AffiliateWP tracks unique visits, which may differ from the metrics tracked by analytics tools, such as page views, sessions, or clicks. This distinction in tracking methods often leads to a difference in reported numbers.
Understanding how AffiliateWP records visits can help clarify these discrepancies and ensure your affiliate program operates as expected.
What Is a Unique Visit?
When an affiliate’s referral link is used to reach your website, AffiliateWP sets a cookie in the visitor’s browser to track that visit. A unique visit is recorded only once while the cookie remains active. Subsequent visits by the same browser do not create additional entries in AffiliateWP » Visits, as long as the original cookie is still valid.
This ensures that referrals are accurately credited to affiliates without inflating visit counts. Even if additional visits are not logged, any purchases or signups made by the visitor will still generate a referral for the affiliate.
Settings That Influence Visit Tracking
Cookie Expiration
The length of time a cookie remains active depends on the Cookie Expiration setting in AffiliateWP » Settings » Commissions. By default, this is set to one day, but you can configure it to a different duration.
For example:
- If the cookie expiration is set to 30 days, the same visitor clicking the affiliate link multiple times within 30 days will only result in one visit being recorded.
Credit Last Referrer
This setting, also located in AffiliateWP » Settings » Commissions, determines whether visits from different affiliate links are logged as new visits.
- If enabled, each unique affiliate link clicked by a visitor creates a new visit, with the most recent affiliate being credited for any resulting referrals.
- If disabled, only the first affiliate link clicked will count, and subsequent clicks will not create additional visits.
Testing and Troubleshooting Visit Tracking
To ensure accurate tracking or test your settings, follow these steps:
Clear AffiliateWP Cookies
Clear cookies stored in your browser to simulate a new visitor and ensure no residual cookies are affecting the test. For detailed instructions, check out the article: How to delete AffiliateWP’s cookies from your browser.
Test Multiple Affiliate Links
Use different affiliate links to confirm how the Credit Last Referrer setting impacts visit creation.
Verify Cookie Settings
Confirm that the Cookie Expiration setting aligns with your expectations for visit tracking duration.
That’s it! AffiliateWP’s unique visit tracking is designed to provide accurate and reliable results for affiliate referrals. While it may not match analytics tools that track every page view or click, it ensures fair and consistent credit for your affiliates. By understanding key settings such as Cookie Expiration and Credit Last Referrer, you can fine-tune your tracking system to meet your needs. If discrepancies persist, testing your setup and clearing cookies will help identify and resolve any issues.