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Affiliate Networks Not Using Direct Track

Friday, 19 December 2008 · Print Post 9 Comments

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As you know I always and usually have issues with networks that use Direct Track, I hate their reporting system. I automatically have issues with tracking especially with subids or there are issues with the advertisers, there is always something. I have blogged about it several times, I have also been contacted by Direct Track themselves. Well today I will be doing a write up of the networks that do not use Direct Track and why, they have a far better reporting than DT networks.

Hydra Network
Hydra has a ton of offers and a ton of exclusives. I find them pretty well formatted. Though I have not sent them high volume but with the volume I have sent there were no issues with my tracking. I found it very easy to grab the affiliate links, populate the creative, create the subids, find the subids, etc. Hydra is a great place to start with tons of offers and easy tracking. One thing that is pretty cool is the sidebar graph, when you log into their dashboard, you get an overall sense of your traffic and income generated.

Motive Interactive: Advent
If you have not seen my video reviews of Motive, then you are definitely missing out on a proprietary system. Their ajax system is great and very simple to use. I found their tracking is not real real time, but it does track all the subids. I friggin love the interface with the visual graphs, it gives me a quick overview of where I am currently standing instead of putting everything into excel. Their network is very solid and had never had any issues related to tracking – just maybe I wish tracking can load a bit faster, especially if I am testing a campaign.

CX Digital
CX has a nice system and one of the networks that allows you to export subids or stats to CSV. This makes it easy for me to dissect the information and quickly filter out converted clicks. The reporting breakdown each click (if your using Prosper202) and shows you the offer, instead of just the subid. There are not multiple options like DT to find what you want. CX also gives you the chance to just show converted subids as well.

Neverblue
I think one of the easiest reporting and stats. It gives you the option to view html and export to excel. It also breaks the subids down to the offer and you can show only conversions as well. You can chose specific date ranges as other networks. One cool thing they have this site categorizer. If you have more than 1 site with NBA then you can see where the clicks are coming from, especially if you do more of a banner advertisement. It is also very simple to navigate, I think I click 3 things in my NeverBlue Dashboard and my report populates.

Advaliant
Not so interface friendly reporting, but it gets the job done. It has a very simple interface and tracks subids. There is no sorting of any kinda. There is only 3 options that you can chose from and it is very general. But you get your stats and I never had any issues with their reporting. It is on point and real time, especially if your testing the offers and you want to see the live subids click.

OfferWeb
Very simple interface and gives you quite a few options such as leads generated, subids, daily rev report, etc. It is very straight forward and simple, there really isn’t any awe to their reporting. I also currently know they are switching their tracking to LinkTrust, not sure how that works. But I think anything is better than DT.

Azoogle Ads
Their tracking system is great. It can be a bit complicated but you can get use to it within 10 minutes after playing around with some of the options. The best part is the day parting tracking they have which is the best feature and I think every networks should have. It helps optimize CTR by time of day and even conversions. Everything is simple to use on their end and doesn’t require much knowledge to figure out what type of report you want to look at or generate.

These are the networks that I have had experience with and played with. There are other networks that has non DT tracking such as MonetizeIt and Viral Partnership. I have not delt with these networks personally, so I can not talk from experience. But if you are looking for non Direct Track tracking systems then looking at these networks or even starting with these networks can be a plus. I mean if you read my blog in the past, direct track sucks ass.

If you have had issues with Direct Track then you know the pain, you see stats in diffrent reports that you wont see in another, strange. DT has just too many options for simple reporting, I want to see clicks and conversions that is basically it. Also with the ability to sort and dissect the clicks more carefully (especially if your not using P202) then you want to get the most details from a click or conversions.

What network gives you the best reporting without any issues?? Post them at AFFpinions.com
or comment below is cool too…


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9 Comments »

  • Binaural Audio Beats said:

    Thank you very much for this list.

    I am already with a few of them. I will sign up to the others ASAP.

    It seems like when I sign up under someone of your “caliber”, not trying to make your head to big here, I feel like I get accepted easier with less hoops.

    Who knows? Maybe I just smoked too much today…

  • Thiago Prado said:

    Ian,

    I talked to some people and they always complain about CJ reports. It seems that a lot of conversions are not paid because they didn’t track it [supposedly by mistake].

    I asked some friends to acquire a product I’m promoting and out of 6 people that bought only 4 leads are showing in CJ’s report. [losing 33% of all leads].

  • PPC Coach said:

    One major issue with direct track that no one ever tells you is this. IF the offer you are promoting is a cross published one, then the subid tracking does NOT work. They are working on a fix for this in the new year, but as of right now, any offer that is a cross published one, (IE an offer another DT network puts out on the cross pub system), it will not pass any subid values.

    This makes tracking a huge pain as your only option is getting a pixel placed.

    Just an fyi that is not mentioned often, (or at all).

    :)

  • Ian (author) said:

    > PPC Coach
    awesome thanks! havent heard of that one at all

    > Thiago
    hmm interesting – I know som people have had issues with CJ. I personally have not had any issues really. except with the delay of reporting.

  • peter bordes said:

    Ian
    Thank you for including MediaTust/Advaliant in the review. We have some new things in the pipeline for 2009 that are going to start rolling out in Jan. our goal is to innovate and empower the performance marketing industry. i am looking forward to having your thoughts and insights on it!

    See you at Aff Summit! Happy Holidays!

  • Charity said:

    The network distribute targeted campaigns on behalf of advertisers through its affiliate network of website, paid search, incentive, lead generation, subscriber email, and co-registration publisher. Advertiser are charged on a per-result basis for verified sales, new member signups, qualified leads or other defined transaction. According to the company’s website, Hydra Network currently drives over 20 million visits to advertisers’ sites and more than 2 million transaction customers each month. Advertisers served include major direct marketers, ecommerce including credit repair, and shopping web sites and Fortune 500 brands.

  • kim said:

    Is CJ using directtrack?

  • Peter Koning said:

    @kim No, CJ runs their own proprietary platform. That’s why Ian has it listed on this list. Nice job Ian!

  • Daneka Soudak said:

    Hey Ian
    Funnily enough I came across your post from a colleague here at Adsmarket. I’ve known about you long before from my husband Ariel. Anyway, you could add Adsmarket to your list. We also run on a proprietary platform, and agree that Direct Track has some flaws.
    If you want to get more information, you can email me!

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