Affiliate Window will soon begin redirecting traffic for advertisers with no mobile tracking to their desktop alternative. The network has moved to solve the difficulty that publishers are experiencing in not receiving commission for any sales being made.
The fix will mean big publishers will no longer need to warn customers against continuing to the advertiser’s mobile websites. Cashback site, Quidco, currently requests that consumers try the transaction again from a desktop computer.
Publishers will likely be pleased by the network’s new measures, but Affiliate Window doesn’t envisage the patch being a long-term solution. It has stated that once the advertiser implements mobile tracking, traffic will be redirected back to the mobile-optimised site.
Room for improvement
Andreas Andreou, Quidco Commercial Director, was pleased with the fix, but also thought there was room for improvement. “Whilst today’s development is certainly a step in the right direction, it does impact the users’ mobile journey,” he said. “More will need to be done by advertisers going forwards to ensure publishers are rewarded whilst providing a smooth user journey for the consumer.”
Advertisers currently touting the ability to track sales through mobile handsets on the network currently stands at 85%. By addressing the problem, Affiliate Window to kickstart a rise to 100% and avoid any unnecessary leakage, but what stance is the network taking with new clients?
A mobile obligation for advertisers
According to Kevin Edwards, Affiliate Window’s Strategy Director, advertisers that are just boarding the network are facing some stern small print. “New clients launching have been contractually obliged since last year to add tracking to their mobile platforms,” he said.
Addressing any tracking shortcomings now will stand the company in good stead for when mobile really does begin to bloom. Network traffic from mobile devices recently equated to 19% and Affiliate Window predicts that mobile transactions will only increase in 2013.
Edwards revealed how this year’s stats had already bettered 2012’s. “January 2013 handset [transactions] for the first third of the month exceeded the total for January 2012 and we’re nudging one in ten sales through handsets,” he said. “Inertia on this issue isn’t an option.”