Voluum as an Affiliate Network: Partners in Custom Variables

The procedure below provides instruction about the recommended way to set up Voluum as an affiliate network for bigger number of partners. This method includes using custom variables in Voluum's traffic source setup to distinguish partners between each other. To keep their name hidden on the internet, you should use parnter IDs instead of real names.

I. Set Up Voluum As an Affiliate Network

Prepare parnter IDs. Depending on the platform you use to manage your parnters, this step will look differently. The point is to have a unique and anonymous ID for each parnter that you will use to identify them.
If you don't use any platform, you can prepare a list of affiliate names and IDs in any spreadsheet editing software, such as Microsoft Excel.
Add your offers to Voluum.
Click here to learn how to add an offer
In Voluum, go to Offers.
Click the Create button and select the Offer option from a drop-down menu.
Provide a name for your offer in the Offer name text field
Paste the offer URL in the Offer URL text field. This link should directly point to your offer.
You can add additional tracking parameters to this link if you want to pass any information to your offer. If you want to track conversions, you need to pass Voluum's click ID in the {clickid} token value that uniquely identifies each visit. Match this token with your offer's parameter name that is responsible for passing the click ID value to create the parameter_name={token} pair.
Your offer URL should look like this:
https://your_offer.com?parameter_name={clickid}
Click the Copy button to copy the postback URL. This is the target that you will have to send a request to report a conversion. To ensure that all conversions are counted correctly, you must pass back Voluum's click ID token using the cid parameter name.
Set up payout.
Select the Manual option and provide a payout value if you don't pass the payout value in the postback URL.
Select the Auto option if you pass payout value in the postback URL.
Click the Save button.
Create one traffic source for all partners.
Click here to learn how to add a traffic source
In Voluum, go to the Traffic sources tab.
Click the New traffic source button.
Select the Custom traffic source option.
Click the Next button.
Provide a name for your traffic source, such as My affiliates, in the Name text field.
Set up tracking parameters which will pass any additional information from affiliates. Traffic characteristics, such as country, city, or device type Voluum will fetch on its own.
If you require to pass conversion information back to the affiliate, you need to pass a unique external click ID assigned by affiliate's system, and match it with Voluum's {externalid} token. This value will be then passed back in the traffic source postback URL.
Set up var1 custom variable in a way that will make it easy to update it with an affiliate ID.
Name: Type in the name of this custom variable that will be visible only for you in Voluum reports. For example, Affiliate ID.
Parameter: Type in the name of the parameter that will be used to pass an affiliate ID value. For example, affiliate_id.
Token: Type in any placeholder text will be replaced with an affiliate ID later, for example, AFFILIATE_ID.
Set up any additional options according to your needs. Once finished, click the Save button.
Create a campaign in Voluum with offer elements and the traffic source that you have created.
Click here to learn how to add a campaign
In Voluum, go to the Campaigns tab.
Click the New campaign button.
Select the TRK simple option from the drop-down menu.
Select the private Workspace that you want to assign this campaign to. This is done for organizational purposes.
Select the traffic source that you have created from the Traffic source drop-down menu.
Provide a name for the campaign in the Name text field.
Select the Direct linking option. This will direct your affiliates' client directly to the offer.
Select the offer that you have created from the Offers drop-down menu.
Click the Save button.
Click the Copy button to copy the campaign URL to the clipboard.

Create a separate tracking URL for each of your affiliate by updating it with a partner ID. Your tracking URL that you have copied from Voluum should look like this:

http://voluum_dedicated_domain.com/12c93239-c201-4f56-9207-8308f6f8ce0c?affiliate_id=AFFILIATE_ID&clickid={clickid}

Replace the AFFILIATE_ID with the value parnter ID to create individual tracking URLs for each partner. Your modified tracking URLs should look like this:

http://voluum_dedicated_domain.com/12c93239-c201-4f56-9207-8308f6f8ce0c?affiliate_id=534567&clickid={clickid}
http://voluum_dedicated_domain.com/12c93239-c201-4f56-9207-8308f6f8ce0c?affiliate_id=129856&clickid={clickid}
http://voluum_dedicated_domain.com/12c93239-c201-4f56-9207-8308f6f8ce0c?affiliate_id=957612&clickid={clickid}

Give each partner their tracking URL.
Set up conversion tracking using one of the two methods:
Click here to learn how to set up conversion tracking with postback URL
In order for the conversion tracking to work, you need to set up your system in a way that will make a request to the postback URL that you have copied from Voluum. Your postback URL looks like this:
http://voluum_dedicated_domain.com/postback?cid=REPLACE&payout=OPTIONAL&txid=OPTIONAL
Note that you have to edit this postback URL in the following way:
replace the word REPLACE with the token that will be used to pass back the Voluum click ID value which has been passed in the offer URL. In most cases the token name will be similar to the parameter name used in the offer URL but in brackets. So, if you have used the following tracking parameter in the offer URL: s2={clickid}, the complete tracking parameter in the postback URL will look like this: cid={s2}
replace the word OPTIONAL next to payout with a token name dedicated to passing the payout value.
replace the word OPTIONAL next to txid with a token name that uniquely identifies the transaction. This is usefull if you want to distinguish between subsequent conversions. You can delete the whole tracking parameter if you do not plan to do this.
Your edited postback URL should look like this:
http://voluum_dedicated_domain.com/postback?cid={clickid_token}&payout={payout_token}&txid={transaction_id_token}
Click here to learn how to track conversions with pixel
Conversion tracking pixel is an alternative way of tracking conversion. It uses the small script, called conversion tracking pixel, which must be put on a "Thank You" page, i.e. page displayed on completed order. On page load, this pixel will make a request to Voluum with conversion information. In order to set it up, follow the steps below:
In Voluum, click the button to go to the Settings page.
Go to the Tracking URLs tab.
Copy the appropriate version of the pixel.
(Optional) You can edit the link in the conversion tracking pixel to include additional tokens. You don't have to include a token dedicated for passing the click ID value, as this value will be fetched from a browser's cookie, but you can include the tokens dedicated for passing the following values:
payout - replace the word OPTIONAL with the token that passed the payout value or a concrete numerical value.
transaction ID - replace the word OPTIONAL with the token that passes the transaction ID value. This is useful if you track subsequent conversions.
Implement the conversion tracking pixel on the "Thank You" page.
Set up conversion tracking for your partners.
Click here to learn how to set up conversion tracking for affiliates
(Optional) If your affiliates want to track conversions on their side, they will have to give you their postback URL. They can obtain it from either a traffic source platform or a tracking platform. This should be submited in the traffic source setup in Voluum. A sample postback URL looks like this:
https://domain.com/postback?cid=REPLACE&payout=OPTIONAL
Note that in this case:
cid is a parameter name dedicated for passing back a click ID value that has been originally passed in a campaign URL (which is an offer URL for them). You will have to pair it with a Voluum token name that stores their affiliate click ID value. This token is {externalid}.
payout is a parameter name dedicated to passing the payout information. You will have to pair it with a Voluum token that passes a payout value. This token is {payout}.
Your final edited traffic source postback URL should look like this:
https://domain.com/postback?cid={externalid}&payout={payout}
Go to the Traffic sources tab in Voluum and edit the traffic source that you have created.
Turn the Traffic source postback URL toggle on and paste the edited traffic source postback URL in the text field.
Click the Save button.

II. Check The Stats

Once your partners start sending traffic, you will be able to check the stats of each of your affiliate. To do this, perform the following steps:

Create a specific report of your campaign.
Select the V1: Affiliate ID option from the first grouping drop-down menu and click the Apply button.
Check the stats of each of your partners.

In this section:

Voluum as an Affiliate Network: Partners in Custom Variables

I. Set Up Voluum As an Affiliate Network

II. Check The Stats

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