As affiliate marketing has grown and matured, there has been much debate around how to attribute value based on models beyond the “last-click-wins”.
Some believe that a multi-attribution approach that rewards affiliates at different touch-points along the customer journey may be preferable. This is because content sites which have helped to educate the consumer are being “cannibalised” by voucher-code affiliates.
Networks and agencies have responded to this issue by trying to help advertisers understand what is happening during the customer journey, so that they can recognise and reward affiliates who have added value.
“A significant trend has been the development of technologies to ensure fair remuneration for all,” said Alison Guise.
While on the surface, multi-attribution seems like a fairer approach, there are some potential flaws associated with this model.
Mark Kuhillow of R.O.EYE explained why multi-attribution needs to be managed carefully:
“There has been much talk about multi-attribution over the past year; this has been born out of a greater focus on quality. We have seen our client, eBay, move towards a completely new model in their Quality Click Pricing, which awards a CPC rate based on
the wider quality of affiliate referred customers.
“A wider MA [multi-attribution] model may not be around for a while as it will be reliant of the establishment of an industry standard, and that consensus could take time to cement. Multi-attribution may work to reset the dominance of certain affiliate genres over others, especially content sites who often complain of falling conversions in the place of sites that are more likely to win a last click such as cash-back and voucher-code sites.
“However, it may also represent a threat. If it is not rolled out with care, MA threatens to water down commissions to the extent that a campaign is no longer profitable for any touch-point in the purchasing/acquisition chain.”
Marketers also need to consider the bigger picture. Affiliate marketing should be employed as part of a wider strategy and not measured in isolation. In theory, multi-attribution models should
recognise the wider contribution of other channels such as paid search and display advertising in the broader online marketing mix.
From the advertiser's point of view, a deeper understanding around the customer journey can help to inform where they allocate budget.
What metrics should a multi-attribution model take into account?
There are a variety of ways in which a multi-attribution approach can work. In 2009, in conjunction with its agency R.O.EYE, eBay implemented the quality-based CPC model to measure the impact of affiliate marketing. This attributes commissions based on the value of the traffic sent to eBay.
Payouts also factor in revenue streams such as eBay advertising revenue and PayPal revenue resulting from increased traffic and transactions. This enables eBay to reward affiliates who drive
good traffic, and is a shift away from the CPA model usually associated with affiliate marketing.
CPA fragmentation entails looking at all the different sites that led to conversion, and then assigning a value to the contribution of the site. The commissions are split and then paid to affiliates based on the contribution to the overall sale.
Other multi-attribution models look at a range of different metrics. These might include: the number of new versus returning customers being driven to the advertiser's site, the average order
value driven by different types of affiliates, as well as the quality of traffic, the transaction path and different commissions for the initiator and the closer of the sale.
It can be argued that a multi-attribution system looks into different clicks, and so even a multiclick model that shares commissions between different affiliates is flawed because value is not based on the click itself, but other metrics and KPIs.
Overall, a better reward system is needed that does not place value on more clicks. It is essential for affiliates, advertisers and networks to work closely together to find a payment model that also provides transparency about quality of traffic.
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