Affiliate Marketing Explained

No, we're NOT retargeting. We specialize in upper-funnel new customer acquisition through premium publishers using performance-based CPA pricing.

What we ARE:

What we're NOT:

We're display advertising only. NOT SEM/PPC.

Our channels:

We are NOT:

Why this distinction matters: Display reaches new customers actively consuming relevant content. SEM targets only people searching for keywords. Display is upper-funnel discovery; SEM is bottom-funnel conversion. We specialize in bringing new audiences to your brand.

Neither. We're a specialized technology platform with managed service.

We're NOT:

We ARE:

Five critical differences:

No guaranteed specific placements, but contextual targeting ensures relevance.

Why we don't guarantee specific sites:

We optimize for PERFORMANCE, not vanity placements. If Forbes converts poorly but Yahoo converts great for your product, we'll shift budget to Yahoo.

What we DO guarantee:

Why this is better: You get high-intent audiences in relevant content, continuously optimized for best conversions. You avoid irrelevant placements and wasted spend.

No—full transparency. Here's exactly what the pixel tracks:

Data Collected:

What You See in Reporting:

NOT a black box: You can see exactly which publishers, categories, and customer types are driving conversions. All conversion data is verified through your affiliate platform—you don't have to trust us, you trust your own affiliate network's tracking.

Honest answer: The pixel is essential for our 12-16x ROAS optimization.

Without customer journey tracking, we can't:

What we could do (not recommended):

Better alternative:

If you have concerns: We can schedule a technical call with your IT team to address specific security or performance concerns. Most brands find our GTM implementation is much easier than expected.

We're honest about this. We probably won't work together if:

Access to optimized strategies for Lookalike Audiences, Prospecting and Retargeting, efficient campaign management, transparent reporting and expert support to increase revenue.

Yes, advertisers can also work directly with affiliates. Trafficpark offers direct solutions for display and retargeting campaigns as your specialized partner.

Trafficpark gives you complete freedom. We work without minimum duration or cancellation periods.

Yes, including banner creation, billing and monitoring if desired.

We work with a performance-based billing model. You only pay for success.

We use both tracking methods, depending on the campaign.

Our onboarding process for merchants is designed for quick and efficient startup:

See Banner Sizes section below for all details.

The validation rate indicates how many of the conversions reported by the publisher are recognized as valid by the advertiser after review.

Not all reported transactions meet the advertiser's conditions. Reasons may include:

· Cancellations or returns

· Duplicate conversions (e.g., through multiple tracking)

· Incorrect or invalid discount codes

· Fraud or inadmissible traffic

Affiliate Marketing is an internet-based commission model where advertisers pay a commission to partners (affiliates/publishers) for successful actions (e.g., sales, leads).

The main players are: Advertisers, Affiliates/Publishers, Customers/Users and Affiliate Networks.

Performance-based (costs only on success), broad reach, scalability, utilizing affiliate expertise.

Content Websites, Price Comparison Sites, Display Publishers, Cashback Portals, Coupon Sites, Deal Websites, Social Media Affiliates and more.

Websites that offer high-quality content (articles, blog posts, reviews) on a topic and integrate relevant affiliate links for product recommendations.

A DSP is a platform for advertisers and agencies through which they can automatically purchase advertising space. It connects advertisers with many Ad Exchanges and Ad Networks to centrally control reach and targeting.

An Ad Exchange is a digital marketplace where advertising space is traded in real-time. Publishers offer their inventories here, advertisers purchase them via DSPs. The auction usually works according to the Real-Time Bidding (RTB) principle.

An Ad Network bundles advertising space from various publishers and sells them packaged to advertisers. Unlike the Ad Exchange, it is less transparent and often package-based (e.g., "reach in lifestyle portals").

DSPs are used by advertisers, agencies or trading desks to efficiently plan campaigns, control budgets and implement targeting (e.g., retargeting, geo, interests).

Ad Exchanges are mainly used by publishers (who provide inventory) and DSPs (who purchase inventory). They form the technical infrastructure for trading.

Ad Networks are often used by advertisers who want to buy reach without their own DSP or complex setup. Smaller publishers also benefit by gaining easier access to advertisers.

Deduplication refers to the process where duplicate transactions between two affiliates in the same network are avoided, so that only one commission is awarded.

The conversion pixel is crucial to precisely determine which affiliate the conversion is attributed to. The affiliate ID must be passed in the pixel.

A Seed ID is a unique identifier (e.g., a user, ad group or creative ID) that serves as the basis (seed) for certain targeting or bidding strategies. In a private marketplace or deal (Private Auction / Preferred Deal), the Seed ID allows targeted approach to an existing user cluster or the generation of Lookalike Audiences.

A high new customer rate indicates successful targeting of new audiences and a positive effect of the affiliate campaign.

Private Bidding offers more control over ad placements and conditions than open trading on Ad Exchanges. Benefits include: Exclusivity, access to premium inventory and audiences. Control, higher control over placement and audience. Efficiency, direct negotiations and automated processes.

The use of display ads (banners) for new customer acquisition (prospecting), where the focus is on measurable actions (sales, leads).

Targeting users who have already visited a website but haven't converted, with targeted ads to encourage them to return and purchase.

Prospecting aims at new customer acquisition, while retargeting aims to re-engage already interested users.

It targets users who have already shown interest, which can lead to higher conversion rates.

It targets users who have already shown interest, which can lead to higher conversion rates.

By showing products the user has previously viewed, or through specific offers based on their behavior.

Limiting the number of times an ad is shown to a user within a certain time period to avoid oversaturation.

Register with an affiliate network and provide advertising materials.

A partner program is an advertiser's individual offer for affiliates. The choice of the right partner, like Trafficpark, depends on your niche, products and desired goals.

They provide a platform for advertisers to manage their programs and for affiliates to find and register for programs.

Platform for technical and financial handling between merchants and affiliates.

Sales basis (CPO), Lead basis (CPL), Click basis (CPC).

Tracking, hosting of advertising materials, product feeds.

Reach, costs, service quality.

Direct support vs. mediation through networks.

Data protection, imprint obligation, advertising labeling, copyright.

The service provider (website operator) is responsible for their own content according to § 7 (1) TMG.

A complete imprint is legally required in Germany and creates trust among users and partners.

Advertisers and networks as well as partners like Trafficpark review your traffic sources to avoid fraud and undesirable methods and ensure high traffic quality.

Open Source Privacy-First Analytics Stack:

Open Source GA4 Alternative:

Analytics platforms like PostHog or Plausible provide GDPR-compliant event tracking without third-party cookies. They track user behavior while respecting privacy—no cookie consent required in many regions.

Open Source Tag Manager:

Platforms like Tealium or self-hosted solutions manage tracking pixels, scripts, and data collection without relying on Google Tag Manager. They ensure your tracking stays compliant and transparent.

IAB Compatible CMP:

A Consent Management Platform handles cookie consent and user preferences according to IAB TCF (Transparency and Consent Framework) 2.0 standards. This ensures:

Why It Matters:

Using privacy-respecting, open source tools for analytics and consent means you're transparent with users, compliant with regulations, and building trust—not collecting data aggressively.

Central element for generating targeted traffic.

Regular analyses of conversion and affiliate performance.

Earnings per Click shows how much revenue or commission a publisher earns on average per click. The higher the EPC, the more profitable the campaign from a publisher's perspective.

Formula: EPC = Number of Clicks / Commissions

Conversion Rate shows the percentage of users who performed a desired action after a click or impression.

Example: 100 clicks, 5 conversions = CVR = 5%

First-Party Tracking means that data is collected directly by the website or app that the user is currently visiting. The cookies or scripts belong to the domain visible in the browser.

Third-Party Tracking means that external providers (e.g., ad servers, advertising networks or analytics services) collect data about users - often across multiple websites. The cookies do not come from the visited domain.

For both advertisers and partners like Trafficpark, it is crucial to transparently track performance and traffic origin. This creates trust and enables continuous optimization of your marketing spend.

Capturing and analyzing all touchpoints from first contact to purchase. Customer Journey Tracking is a must today if you want to manage Affiliate Marketing sustainably, fairly and performance-oriented. Especially in combination with success-based billing, it's the key to making a publisher's true added value visible - not just the last click.

Yes, we need a pixel—but it's much simpler than you think.

Implementation: Google Tag Manager (GTM) — not hardcoding directly into your site.

Why GTM?

What we provide:

If GTM isn't possible: Server-to-server (S2S) postback URLs available for some setups. We work with your IT team to find solutions.

We understand. Here's our answer: The pixel is essential for our 12-16x ROAS optimization.

Without customer journey tracking, we can't:

However, if you have concerns:

Note: Most brands with strict requirements find our GTM implementation actually improves their security posture because it's managed, auditable, and consent-compliant.

In some cases, yes.

S2S works when:

Limitations:

Our recommendation: GTM pixel (10-15 min setup) gives you superior results, but we'll work with S2S if that's your requirement.

Four simple things:

Or: We can work with existing assets and optimize them

That's it. No minimums, no setup fees, no contracts.

No detailed feed required.

We don't need:

We work with:

Why? Our behavioral optimization learns which products perform best. We don't need to forecast it.

100% CPA-only. That's it. Nothing else.

What you pay:

What you DON'T pay:

How it works:

There is genuinely zero financial risk to test this.

Depends on your margin and industry.

General guidance:

Example:

How we work with you:

No minimums whatsoever.

Zero requirements:

We work with:

Why? More data = better optimization. We'd rather start small and grow together than require big upfront commitments.

Yes, this is our performance guarantee.

What 12-16x ROAS means:

Is it guaranteed?

Important nuance:

Fast results, guarantee by day 90.

Timeline:

Strong presence in 15+ markets, expanding.

Strongest Performance (Most Inventory & Best ROAS):

🇺🇸 United States • 🇬🇧 United Kingdom • 🇨🇦 Canada • 🇫🇷 France • 🇩🇪 Germany • 🇦🇺 Australia

Active & Growing:

🇮🇹 Italy • 🇪🇸 Spain • 🇨🇭 Switzerland • 🇳🇱 Netherlands • 🇸🇪 Sweden • 🇩🇰 Denmark • 🇳🇴 Norway • 🇫🇮 Finland • 🇧🇪 Belgium

Available (Smaller Inventory):

Not currently serving:

Yes, we have strong results across multiple verticals.

What we share:

What we don't share:

Our strongest verticals by proven ROAS:

Full transparency. Not a black box.

You'll see:

You WON'T see:

Reporting access:

All tracking happens through your affiliate platform.

How verification works:

You don't have to trust us—you trust your affiliate network's tracking.

This is why pixel implementation matters: transparent attribution through your existing infrastructure.

Incrementality Assurance:

Why this matters: The affiliate platform's last-click model naturally prevents us from claiming credit if other channels convert the user first. We only earn commission if our click is the final touchpoint.

Attribution Windows & Controls:

Standard: 30-day click-through, zero view-through attribution.

Last-Click Protection: Affiliate platform auto-deduplicates. We only earn commission if our click is the final touchpoint before purchase.

Custom Controls Available:

You maintain full control over attribution rules through your affiliate platform settings.

Volume Projections:

Month 1-2: 50-150 conversions, €10K-€50K revenue

Month 3-6: 150-400 conversions, €50K-€200K revenue

Month 6+: 300-800 conversions, €100K-€400K revenue

Minimum CPA: €5 or 8% of sale value (whichever higher). Preferred: 10-15%.

Threshold: Need minimum 30-50 conversions/month for optimization. Below this volume, we can't gather sufficient data for AI optimization.

Pixel Dependency:

Our technology requires the pixel. There is no pixel-free option.

Without pixel = no lookalike modeling, no behavioral optimization, no journey tracking → we cannot operate.

Why the pixel is essential:

Implementation is simple: GTM setup takes 10-15 minutes. No code needed, no performance impact, zero security risk.

Data & Privacy:

We Collect (Anonymous):

We Don't Collect:

Privacy Compliance:

Verification: All data flows through your affiliate platform. You control what data we access.

Attribution & Reporting:

Attribution: Last-click only (affiliate platform standard).

Weekly Reports Include:

Reporting Format: PDF, live dashboard, CSV export, or API.

What You See:

All data verified through your affiliate platform dashboard.

Implementation Requirements:

Required (10-15 minutes):

Documentation: GTM guide, pixel spec, privacy diagram available upon request.

No code, no risk, no performance impact.