Post Affiliate Pro implements advanced types of tracking to create accurate tracking results.
Weak tracking methods as IP address tracking or browser cookie tracking are just complementary tracking methods to strong flash cookie tracking.
Post Affiliate Pro always uses the strongest possible tracking methods, and falls down only in the event tracking methods are not available for a specific visitor.
Tracking methods are evaluated in the following order:
1. Flash cookie tracking
2. Browser cookie tracking - First party cookie stored on tracked domain
3. Browser cookie tracking - Third party cookie stored on domain of Post Affiliate Pro
4. IP address tracking
This is the strongest and most accurate tracking method. It is based on Flash player, which is currently installed in more than 98% of all Internet browsers.
One big advantage of Flash cookie tracking is its cross browser support. For example, a visitor visited your site in Internet Explorer and later ordered a product in Firefox. Post Affiliate Pro will still correctly assign that transaction to your affiliate, because the visitor was tracked with a flash cookie, which is the same in all browsers installed on a particular computer.
Read more in our blog...
Read more in our Knowledgebase
This is a tracking method, which is not as strong as Flash Cookie tracking, but is a very good complementary backup method in case Flash cookie tracking can't be used (e.g. happens in very rare cases when Flash player is not installed in browser). This is the most commonly used tracking method in other affiliate software, that doesn't support Flash cookie tracking. This is one of the biggest reasons that customers choose Post Affiliate Pro instead of other affiliate tracking software. PAP is much more accurate with Flash cookie tracking.
Browser cookies have disadvantages:
- Cookies registered in one browser will not work in another browser on the same computer (e.g. Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Firefox and others)
- Users can easily delete cookies in the browser user interface, so the sales will not be tracked correctly
In addition to those disadvantages, there are browser cookies — safe tracking methods capable of tracking sales with the same data quality. All parameters tracked with Flash cookies can then be saved in browser cookies as well, but still lacking the cross browser support.
Read more about cookies created by Post Affiliate Pro
This method is only used when the browser cookies can’t be found, as well as when no flash player is installed in browser. This happens rarely, but Post Affiliate Pro counts those events.
During the sale tracking process, we search for the last known click from the visitor’s IP. If we find it, then the affiliate and campaign id from this click is used, and sales commission can be created.
