App Tracking: Guidelines & Best Practice

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App Tracking - Guidelines & Best Practice

As a core requirement of our Advertiser Tracking Policy, Awin recognises the crucial role in-app tracking plays in ensuring data accuracy, publisher recognition and the future overall health of the performance channel in the coming years.

About App tracking at Awin:

Mobile is playing an increasingly pivotal role in the affiliate channel, for advertisers with a transactional app, it’s important to capitalise on this; ensuring publishers are rewarded fairly whilst getting a more holistic view of customer journey data and subsequently running more effective acquisition campaigns. If your programme sees a high proportion of sales coming from mobile and you have an app, implementing app-tracking onto your affiliate programme should be on your radar.

Awin already has module integrations with Adjust, Appsflyer and Branch – three of the biggest MMPs in the space - as well as a close partnership with Button (an in-app performance marketing specialist). This means that our setup is being hardcoded in the MMPs' backend, so our clients will have a module (customizable settings) in the MMPs' dashboard, making the process fairly simple. If you wish to integrate through an MMP that doesn’t have a module integration with us, Awin is happy to support you with it too. While the integration process won't be as easy, we do have pre-built postbacks within the rest of the MMPs' platforms (Kochava, Singular or Button’s) that can be enabled by the advertiser.

Whatever integration process you decide upon, ensure your Awin representative is aware of your decision and able to streamline communications between you, the third party you’ll be using to integrate with and Awin’s tech representative working on your integration. Once you decide upon how you wish to proceed, Awin will ensure that your tracking links have all necessary changes in place to start tracking any app-based events on your programme by a date of your choosing.

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Summary of Action Points:

1. Ensure you have an existing MMP in place (that isn't Firebase by Google)

2. Speak to your Awin representative and inform them of your interest in launching app tracking onto your affiliate programme

3. Confirm what app-based events you wish to track and commission (app installs, in-app purchases...)

4. Agree on app-based commission groups and ensure they’re set up on both your MMP’s platform and the Awin platform

5. Confirm the date on which you want the tracking to go live with your Awin representative

6. Awin will make the necessary changes to ensure your programme is ready to start tracking app based events

7. Keep your profile up to date with any additional cookie windows or commission groups

Best Practice Guidelines:

• Send app users to your app, whilst directing non-app users to m-web

• Maintain consistent attribution windows across your entire affiliate programme!

• Considering how valuable app-based consumers are, we recommend having specific commission groups that reflect this added value to your programme

• Whatever your status and process is when it comes to app tracking, ensure it is clearly stated on your Awin profile

App Tracking Badge on Awin's UI

Once the integration is complete and because of the growing importance that app tracking is having across the industry, it is important to give publishers insight into which advertisers have implemented this tracking type. At Awin, there is a badge indicating an advertiser's app tracking status within their profile page as well as the ability to filter by 'app tracking' within the advertiser directory. See below:

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To discuss launching app tracking onto your affiliate programme, please contact your dedicated Awin contact or fill out this form.

For integration documentation relating to a specific MMP (SDK provider), please select accordingly: Adjust Appsflyer Button Branch

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