markwelch
November 7th, 2007, 12:15 PM
While reviewing the statistics for one of my ShareASale merchants (whose conversion rate has precipitously dropped from 1.05% to 0.68% over the past few months), one factor I evaluated was how "cookie duration" might be affecting my earnings. This particular merchant sets a 60-day cookie (unchanged since program launch), and I'm seeing the following distribution of transaction revenues:
61% 0-11 hours
4% 12-23 hours
11% 1-6 days
8% 7-14 days
8% 15-29 days
9% 30-60 days
This was somewhat surprising -- only 76% of transactions occurred during the first week, and only 91% during the first month after referral.
Since 9% of transactions occurred during the "second month after referral," I am quite confident that an increase in cookie duration would have a meaningful impact on commissions, with a 120- or 180-day cookie potentially adding 10% or more to total commissions.
I've sent an email to the merchant, requesting three things: first, an increased commission rate; second, an increased cookie duration; and third, some research into whether the declining conversion may be caused by a technical issue (such as adding Google Checkout or PayPal payments).
61% 0-11 hours
4% 12-23 hours
11% 1-6 days
8% 7-14 days
8% 15-29 days
9% 30-60 days
This was somewhat surprising -- only 76% of transactions occurred during the first week, and only 91% during the first month after referral.
Since 9% of transactions occurred during the "second month after referral," I am quite confident that an increase in cookie duration would have a meaningful impact on commissions, with a 120- or 180-day cookie potentially adding 10% or more to total commissions.
I've sent an email to the merchant, requesting three things: first, an increased commission rate; second, an increased cookie duration; and third, some research into whether the declining conversion may be caused by a technical issue (such as adding Google Checkout or PayPal payments).
