Create an Affiliate Link

Introduction

Create effective affiliate links to track campaign performance and maximize shop revenue. This guide helps shop owners create affiliate links using affiliate software, one-time links, or recurring solutions. We'll cover UTM parameters and naming conventions for seamless integration and tracking.

Your Attribution Objectives

Use standard UTM parameters with affiliate partners to achieve marketing attribution objectives:

1. Measure affiliate marketing effectiveness as a channel and by individual partners
2. Compare performance across marketing channels (paid, organic, affiliate)
3. Analyze customer behavior differences by channel
4. Build custom audiences based on the affiliate channel

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Determine Your Needs

Before creating an affiliate link, answer:

• Do you use affiliate software to manage your program?
• Is the link for a one-time promotion or regular use?
• Do you need to send conversion data to external platforms?

Step 2: Set UTM Parameters

UTM parameters track campaign effectiveness. AnyTrack, Google Analytics, and 99% of marketing platforms collect these values.

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Important

The example tokens below are samples. Manually set names or IDs for your setup.

• utm_source: Identify the affiliate program or network (e.g., affiliate_name)
• utm_medium: Use referral
• utm_campaign: Use the offer or campaign name (e.g., affiliate_campaign)
• utm_id: Include the affiliate ID ({affiliateId})
• utm_content: Include the promotion name, if applicable ({promotional_content})

Example Template

?`utm_source`=affiliate_name&`utm_medium`=referral&`utm_campaign`=affiliate_campaign&utm_id={affiliateId}&`utm_content`={promotional_content}

Step 3: Use Affiliate Software

If using affiliate software:

• Integrate UTM parameters as described above
• Add dynamic macros to personalize links

Hasoffers example:

1. Affiliate ID token: {aff_id}
2. Offer ID token: {offer_id}
3. Offer name: {offer_name}

?`utm_source`={aff_id}&`utm_medium`=referral&`utm_campaign`={offer_name}&utm_id={offer_id}{aff_id}&`utm_content`={offer_name}&offer_id={offer_id}&aff_id={aff_id}&transaction_id={transaction_id}

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Good

Each affiliate platform provides values through their knowledge base or platform interface.

Step 4: Follow Naming Conventions

Establish clear naming conventions for your links. This helps organize campaigns and analyze data efficiently. Generate IDs for values to track individual affiliate performance accurately.

Step 5: Review and Optimize Regularly

Review affiliate link performance regularly. Use UTM parameter data to optimize campaigns, improve affiliate performance, and increase ROI.

Conclusion

Create affiliate links by understanding your needs, setting appropriate custom UTM parameters, and following naming and management best practices. Track and optimize affiliate marketing efforts to increase sales and build successful partnerships.