It's not easy being an affiliate marketer. The list of responsibilities and challenges is long - particularly for independents - but thanks to some creative technology, it can be made much easier. A good example of this is AffClicks, which just released a public beta of its Web analytics application designed for affiliate marketers.
The application offers several important features such as network commission aggregation, PPC bid management, ROI analysis and search phrase analytics. What the application essentially provides is a single view into online campaign performance. The AffClicks system is not unlike other affiliate management tools previously profiled here at Website Magazine, including the now defunct Affmeter.
AffClicks automatically downloads transactional and commission data from supported networks including Affiliate Window, Commission Junction, Webgains, TradeDoubler, Paid On Results, Affiliate Future, Zanox, Buy.At, AdTraction, LinkShare, Commission Monster and ClixGalore. Many other networks are scheduled for inclusion in the future.
AffClicks is also integrated into Google's AdWords platform and downloads reports via the API regularly. Campaigns and accounts can also be managed within the API. According to the announcement, integration into Microsoft's Adcenter is scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of 2012.
"Life can be tough as an affiliate marketer with limited time and resources" co-founder Rob Ryan says. "You have to be a Web developer, a sales executive, a marketing analyst and a business manager. You're constantly juggling relationships with merchants, networks and end-users. Even when you think you are on top of everything you still have a hard time knowing exactly how profitable your business is and where best to invest your time, energy and money to grow your revenue. AffClicks was designed to address all these issues."