If you’re starting an affiliate marketing program, remember that cookie session duration is super important.
Basically, the cookie duration is how long a customer’s browser remembers they clicked on an affiliate link. This matters because if they buy something later, the affiliate usually gets credit for the sale—but only if their cookie is still active.
Finding the right cookie duration can be tricky. If it’s too short, you might miss out on sales. But if it’s too long, you might give affiliates too much credit.
In this blog post, we’ll show you how to find the perfect balance and set the right cookie duration for your affiliate program.
Let’s get into it!
Affiliate Marketing Speedrun
Affiliate marketing is a collaboration between businesses (merchants) and individuals (affiliates) where affiliates promote products or services on behalf of the merchant. Affiliates use unique tracking links or affiliate links to direct potential customers to the merchant’s website.
The affiliate earns a commission when these customers make purchases or perform desired actions, such as signing up for a service.
This commission is typically a percentage of the sale or a fixed amount agreed upon by the merchant and affiliate.
Affiliate marketing allows businesses to leverage the marketing efforts of individuals with their own platforms or audiences, resulting in a cost-effective way to increase sales and reach a broader audience.
What is Cookie Duration in Affiliate Marketing?
Cookie duration in affiliate marketing is how long a special cookie stays on your device after clicking an affiliate link. This cookie is like a tag that helps give credit to the affiliate who sent you to the website.
Even if you don’t buy anything immediately, the affiliate still gets credit if you return later and purchase within the cookie duration. The cookie stores info about the affiliate, like their name. The duration is how long this info stays active and connected to the affiliate.
Even if a user doesn’t buy right away after clicking an affiliate link, the tracking cookie ensures that the affiliate still gets the credit if they return to the website within the cookie duration and purchase.
This is because the affiliate tracking cookie remembers the affiliate’s referral, so they still get recognized for the sale, no matter how much time has passed since the click.
Choosing the right cookie duration is important for both merchants and affiliates. A longer duration means affiliates have a better chance of getting credit for sales, even if they happen later.
Merchants must be careful not to give out too many rewards for older referrals. On the other hand, a shorter duration might mean affiliates miss out on affiliate commissions for delayed visitor purchases.
So, merchants must consider their business model and the time customers can purchase when deciding on the best cookie duration for their affiliate program.
Why is Cookie Duration Important?
Cookie duration is crucial in affiliate marketing because it affects how affiliates earn commissions.
In affiliate marketing, a longer cookie duration window is essential because it gives users more time to buy stuff after clicking an affiliate link. This is handy because not everyone makes purchases right away.
Some people like to think about it, compare prices, or do more research first. With a longer cookie duration, affiliates can better get paid for these delayed purchases.
The affiliate still gets credit as long as the sale happens within the set time that the tracking cookie stays on the user’s device. So, a longer cookie duration helps affiliates make more money by capturing sales that take a bit longer to happen.
For example, if a user clicks on an affiliate link but doesn’t buy right away, the affiliate can still get paid if the purchase happens within the cookie’s timeframe, let’s say 30 days.
Conversely, if the cookie duration is shorter, the time frame for tracking sales and crediting affiliates is restricted. If a user clicks on an affiliate link but doesn’t buy anything within the short cookie duration, the affiliate might not earn a commission, even if the purchase occurs later.
This can lead to missed commission opportunities for affiliates, affecting their total earnings potential.
Think about this: nowadays, customers don’t just buy from one place. Studies say they usually check out around four websites and look at five different sources before purchasing. So, when deciding how long your tracking cookies should last, consider what’s best for your affiliate program.
Typical Cookie Durations in Affiliate Marketing
In affiliate marketing, optimal cookie duration is how long a website remembers a user after they visit through an affiliate link. Typically, it’s 30 to 60 days, but varies by site. Longer durations increase the chance of affiliates earning commissions, as not all users buy on their first visit.
In the USA, typical cookie durations in affiliate marketing programs often range from 30 to 90 days, although some affiliate programs offer lifetime browser cookies that persist until cleared manually by the user.
While a 30-day duration is common, longer durations are favored for their higher potential to generate sales and commissions.
Affiliates prefer longer cookie lifetimes, such as 365 days, as they believe it leads to increased commissions. For affiliate partners, a longer cookie window, like 90 days, allows more time for users to make purchases, ensuring referral commissions.
Merchants should set cookie durations to at least 30 days to address affiliate concerns about commissions and incentivize effective product promotion.
Have you ever wondered what factors influence the decision to set cookie duration in affiliate marketing?
Well, think about What different industries typically prefer and why? And what about the merchants themselves – what do they prioritize?
In industries with longer sales cycles, like B2B services, merchants might prefer longer cookie durations to accommodate the slower decision-making process. Meanwhile, shorter durations in fast-paced sectors like fashion could capture more immediate purchases.
But it’s not just about industry norms. Merchant preferences matter too. Some prioritize quick rewards and may choose shorter durations, while others focus on long-term relationships and opt for longer ones.
What Should You Choose Between Long & Short Cookie Duration?
When choosing how long your tracking cookies should last, think about this: shorter durations will push affiliates to bring more visitors to your site, while longer durations let them earn from a bigger group of customers.
The best cookie duration should give customers time to return and buy again, ensuring affiliates stay focused and keep customers interested.
Starting with 30-90 days is a good idea, depending on what you’re selling and what’s common in your industry. This timeframe gives customers plenty of time to decide since most online purchases aren’t impulsive.
It also gives affiliates time to follow up with their referrals and build relationships with customers over a longer period of time.
Short Cookie Durations Pros and Cons
Short cookie durations have their upsides and downsides.
On the one hand, they can mean affiliates get paid more often, quickly seeing the rewards for the traffic they bring in.
But, on the flip side, short durations might mean fewer people actually buy, which means less money for affiliates.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the main pros and cons:
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Don’t stress if you’re using a short cookie length. Amazon, the world’s biggest online store, also gives just 24 hours for their Amazon Associates cookie time.
Long Cookie Durations Pros and Cons
Selecting the right cookie duration is a big decision for affiliate marketers. It impacts how affiliates are rewarded, products are promoted, and customers purchase.
But there are advantages and disadvantages to different durations. Let’s look at the pros and cons of choosing a long cookie duration:
| Pros | Cons |
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The ideal cookie duration can vary depending on the type of business and its target audience:
B2C (Business-to-Consumer): Shorter cookie durations, such as 30 days, maybe more suitable for B2C businesses, especially those selling low-cost and frequently purchased items like clothing or household goods.
Customers in B2C markets often make quicker purchasing decisions, so shorter durations can better capture these impulse buys.
B2B (Business-to-Business): B2B businesses typically have longer sales cycles, as decisions often involve multiple stakeholders and higher-value purchases.
Therefore, longer cookie durations, such as 60 to 90 days, are more appropriate to account for the extended research and decision-making process common in B2B transactions.
Service-based Businesses: Service-based businesses, such as consulting firms or software companies, may benefit from longer cookie durations, similar to B2B businesses.
Since services often require thorough consideration and comparison, a cookie duration of 60 to 90 days or longer can ensure affiliates receive credit for referrals made throughout the decision-making journey.
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service): SaaS companies typically have subscription-based models with recurring revenue streams. A medium-length cookie duration, around 45 to 60 days, may be suitable for SaaS businesses.
This duration allows affiliates to earn commissions on initial sign-ups and subsequent renewals, maximizing their earnings potential.
E-commerce: E-commerce businesses selling both low and high-ticket items can benefit from a range of cookie durations.
Shorter durations, like 30 days, are suitable for impulse purchases, while longer durations, such as 60 to 90 days, accommodate longer research and consideration periods for high-value products.
Impact of Cookie Tracking Regulations
Do you know how your online data is being used? Privacy rules like GDPR and CCPA are here to clarify that. But what exactly do these rules mean for businesses and marketers?
Privacy rules like GDPR and CCPA greatly affect how cookie windows and data are handled. GDPR protects personal data in the EU and EEA, applying to all companies that process data from EU residents. It emphasizes getting consent before collecting data and giving users control over their information.
In the US, states like California and Virginia have similar laws, granting residents rights over their data, including knowing what’s collected and opting out of affiliate sales or deletion.
These rules mean businesses must ask for permission before collecting data, including through cookies. They must also let users access, correct, or delete their info and keep it safe.
The impact of these rules includes changes to cookie usage like Google Chrome phasing out third-party cookies starting in 2024. This aims to protect user privacy and respect their choices.
How to Change Your Affiliate Cookie Duration?
You must find a good balance when choosing how long your affiliate referral links stay active. You want to keep your affiliates excited and give customers enough time to purchase.
Luckily, changing your affiliate cookie duration is easy and doesn’t take much work.
Step 1: Figure out your goals
Think about what you want to achieve. Do you want to encourage affiliates to bring in more sales, or do you want to give customers more time to decide? Knowing your goals helps you pick the right cookie duration.
Step 2: Go to your affiliate networks/platforms
Next, you should log in to your affiliate platform’s website. There, you can look for the area where you can change the program settings.
With UpPromote, you can easily set up the cookie duration for each program.
As long as you have a Shopify store and UpPromote installed already, you can:
- Go to your Shopify Affiliate Dashboard > Apps > UpPromote Affiliate > Settings
- Navigate to SYSTEM SETTINGS, then click on General.
- Look for the Cookie settings section.
- Choose the specific program for which you want to adjust the cookie settings.
- Set the desired cookie duration.
- Click Save to apply the changes.
Step 3: Listen to your affiliates and communicate changes
Pay attention to what your affiliates are saying about the cookie duration. Share any adjustments openly and clearly, keeping them in the loop. Make sure they understand why the change is happening; it builds trust and keeps everyone on the same page.
Step 4: Be ready to adjust
If things aren’t going the way you want, don’t be afraid to tweak the cookie duration again. It might take some trial and error to find the right balance.
By following these steps, you can easily adjust the cookie duration for your affiliate program without much hassle. This helps ensure your affiliates are happy and your customers get the best experience possible.
FAQs
- What is the duration of cookies?
The duration of cookies can vary widely, from seconds to years, based on how website publishers set them. Session cookies vanish when the browser is closed, while persistent cookies remain even after closing the browser. The website determines the expiration time, which varies by cookie type and purpose.
- What is cookie time for affiliates?
The cookie time for affiliates refers to when a tracking cookie is placed on a user’s device after clicking an affiliate link remains active.
- What are cookie days for affiliates?
Cookie days for affiliates represent the length of time that the tracking cookie stays active, usually ranging from 24 hours to 90 days, determining how long affiliates receive credit for affiliate referrals.
Wrapping Up
I hope this post has shed some light on how affiliate cookies function and why their duration is crucial, among other aspects. However, it’s important to remember that cookie duration is just one piece of the puzzle. Even with lifetime cookies, a program won’t succeed if the product or offer doesn’t convert well initially.
