launched with the help of affiliate networks and programs, accurately attributes conversions, and fosters transparency and accountability in partnerships. It also offers features like real-time reporting, analytics, and fraud detection to optimize campaign performance and marketing spend.

In this article, we will explore affiliate marketing tracking software, its benefits, and how it can transform your efforts. We will also discuss key factors to consider when selecting the right tools and highlight leading solutions available today.

What is Affiliate Marketing Tracking Software?

A tracking software is a tool or platform designed to manage webmasters’ activities: links generation, conversion tracking, commission calculation, fraud detection, and so on. Such platforms provide a comprehensive system for affiliates and advertisers to monitor the performance of their marketing campaigns.

Overall, a management software streamlines the process of controlling marketing programs, improves transparency, and helps affiliates optimize their partnerships to maximize conversions and revenue.

Benefits of Tracking Software in Affiliate Marketing

1. Enhanced Tracking Metrics

Using affiliate tracking software is an access to comprehensive monitoring features and statistics. These tools play a vital role in identifying the success of an advertising campaign by examining various metrics, such as clicks, purchases, transactions, page views, and impressions. The tracking aspects can be classified into different types, including CPM (Cost Per Impression), CPC (Cost Per Click), CPL (Cost Per Lead), CPAhttps://allcpanetworks.com/blog/what-is-cpa-marketing/ (Cost Per Acquisition), and more.

Modern tracking software platforms offer advanced tools to further enhance monitoring capabilities. They are pixel tracking, postback, domain tracking, promo codes, QR-code tracking, and view-through attribution tracking.

Discover what postback is in our comprehended article.

2. User-Friendly Dashboard and Detailed Reports

As a rule, trackers offer their users a convenient main dashboard with brief statistics that are updated in real time. Such a panel is especially convenient for quickly viewing the main statistics. Using this data allows you to determine the correctness of your marketing approach, identify a target audience, and accelerate the growth of your company.

3. Streamlined Automation

Automation plays a crucial role in optimizing affiliate marketing processes. Automating tasks allows you to collect the necessary data in real time, enabling you to make adjustments to campaigns. In addition, this process allows you to automate payments and other processes.

4. Fraud Prevention

Fraudulent activities pose a threat to affiliate marketing as well. They manifest in various forms, ranging from simple email spamming and domain squatting (typosquatting) to the creation of web pages with names resembling popular websites. To protect affiliate marketing campaigns, it is imperative to select a sophisticated anti-fraud protection affiliate tracking software. Safeguarding against fraud is essential for ensuring the integrity and success of your marketing efforts.

Features of CPA Affiliate Marketing Tools for Tracking

Let’s discuss the key features you should consider when selecting software solutions. Initially, you only need basic tools, while additional features provide extra information and data about your performance:

• Traffic Distribution: CPA tracking software provides valuable information about the distribution of your traffic. This includes information about traffic sources such as countries, demographics, and gender characteristics. Understanding the origin of your traffic allows you to optimize your marketing strategies accordingly. For example, if your audience is made up of mostly women, you can customize your campaigns to target this demographic. Additionally, if certain marketing channels are ineffective, you can focus on more productive channels. Expect CPA tracking software to provide detailed information about your traffic sources;
  
  
  
• URL Shortener: URL shortening is an important feature for affiliates. It allows you to create shorter versions of your affiliate links. Long affiliate links can be awkward and can reveal your affiliate ID, potentially leading to hacking or malware replacing the ID. By using a URL shortener, you can prevent these problems and make your links more concise and easily shareable. Many affiliate tracking software tools offer URL shortener capabilities, allowing you to track and effectively use shortened links;
  
  
  
• Integrations: While CPA campaign tracking software provides analytics, an affiliate may need additional platforms to more fully analyze the data. Many tracking tools offer integrations with Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google AdWords, and Google AdSense. The goal is to provide you with all the information you need to optimize your marketing efforts, so you’ll find a wide range of integrations in most CPA tracking tools;
  
  
  
• Conversion Tracking: The most important aspect of the software is conversion tracking. You can evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns and determine which actions on the website are the best to generate conversions. Conversion tracking is usually displayed in the form of graphs covering different months and days.

Remember to consider these features when selecting CPA affiliate tracking software, as they can significantly enhance your affiliate marketing experience and performance.

Best Affiliate Tracking Software

1. BeMob

BeMob is an affiliate marketing platforms that provides a rapid and efficient way to test landing pages, monitor and distribute traffic effectively to maximize return on investment (ROI). This tool also allows users to customize their own presets for campaigns and tracking. All campaign data is securely stored in the cloud.

Features:

• Conversion statuses tracker;
  
• Checking of percentage of traffic loss from each source;
  
• Traffic redirection when limiting conversions for an offer.
  

Pricing:

You can take advantage of a free trial, which finishes once you exceed 100,000 events per month. After that, there is a charge of $0.05 for every 1,000,000 events.

2. Keitaro

Keitaro tracker is one of the top software for affiliate marketers due to its extensive range of features and adaptable nature. With Keitaro, you can delve deep into analysis thanks to its comprehensive set of over 30 metrics and more than 100 parameters. This wealth of data empowers affiliates to make informed decisions swiftly, relying on data-driven insights.

Keitaro further distinguishes itself by incorporating a built-in landing page editor, a customizable GeoDB, and advanced offer management capabilities. These features empower affiliates to create highly tailored campaigns that cater to different target audiences or marketing objectives. For example, the ability to utilize diverse landing pages for various demographic groups enhances personalization and engagement.

Features:

• Tracking of any kind of traffic;
  
• Split testing of streams, landings, offers;
  
• The built-in traffic simulation tool to test your funnel.
  

Pricing:

There is a 14-day trial. When the trial ends, the monthly subscription cost is $53.

3. Binom

Binom is a self-hosted tracking platform. The tracker serves as the primary tool for affiliate partners, as it has a significant impact on their results. Ensuring accurate tracking is of utmost importance, as tracking errors can result in a loss of ROI. 

Features:

• Paths and rules system with 20+ metrics, including uniqueness, proxy, IP-range and time of day;
  
• Possibility to change the distribution weight for any campaign;
  
• Sending users to landing pages or offers which they hasn’t seen yet.
  

Pricing:

You install the service and work on it for free for 14 days. The cost of the paid version is $69 per month.

4. FunnelFlux

FunnelFlux is widely known as one of the most popular tracking platforms. The platform works on the postback and S2S principle like other tracking systems. However, since FunnelFlux is a standalone solution, initial setup may require some technical knowledge, which the FunnelFlux team is ready to help with.

Features:

• Visual funnel builder;
  
• Email opt-in conversion tracking;
  
• No-redirect Javascript tracking.
  

Pricing:

FunnelFlux suggests one flat price, no extra charges, no hidden fees. FunnelFlux subscription costs $99 per month. Your first month costs only $1.

5. Voluum

Voluum is positioned as one of the leading performance tracking platforms. As a cloud-based tracker, the software excels in real-time data tracking. It operates smoothly and efficiently, ensuring high-speed performance.

Features:

• Generating comprehensive and detailed reports;
  
• Organizing traffic based on various parameters such as country, network, device type, operating system, and browser;
  
• Conducting analysis on non-converting and fraudulent sites, campaign performance, and bot traffic.
  

Pricing:

Voluum does not offer a trial period, which could be considered a minor drawback. Those interested in trying out the software would need to make a minimum payment of $199.

6. AdsBridge

AdsBridge is a prominent tracking solution in the market, preferred by major players, including affiliate networks that rely on its comprehensive tracking capabilities. AdsBridge facilitates direct integration with various trusted partners, including reputable affiliate networks and traffic sources. The integration process can be completed swiftly, typically in under five minutes.

AdsBridge presents key statistics such as clicks, conversions, click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate (CR), costs, and profits. These detailed statistics enable users to identify optimization opportunities quickly. The stats are regularly updated, usually with minimal delays of up to two minutes.

Features:

• Split and A/B testing;
  
• Landing page builder;
  
• Rotation of URLs.
  

Pricing:

The tracker offers a trial period where users can access all features and functionalities. After the trial, users can select a plan based on their traffic volume requirements. The available plan options have visit limits of 100,000, 1,000,000, 4,000,000, and 10,000,000. Prices for these plans start at $29 per month. Additionally, there is a free plan available that allows up to 50,000 visits per month.

7. PeerClick

PeerClick is often referred to as Binom’s younger sibling. The cloud-based tracker operates at a rapid pace. The platform has the capability to handle immense volumes of traffic, processing over 1 billion clicks per day across all accounts. The using of cloud technology enables instantaneous analysis of campaign data, allowing real-time tracking of expenses, income, and conversions.

Features:

• Anti-Fraud Protection to identify suspicious behavior;
  
• Analysis of campaigns in real-time with the help of AI;
  
• Direct tracking pixel of ad exchanges and networks that don’t allow the initial redirect.
  

Pricing:

PeerClick offers free access to basic functionality, which is a particularly appealing feature. The tracker imposes limitations on the number of events based on the selected plan: up to 100,000 for the free option, up to 3,000,000, up to 10,000,000, and up to 30,000,000. Any additional events beyond the allotted limit will incur additional charges, priced at $0.1 per 1,000 events for the free plan and $0.03 per 1,000 events for the basic plan.

8. Appsflyer

Appsflyer is a tracker that includes built-in fraud protection measures. It provides comprehensive statistical analysis and detailed analytics presented in a single report. Appsflyer simplifies the process of working with paid traffic sources and provides transparent analytics, ultimately enhancing the ROI of campaigns through effective retargeting strategies.

Features:

• Accessible cohort reports;
  
• Multifunctional, customizable dashboards;
  
• Microsegmentation of audiences.
  

Pricing:

A free trial with no time limit is available, allowing users to explore the tracker’s capabilities. As businesses expand, special pricing plans are offered to startups, accommodating their evolving needs.

9. Trackier

Trackier offers a range of advantages aimed at enhancing communication and relationships with affiliates. The platform ensures data protection and minimizes downtime, offering a reliable and secure system. Users can access the platform anytime without worrying about the security of their information.

Trackier’s advanced features assist in effectively managing residual clicks. Campaigns can be controlled based on various targeting rules, such as targeting by ISP or city preferences. This enables users to gain a better understanding of their site visitors.

Features:

• Analysis traffic in real-time, proactively identifying potential fraud before it occurs;
  
• 24/7 access and the security of affiliates information;
  
• Possibility to control campaigns based on various targeting rules, such as targeting by ISP or city preferences.
  

Pricing:

Free trial is available. Then the price of the tracker starts from $499 per month.

10. ThriveTracker

ThriveTracker is a cloud-based tracking platform for managing mobile and web campaigns specifically designed for affiliates. One notable aspect of ThriveTracker is that it is a self-hosted private tracker. This means that your data remains under your control, stored in your own database.

The tracker stands out with its user-friendly interface, making it an excellent choice for those who are new to tracking affiliate marketing metrics. Additionally, ThriveTracker offers a wide range of useful features to enhance campaign management.

Features:

• Artificial Intelligence auto optimization;
  
• Geo-redirect/bot filter;
  
• LP Pixel.
  

Pricing:

You can start with 14 days for free. With the Cloud Lite+ package, you’ll receive a generous allowance of 500,000 clicks included in your subscription. Priced at just $72 per month, this plan offers excellent value for your tracking needs.

Free Affiliate Tracking Software

There is also free teaching software in affiliate marketing that also provides convenient capabilities to track campaigns. However, free access is available only to the basic functions of platforms. Let’s have a look at the table below.

How to choose Affiliate Marketing Software

So, one of the important parts is how to choose affiliate management software. We chose trackers based on a number of parameters that you should also consider if you choose an affiliate program on your own.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, it is essential to consider that most successful affiliate software tools are not available for free or allow to use a limited range of functions. Therefore, you must carefully select one among them and pay for the subscription of that specific tool.

The pricing of these services is crucial as it determines the amount and quality of data they collect and provide to you. It is important to realize that you will receive value in accordance with what you pay for, so it’s necessary to have a clear understanding of what you are investing in.

Interface

In the realm of analytics, it is crucial to use a tool with a well-organized interface that enhances readability and offers a clear hierarchy of data. A tracking software lacking a user-friendly interface that allows you to swiftly and effortlessly extract the desired data with just a few clicks is not satisfactory. You require tracking software with an easy-of-use interface that facilitates navigation and ensures that all necessary data can be obtained rapidly.

Look into the available integrations and how easily you can connect the tool with other components, such as your payment provider. Seamless integration is key to a smooth workflow.

Tracking Limit

Each affiliate tracking software has its own limitations when it comes to tracking metrics such as clicks, actions, users, websites, and offers on a monthly basis. For instance, some tracking software may have a maximum limit of 1 million clicks per month, while others offer unlimited tracking capabilities.

The tracking limit is significant because it often correlates with the cost of the tracking software. Typically, the more you pay for the software, the higher the tracking limit you can expect.

Features and Settings

always verify whether a specific feature is included in the plan you are interested in before making a decision. This will allow you to thoroughly evaluate the tool and ensure that it meets your expectations and requirements.

Support

Regardless of whether you’re an experienced affiliate marketer or a beginner, there will inevitably be occasions when you have questions or encounter difficulties. While no system is entirely immune to issues, it’s important to minimize downtime.

During these critical moments, having a responsive support team can be invaluable. When selecting tracking software, prioritize providers that offer multiple channels of support, such as live chat, email, or phone. It is also beneficial to choose a provider with a reputation for providing prompt and helpful responses.

Furthermore, don’t hesitate to test their support channels before committing to a subscription. This will give you firsthand experience of their responsiveness and effectiveness in resolving queries or concerns.

Data security

Data security is a crucial aspect to consider when selecting affiliate software. It is essential to choose a platform that places a high priority on data security.

The software should adhere to global security standards and regulations to safeguard your business data as well as the personal information of your affiliates.

When evaluating different options, be vigilant for features that enhance data security, such as two-factor authentication, data encryption, and secure data storage. These measures help ensure that sensitive information remains protected and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals.

By prioritizing data security in your selection process, you can safeguard your valuable data and establish trust with your affiliates, creating a secure environment for your affiliate marketing operations.

Veranika Minina

Veranika Minina is a fan of affiliate marketing. Veranika's articles are carefully crafted to simplify complex concepts, making them accessible to beginners while also offering fresh perspectives about CPA-networks for experienced marketers. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned marketer, Veranika's writings are sure to inspire, educate, and motivate, guiding you towards a profitable affiliate marketing journey.