Real Attribution Insights – renewed approach to cashback

Since the start of Real Attribution, TradeTracker has seen that cashback publishers are changing their business models to adapt to new attributed remuneration models. Not only does this lead to more touchpoints, it has made cashback publishers less dependent on tenancies and increased the overall number of conversions as well! In order to increase performance-based income, publishers now also need to invest in generating initiating and assisting touchpoints, as the publishers that do this gain an advantage over their competitors by attracting the customer at all stages of the customer journey.

Cashback publishers mastering Real Attribution

With the classic ‘last-click’ model, publishers often focused on winning the last click to secure their income. Cashback publishers have mastered this model, adding value for their members by sharing (part of) their revenue if they shop with them. This industry moved to a situation in which these publishers put their emphasis on granting the best cash back to their members compared to other competing sites, adding value for their members by offering the best deal. TradeTracker has seen that this model has led to cashback publishers shifting to a converting role, rather than the initiating and assisting roles these publishers had in the past. As their role as a converter became more dominant, less attention was focused on the potential added value their massive platforms could offer in all stages of the funnel.

Cashback publishers earn more by adding value

When commission is distributed amongst all touchpoints within a conversion path, publishers are not only rewarded for generating the last touchpoint. Publishers are encouraged to drive traffic in more stages of the funnel that leads to the customer’s decision to purchase a certain product. This means that cashback sites, which can directly access and target an enormous pool of potential customers, are now able to jump out of the ‘last-click-box’ and drive customers in earlier stages. Because members are usually rewarded based on the converting touchpoint, this could lead an increased margin, thanks to attributed initiating or assisting touchpoints. This gives even more room to invest in generating relevant upper-funnel touchpoints, ultimately resulting in an upwards spiral. These additional revenue streams can be used to give members a better cashback, increasing the overall conversion rates even more!

Generate more revenue by upscaling activities with Cashback publishers

By changing the remuneration model from ‘last-click’ to an attributed one, cashback publishers are no longer competing with other types of publishers. Instead of one publisher taking it all, commission is now distributed over all touchpoints involved in a conversion, shifting the focus from competing, to cooperating. As a result, cashback publishers are investing in more channels to generate touchpoints. By intensifying their efforts in channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and email, cashback publishers are creating awareness for campaigns that they are working with. Next to that, TradeTracker is noticing a more content driven strategy, focusing on both inspiring and informing members about products and advertisers, to generate more relevant touchpoints.

Since the launch of Real Attribution, TradeTracker has seen a significant number of cashback publishers being accepted onto campaigns for which they were not previously accepted on the
classic last-click model, hence also creating additional revenue for advertisers. During this period, advertisers have seen their conversion rates within their performance campaigns increasing significantly as cashback publishers now need to show their added value in all phases of the decision-making process, just like all other publishers.

Unlock the full potential of your campaign now and make the switch to Real Attribution, allowing you to grow and diversify your affiliate base.