Associate Referral Glitch / Click on View Details Removes the Associate Referral

[Susang6]

An associate referral link test was done from Pinterest, Twitter, and  Facebook.  The test was also done on referral links on my blogs.  All links open to a View Details page and Not product home page.

You can see the referral code on the view details page.

But when you click “View Details” the link opens to the product home page and the referral code does not follow. 

The associate referral falls off as soon as you click on the “View Details”  You have a straight link on the product home page.

The removal of the referral codes will put an end to 3rd parties businesses as they will be unable to earn their associate referral on products.  This hurts anyone who promotes other designers' products or their own product associate referral links as they will no longer earn from the link.

Please test this by clicking on a referral link on any social media.  Does the referral link fall off when you click on view details?  Share your findings here,

See my first question on this topic here 

[PacifierCity · Accepted solution]

@Susang6 

The purpose of attaching the rfid is to bring someone to Zazzle.  As you note, the id does stick when they first arrive at the site.  The visitors activities after that will happen under the rfid that was attached to the link that brought them here.  Once they click another link, in this case the view details link, the referral id is no longer shown.  That is normal.  For the next 30 days or so any activity that they conduct on Z will be tied to that rfid... even if they leave and then come back 3 days later.  When they come back, a rfid# is not going to be displayed in the urls they visit on Z.  But the referral system recognizes the cookie(rfid) that has been set in the customers browser and will reward the associate whose id it is as long as it falls under the various rules that govern the program.  Remember that you can send someone to any page on Z and set your cookie (rfid) and if they go onto purchase, you earn... assuming the various rules that govern the program are met.  Z does not transfer the url parameter that is your rfid to each link a customer clicks.  I think that would be a complicated thing to accomplish.  The only time you need to have the rfid appended would be on the very first url that the customer arrives at Z on.  In this case it is that page where the customer needs to click view product details to continue on to the product.  And remember too that even if they follow your product link, but get distracted by all the other products on the page... if your in the associate program, not the promoter program, you will earn if they end up purchasing someone else's product.

I hope that makes sense.

PC

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[Susang6]

That is very confusing...and remember reading about that long ago. 

I think what is bothersome is the View Product Details page and not the product home page.,  I don't understand that at all, Why its necessary to have the view details and not a direct link to the product.  

Sales have bottomed out and I am desperate for a reason.  The view product details page shows other people's designs and it is easy for the customer to become distracted, they will scroll to see other people's designs, or the AdSense products and forget about why they came in the first place, they came due to my product design.

I know this firsthand because my own husband clicked on the view details products page, then he  saw other people's designs and yes he clicked on their product and asked is this yours I said No and he said "how do I get back to your product" 

I just lost my customer. 

I used to have a great referral business, but the cookie doesn't follow, I will send customers a direct link and they will buy and I will not get the referral.  I was told it was due to their browsers not clearing when they clicked on the direct link.  It's getting so difficult to make a sale at Zazzle. 

Feeling sad

[PacifierCity]

I can totally empathize with you.  I was an everyday seller with the occasional goose egg.  For about a month, sales seemed to almost completely disappear.  Sales are back, but now I get a day or two of goose eggs and then a higher level of multiple sales on the days that do have sales.  More so than before.  It is weird.  But Z shook up the algorithm and things needs to settle out and I figure we are about a month into that process.  I figure it is going to take several months for things to settle.  Where I'll be left when that happens is anyones guess...

I slowed my referral earnings awhile back when P changed things up a little more than a year ago.  It was an emotional decision that I wish I could have stayed head strong with and not gotten emotional about it.  I have focused a lot on product creation and new projects yet to be released.  Getting back into promotional work is something I need to return to, but life has gotten in the way.  Soon I keep telling myself as I do still earn referrals for pins that are years old now.  So the cookies do work.

The general rule of thumb for referrals is one earned for every thousand links clicked.  So watch your linkovers and see how that rule of thumb equates.   Referrals have always been tough to come by as there are so many variables to the rules that govern them.

Keep your chin up and carry on.  Things got shook up, including many designers... but things will settle back out and products that sell will make there way back to the top and continue selling.  It is just going to take some time....

PC

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[orientcourt]

Great advice PacifierCity , for any person who has been effected by the algorithym changes and need for cover photos resulting in almost non existent sales! Including myself ! Creating new products is also good for the soul ! However if you are dependent on sales to boost your income then this can be a huge loss! Jillian

[Susang6]

I think the Algorithm is awesome for elites and other top sellers.  Because ai will keep track of product sales and will push all products that have repeat sales to the top of the marketplace. So there will be continued sales and success for the creator and Zazzle.

For the rest of us who have sales and views but not to the capacity of top sellers, I guess we will need to promote more to drive customers to our products and then we will have to pray that the customer clicks on "view product details" and does not get distracted by other designers products that are underneath the creator's product.

My supplemental online income has bottomed out at Zazzle, Amazon, and Adsense and I will have to figure out what I will do next. 

I don't see a future for new products since we have to drive traffic and get constant sales in order for the algorithm to track our product / push it to the marketplace.  

Thank you for letting me know what's going on I appreciate the fact that you have always been kind.