How does Webgains Conversion Tracking work?

What does the Webgains tracking do?

The purposes of the Webgains conversion tracking is to track and report sales that have been made on an advertiser’s website via an affiliate tracking link, so that they can then be awarded the agreed commission on the Webgains program.

How does the tracking code work?

1st Party Cookie: Webgains' default tracking method is via 1st party cookie tracking. The advertiser will have a piece of script added to their site which, if an affiliate link is clicked through, will set a Webgains 1st party cookie. This stores information about the campaign, the program ID, and a unique session ID (Click Reference) which is used to validate the click through to the program. This information is then sent as part of the conversion to Webgains for validation. At no point is any user identifiable information provided to Webgains or the cookie.

Conversion Script: Advertisers will have Webgains conversion script added to the order confirmation page of their site (or, the page that users are redirected to after completing a successful transaction, eligible for affiliate commission). This script will fire if the Webgains cookie is present, that is, if the user visited the website via affiliate referral. The data within the tracking script will be sent back to Webgains and appear within the program reporting, and commission will be awarded to the publisher.

What data does the conversion script track?

The code will track the program ID, event ID (i.e. commission type), order value, and order reference. As optional variables, the code can also track voucher code, and Items tracking (product name, product ID, product cost).

What is the name and purpose of the 1st party cookie?

The Webgains 1st party tracking cookie is called "_CK_WG_".

It is used to record our WGU and or GCLID, used to track where the request has originated from (which campaign) so we can track sales to that publisher campaign for that session.

Learn more about the role of tracking in affiliate marketing here: How do Tracking and Cookies work in Affiliate Marketing?