Introduction

Tracking is the attribution of action or the aligning of clicks to orders. Publishers are paid for the actions that originated from the clicks they are generating from their websites. A reliable and trustworthy tracking system is important to ensure publishers get properly compensated, and advertisers are protected from fraudulent activity.

Tracking Basics

In the tracking process, there are two critical events captured:

1. Clicks from the publisher’s website, this includes:
   • The time and date of the click.
   • The publisher’s website.
2. Transactions on the advertiser’s website, includes:
   • The advertiser’s website.
   • Date and time of the transaction.
   • Amount of the transaction and the currency.
   • Order number associated with the transaction.

Those involved in these events are:

• The consumer who is completing the transaction.
• The publisher or affiliate.
• The Rakuten Advertiser Network.
• The advertiser or merchant.

Two Categories of Tracking

There are two primary categories of tracking.

1. Server-based: The data is transmitted from the advertiser’s server to the network server. The advertiser is provided with confirmation of the transaction to the network server. It is possible to resend that data later if necessary. 
2. Browser-based: The data is transmitted from the browser using a pixel. This pixel should not be removed. There is no method of confirming the advertiser receives that data. If there is an issue in communicating data, there is no way to go back and recover it. 

Tracking Details Comparison

Click + to see more:

Importance of Cookies

Affiliate sales are often tracked by Cookies, which are small text files sent by the origin site on a user’s browser. Cookie life, or return days or hours, is set by the advertiser program. Though GDPR changed how cookies are used in advertising, cookies are still important to the process.

Next Steps

As you continue to learn, it is important to understand how link code works.