How to Use Smartlink Technology for Affiliate Traffic Monetization

Reading Time: 25 minutes

Affiliate traffic often does not come from one homogeneous source. Affiliate campaigns may include clicks from users in various countries, using different devices and operating systems, different carriers and placements, and diverse sources. As a result, one may miss out on monetization potential by sending all clicks to a single destination when there is no proper offer for that click.

Affiliate Smartlink was developed to simplify traffic monetization for affiliate marketers. Instead of manually picking up offers and distributing clicks accordingly, an affiliate marketer just needs to send all qualifying traffic through one Smartlink. The platform will analyze traffic using available click data, identify the most suitable offers, and measure performance. Thus, Smartlink affiliate marketing is particularly well-suited for diversified traffic, multi-GEO traffic, new traffic sources, and campaigns where an optimal traffic routing strategy should be defined during testing.

Adverten company focuses on traffic processing and monetization through its in-house Smartlink platform. Traffic distribution, daily monitoring, prelanding logic, performance analysis, and extra monetization solutions are among the key features of the system. This guide will explain how Smartlink traffic monetization works, how to perform controlled testing of Smartlinks, what to look for when setting up such tests, which mistakes to avoid, and how to use performance data before scaling.

TL;DR

• A Smartlink is a dynamic affiliate link that distributes traffic among eligible offers rather than sending every click to a single fixed destination.
• GEO, device, operating system, carrier, source context, campaign availability, and historical performance can influence routing depending on the platform and campaign rules.
• Smartlinks are especially useful for mixed GEO traffic, new sources, broad campaigns, and traffic that is difficult to monetize efficiently with one direct link.
• Tracking still matters. Sub IDs, postbacks, source labels, and consistent campaign naming make it possible to understand which segments create value.
• EPM, EPC, conversion rate, conversion volume, revenue, and acquisition cost should be read together rather than in isolation.
• Traffic quality, funnel relevance, page speed, and compliance can affect results even when routing is automated.
• Smartlink automation reduces manual offer rotation, but it is not a “set and forget” system. Good monetization still requires clean data, testing, and performance review.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Smartlink in Affiliate Marketing?
• How to Use Smartlinks for Affiliate Traffic Monetization
• How Smartlink Traffic Monetization Matches Users With Offers
• How to Measure CPA Smartlink Performance
• Smartlink Examples and a Traffic Monetization Case Study
• Common Smartlink Mistakes That Reduce Monetization
• Expert Tips for Improving Smartlink Performance
• Smartlink Statistics and Original Research
• Conclusion: Build a Data-Driven Smartlink Monetization Workflow
• Frequently Asked Questions About Affiliate Smartlinks

Introduction

Traffic Acquisition and Traffic Monetization are connected in some ways, yet they are two distinct processes. An affiliate might acquire/generate traffic well enough but lose efficiency by pushing all visitors through the same funnel. The whole chain would be more accurate to present as generation of traffic – routing of traffic – conversion of traffic – traffic monetization. Smartlink technology works at the level of traffic routing.

The point is that a Smartlink alone doesn’t convert traffic into profitable clicks. However, it helps to improve traffic processing and routing. At the same time, the success rate still depends on the target audience, the GEO, the mobile/desktop ratio, traffic type, funnel relevance, tracking accuracy, available offers, and the advertisers’ performance.

For affiliates cooperating with Adverten, the benefit is that Adverten Smartlink technology automatically analyzes and routes traffic rather than sending it to a specific destination. The affiliates could analyze their performance in real time, implement postback tracking, run campaigns in any GEO from Tier 1 to Tier 4, and connect a custom domain through CNAME if necessary.

What Is a Smartlink in Affiliate Marketing?

A Smartlink lies between the traffic source and the advertiser’s offer. An affiliate needs only one URL for tracking purposes, while the Smartlink platform performs another routing step. This solution helps manage campaigns across multiple countries or devices within the traffic source, with varying offer availability, when an affiliate is still figuring out which offer is most appropriate for each segment.

As described in the IAB Affiliate Marketing Handbook, affiliate tracking links are tools that register clicks and provide attribution in affiliate programs. Smartlinks use the concept of tracking links as a basis and build on it with their own functions.

How Does a Smartlink Work From Click to Conversion?

In the affiliate context, the workflow can be seen as seven sequential stages:

• A visitor clicks on the affiliate link. The click comes through paid media, a publisher site, social, email if allowed, or any other approved channel.
• The click is delivered to the Smartlink. Smartlink serves as the routing layer rather than immediately redirecting the visitor to a specific offer.
• Applicable traffic characteristics are determined. They may vary depending on how Smartlink was implemented; these can include attributes such as GEO, device, OS, carrier, source parameters, and campaign eligibility.
• Offers are considered eligible. The platform determines what monetization channels apply to this particular click.
• The visitor is redirected to the offer/funnel. It can vary by user, as they may belong to different segments with distinct eligible paths.
• Data about conversions is reported. Tracking and postback data allow identifying the conversion related to the click.
• The performance data is used further for routing and campaigns. Over time, affiliates and the platform will know which segments perform well and which ones don’t.

This is the real answer to the question of how a Smartlink works – it splits one traffic source into several monetization channels.

What Traffic Signals Can Affect Smartlink Routing?

However, Smartlink routing cannot be based on one universal rule. Available variables vary depending on the platform, advertiser’s requirements, and campaign settings. Among typical variables and limitations, the following should be highlighted:

• GEO: Country or Region is one of the variables that define which offers are available for routing.
• Device type: Mobile and desktop traffic may be subject to different eligibility funnels.
• OS: Various platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS may play a role.
• Carrier or context: Some campaigns may be subject to carrier limitations.
• Source: Source info allows traffic to be separated by intent and quality.
• Campaign limitations: Advertisers may impose GEO, Device, Volume, etc. limitations.
• Offer state: A paused, limited, or disabled offer should stop receiving traffic.
• Performance history: Where available, conversion history can be used to define a more effective routing path.

The company Adverten has publicly stated that its Smartlink routes traffic based on various factors, including country, device, OS, and mobile carrier. However, affiliates should use sub IDs and source-level tracking, as this information is most valuable when traffic is identifiable.

Smartlink Technology vs a Static Affiliate Link

With a static/direct link, the affiliate enjoys total freedom to select the landing page, but it also means he takes responsibility for the selection. On the other hand, with Smartlink, part of the manual process is eliminated.

Factor	Smartlink	Static/Direct Link	Why It Matters
Offer selection	Dynamic across eligible offers	One manually selected offer	Smartlink can adapt routing without changing the promoted URL
GEO handling	Can distribute different GEOs to different eligible paths	Usually requires separate setup	Useful for worldwide or mixed-country traffic
Device handling	Can account for device compatibility	Depends on the selected offer	Reduces mismatches between device and destination
Offer availability	Can reroute when eligible inventory changes	Link remains fixed until changed	Helps reduce lost traffic from inactive destinations
Manual optimization	Lower routing workload	Higher manual workload	Saves time when many segments are involved
Mixed traffic	Well suited to broad traffic streams	Requires more segmentation	Helpful when source composition is variable
Testing workload	Routing can be automated	Affiliate runs more direct comparisons	Best choice depends on campaign maturity and control needs

For a deeper comparison of the two approaches, see Adverten’s guide to Smartlink vs. direct offers.

How to Use Smartlinks for Affiliate Traffic Monetization

“Send everything and check out the results” is definitely not the best approach for a Smartlink test. It should be done in an organized manner: determine the source, identify the segments, integrate tracking, conduct tests in specified numbers, analyze the results, and take further action. Such an approach allows you to distinguish the platform’s performance from other factors.

Adverten offers each affiliate an individual Smartlink, performance monitoring, postback functionality, and account management services. However, all these instruments work much more efficiently when the affiliate uses the same naming and segmentation on the traffic end.

Step 1: Define the Traffic You Want to Monetize

It is also important to build a traffic profile before the first clicks are generated. It does not have to be very complex, but it must be sufficiently descriptive to clarify the potential reasons for the performance difference.

Make sure you know:

• Traffic source – where the clicks come from.
• GEO – country and, if necessary, its regions.
• Device split – mobile, desktop, tablet, and, if necessary, operating system split.
• Volume expectations – clicks per day or week.
• Intent – discovery, search, entertainment traffic, or other intent category.
• Type of acquisition – paid, owned, organic, email when allowed, or other acceptable method.
• Performance history – EPC, CR, CPC, or revenue data if the traffic was tested previously.
• Traffic limitations – advertiser and network limitations that make the traffic ineligible for certain advertisers or networks.

This information will be required by the affiliate manager, who can provide valuable recommendations. “I have traffic” does not mean much, yet “I have US mobile traffic from this particular source with the stable daily volume and known CPC” is much more powerful.

Step 2: Set Up Your Affiliate Smartlink and Tracking

The next step is making sure that every relevant click is traceable. The typical configuration will include:

• personal Smartlink URL;
• campaign ID or campaign name;
• sub IDs for source, placement, creative, and any other dimensions of interest;
• traffic source ID;
• affiliate tracker if it is used;
• postback configuration for conversions;
• consistent conversion definition;
• custom domain (optional).

According to Adverten, affiliates can either monitor the performance of their Smartlinks in real time or configure postbacks. A custom domain connection can also be configured using a CNAME record. A CNAME is a DNS entry that connects an alias hostname to a canonical hostname; a helpful Cloudflare CNAME overview is available on the Internet.

Whichever configuration is used, maintain consistency in naming. If one campaign is named “FB-US-MOB-1” and the second is “test2-final-new,” further analysis will be unnecessarily complicated.

Step 3: Launch a Controlled Traffic Test

A controlled test ensures protection of both budget and interpretability. Rather than varying multiple factors simultaneously, keep as many factors fixed as possible and specify the observation period.

Control:

• source: keep the starting traffic source unchanged;
• GEO: do not combine unrelated countries if you need a clean comparison;
• device: split mobile and desktop if you have enough volume;
• budget: set the test budget equal to the economics of the traffic source;
• click volume: make sure you have enough traffic to see more than randomness;
• time period: do not make judgments based on an extremely short observation period unless you have a huge volume;
• creative: do not change all creatives simultaneously during routing evaluation.

There is no universal principle like “100 clicks is enough.” If the conversion rate is low, your sample may yield no conversions despite potentially good traffic. The purpose of the controlled test is to generate the data set that will help you make a decision.

Step 4: Read the Results Before Scaling

Smartlink performance should be read as a set of signals, not as a single headline number.

Signal	What to Check	Possible Action
EPM	Revenue per 1,000 measured visits/clicks according to the platform definition	Compare GEOs and sources on a normalized basis
EPC	Revenue generated per click	Compare monetization efficiency across traffic segments
CR	Share of measured clicks/users that convert	Investigate funnel relevance and traffic intent
Click volume	Whether the sample is large enough to interpret	Continue testing if volume is too small
Conversions	Number and consistency of conversion events	Avoid overreacting to one isolated conversion
Source quality	Whether traffic produces valid, accepted actions	Reduce or stop low-quality segments
GEO performance	Differences across countries or regions	Separate, scale, or retest strong and weak GEOs

Do not declare a winning segment based on just one conversion or even a few hours’ worth of data. Find a pattern that holds up after accounting for volume, spend, and daily variations.

How Smartlink Traffic Monetization Matches Users With Offers

Value becomes even more obvious when the traffic is heterogeneous. For example, a user from one GEO on a mobile device might not qualify for the same offer as a user from a different GEO who is browsing on a computer. The campaign could also reach its limit or be unavailable at times. With a static link, the affiliate needs to notice this situation himself and re-route the traffic manually. In the case of Smartlink, the routing system itself handles this issue.

Adverten offers worldwide Smartlink traffic from Tier 1 to Tier 4, and explains automatic selection based on traffic source data.

GEO, Device and User Context

A single offer may work differently when targeting multiple audiences. These differences might arise from differences in language, market development, device behavior, payment habits, ad requirements, or just a change in user intent.

Here are some examples of differences that could arise:

• The USA mobile traffic might have a different set of offers and user behavior from USA desktop traffic.
• European desktop traffic might create a different conversion flow compared to mobile-first markets.
• Users on iOS and Android might react differently to page design, application flows, or browser behavior.
• Telecommunications-related campaigns might consider the carrier environment.
• Traffic intent might make the same GEO less effective. Traffic driven by search intent is not the same as social discovery traffic.
• Timing of the year can make different segments perform best.

Adverten’s own history of GEO posts can explain the importance of staying up to date with your assumptions. The best country, according to the weekly Adverten EPM rankings, was different each month in 2023.

Offer Availability and Traffic Distribution

Furthermore, Smartlink routing helps address operational issues that often go unnoticed when considering conversion rate alone.

These may include:

• Active or inactive campaign;
• GEO eligibility;
• Daily and total caps;
• Compatibility of the device;
• Advertiser-side criteria;
• Restrictions on the source of traffic;
• Historical performance in conversions;
• Temporarily down offer;
• Alternative funnel availability.

If a direct destination is inaccessible, a static link will keep redirecting traffic until someone manually changes the campaign. The use of Smartlink will mitigate the issue by directing the eligible traffic to the next available route.

It does not mean that every click will convert. There may be traffic that does not meet the advertiser’s requirements or quality standards. The adverten.com terms of service also emphasize that traffic sources may be rejected and that affiliates need to provide the required traffic quality data.

Why Smartlink Optimization Still Needs Data

Any optimization system requires observations. There may not be much data available on the performance of the specific combination of GEOs, sources, devices, or creatives at the outset of their contribution. Therefore, a sufficient number of valid results is required to identify a pattern versus mere randomness.

Here is how the process could be explained:

• exploration – obtaining performance information through various eligible options;
• evaluation – comparing results in normalized form;
• optimization – increasing attention toward those routes and segments which consistently perform well;
• validation – verifying if the pattern continues when the volume of traffic is increased;
• scaling – increasing the volume of traffic only if the result is reliable.

That is why “automatic” does not mean “guaranteed.” Not even a single platform could guarantee that each click would result in a conversion or that a certain route would always yield the same high payout. Economics of offers, competitiveness, users’ preferences, and advertisers’ demands change. Smartlink is important for its ability to respond faster to such changes than a purely manual routing approach.

How to Measure CPA Smartlink Performance

Smartlink Economics is not the same as a one-off fixed-payout campaign because traffic might be split across various offers with varying conversion points and percentages. This makes normalization critical. It is about understanding the value created by that traffic stream, not just what seems most promising as a conversion point.

Always check how a tool calculates each metric. It might be that an identical metric is calculated by slightly different denominators on various platforms.

EPM: Revenue per Thousand Visits or Clicks

The term EPM is frequently used to normalize monetization as traffic volume increases. Basically,

EPM = Revenue ÷ Measured Traffic × 1,000

It is important to note that traffic measures should align with the system used to calculate this metric. For instance, if one of the platforms calculates EPM based on the number of clicks, this value cannot be compared with EPM calculated based on visits or impressions.

The use of EPM allows:

• to compare GEOs with a different volume;
• to compare traffic sources on a normalized basis;
• to reveal changes in the efficiency of monetization over time;
• to identify the segments that generate more revenue at the same traffic volume.

One has to mention the case of Adverten, which traditionally utilizes EPM in its performance posts related to GEOs. Thus, it listed the leading countries on different dates in its weekly snapshots.

EPC: Revenue Generated per Click

The EPC shows how much money is being made on average from each measured click:

EPC = Revenue ÷ Clicks

When 10,000 measured clicks generate $500, the EPC will be $0.05. This doesn’t mean that each click generates five cents but rather that five cents is the average for the measured sample.

EPC is helpful when:

• comparing source segments;
• comparing creatives or placements;
• deciding if a paid traffic source can sustain its click cost;
• tracking any changes in monetization after changing the source or a funnel.

For paid traffic, the EPC is especially helpful when considered alongside CPC. When the cost of acquiring a click exceeds the revenue per click, the campaign becomes unsustainable even if conversions continue.

As mentioned in Adverten’s Smartlink vs. direct offers guide, it is helpful to track EPC and EPM given the nature of Smartlink payouts.

Conversion Rate and Conversion Volume

The conversion rate is critical, but its interpretation must be done in context. An optimal evaluation will incorporate:

• CR: Conversion Rate – the proportion of clicks/users converting into the given conversion;
• conversion volume: the overall number of valid conversions;
• sample size: the traffic size underlying the conversion rate;
• traffic cost: the cost of acquiring the clicks/users;
• revenue: the revenue created by accepted conversions;
• quality: the validity and acceptance of conversions by the advertiser.

A CR of 20% based on ten clicks is not necessarily better than a CR of 5% on 10,000 clicks. This is because the smaller sample size is more susceptible to randomness.

Additionally, a high conversion rate cannot ensure good monetization when the event payout is low, traffic costs are too high, and conversions are disallowed due to quality issues. Consider the CR as one of the various metrics used in an overall performance model.

Which Metric Should Affiliates Optimize First?

The best primary metric depends on the campaign objective and traffic cost structure.

Metric	What It Shows	Best Use	Main Limitation
EPM	Revenue normalized to 1,000 traffic units	Comparing GEOs and larger traffic segments	Depends on consistent traffic-unit definition
EPC	Average revenue per click	Comparing sources, placements, and paid-click economics	Can hide differences in click quality
CR	Share of traffic that converts	Diagnosing funnel and audience fit	Does not show payout or acquisition cost
Revenue	Total money generated	Measuring total monetization	Higher volume can hide poor efficiency
ROI/ROAS	Return relative to spend	Paid media profitability	Requires accurate cost attribution

In the case of paid traffic, ROAS or ROI is often the ultimate financial metric, whereas EPC, EPM, and CR show how changes in the metrics were caused. For owned or cheap traffic, EPM and EPC can serve as primary monetization metrics. Make sure you define your metrics consistently when compiling your report.

Smartlink Examples and a Traffic Monetization Case Study

The example doesn’t aim to make any guarantees about the specific outcome that will be obtained from this. What it aims to demonstrate is how Smartlink influences the decision-making process and shifts the question from “Which one offer should have all traffic?” to “Which segments generate value, how they are directed, and what should I split/separate next?”

Example 1: Monetizing Traffic From Multiple GEOs

Consider the example of an affiliate with a single source that provides users from the United States, Canada, Germany, and other countries (GEOs). He might consider creating a separate campaign for each GEO, manually selecting offers, watching caps, and replacing unavailable offers. It will work, but he will have to make some additional effort.

Smartlink can help with that:

• Adding GEO and campaign IDs to the incoming traffic;
• Sending the eligible traffic to one Smartlink;
• The routing layer will determine which offers are available for a certain GEO and device;
• Analyzing the EPM, EPC, CR, conversions, and earnings per GEO;
• If required – isolating the strongest and weakest segments for more precise manipulation;
• Scaling the source only when the data says so.

The main idea here is not that each GEO gets the same result. Smartlink allows the affiliate to access a single source while still analyzing it by segment. It is especially helpful in case of daily changes in the source structure.

Example 2: Testing a New Traffic Source

The uncertainty created by a new source lies in the affiliate’s not knowing which audience segments, GEOs, or offers would perform best in this case. The risk of allocating the entire budget to a single manually selected offer would turn the assumption into an expensive experiment.

A more efficient testing strategy involves:

• creating a unique campaign ID for the new source;
• sending placement and creative info via sub-IDs;
• sending a controlled amount of traffic to Smartlink;
• collecting sufficient amounts of conversion data to analyze different segments;
• looking at EPC, EPM, CR, revenue, and cost;
• removing the obvious fraud and bad performers;
• increasing the budget for those segments which still show credible performance.

In this capacity, the Smartlink becomes not only a monetization layer but also a discovery layer. It won’t tell the affiliate why a particular creative performs well, but it will make it unnecessary to know the winner in advance. After identifying the best-performing segments, the affiliate will be able to decide on further actions.

Example 3: Monetizing Traffic That Does Not Fit One Direct Offer

Not all clicks would be a fit for one particular direct offer. They could be coming from an unsupported GEO; they could have arrived on a device incompatible with the campaign; the offer could be capped; or it might not qualify under the targeting criteria set by the advertiser.

A Smartlink can solve this problem by directing users to other suitable destinations if any are available.

For instance, a Smartlink could:

• send GEO traffic to the offers available in the specific GEO;
• match traffic with campaigns accepting such devices;
• cease redirecting to offers which are no longer live;
• use other funneling if the offers are appropriate and allowed;
• preserve the source-level tracking to be able to detect poorer traffic segments;
• apply other monetization solutions only when they are within the bounds of network, advertiser, and traffic-source policies.

The goal here is not to convert every click but to make good use of valuable traffic which would otherwise be wasted.

Quality of traffic is still important. Adverten does not tolerate bots, generated/fake/spammy leads, referrer spamming, spyware, or other forms of traffic that violate the laws and policies of the Adverten network.

Case Study: What Adverten’s Historical GEO Data Shows About Dynamic Routing

Adverten has released weekly snapshots of EPMs on its platform. They are past instances, not present benchmarks, but they illustrate that affiliates should never expect any particular GEO to remain dominant.

Published Snapshot	Leading GEO	EPM	Other Reported Top GEOs
February 2, 2023	Norway	$117	Sweden $115; Switzerland $98
March 1, 2023	Austria	$101	Australia $95; USA $94
March 15, 2023	Canada	$99	Norway $98; Finland $97
March 30, 2023	Germany	$99	New Zealand $97; Canada $95

The most successful GEO among these four changed from Norway to Austria to Canada to Germany. That is not to say that the Smartlink routing system caused that. Nevertheless, the results clearly prove that the efficiency of GEO changes over time. That said, the posts published online do not contain enough information for any calculations of statistical significance, traffic-source mix, conversion volume, or profitability after accounting for traffic costs.

From the affiliates’ point of view, the key conclusion is quite clear – do not develop any long-term strategies based on a particularly good week.

Common Smartlink Mistakes That Reduce Monetization

A Smartlink minimizes manual offer selection; however, the affiliate still controls the quality of the input. Combining traffic from multiple sources with a single tag will make analysis less efficient. Without a postback setup, optimization becomes blind to conversions. And if a prelander is poorly targeted or takes too long to load, routing won’t save the visitor.

Sending Untracked or Poorly Segmented Traffic

To make the Smartlink data irrelevant faster than anything else, start driving traffic with too little information to understand the outcome.

Typical errors are:

• lack of sub IDs;
• one campaign name for several different traffic sources;
• combining GEOs if comparison of their performance is required;
• not separating mobile and desktop traffic when it is relevant;
• lack of conversion tracking or incorrect postback;
• changing naming conventions halfway through;
• lack of baselines for cost, EPC, or CR.

A properly set up structure will allow answering all practical questions: which placement generated the conversion; which GEO showed the best EPM; whether mobile traffic was growing while desktop traffic was declining; and whether a new creative affected the traffic source.

Correct segmentation is not about creation of dozens of small segments with no volume at all. Segmentation should capture dimensions that may impact performance. Source, GEO, device, placement, and creative – that is a minimum you can go with.

Optimizing for Payout Instead of Actual Revenue

While a large payout may seem desirable, it does not necessarily mean that it will result in effective monetization.

Poor choice:

• choose the offer with the highest payout;
• pay no attention to conversion rate;
• pay no attention to rejected conversions;
• pay no attention to traffic costs;
• believe that the most valuable single conversion will be the way to go.

Good choice:

• evaluate payout against CR;
• find EPC or EPM;
• consider traffic cost;
• evaluate conversion validity/approval;
• compare the results for a sufficient amount of traffic.

For example, an offer at $20 per conversion may yield lower revenue than an offer at $5 if the latter has a conversion rate significantly higher than the former. A smartlink can cover different payout levels, which is why it’s more important to consider normalized parameters rather than the largest number from a single conversion.

Making Decisions Before the Test Has Enough Data

Smaller sample sizes give you impressive numbers. One conversion per 10 clicks gives you a 10% CR. Ten more clicks with zero conversions bring it down to 5%. This doesn’t always mean something happened to your campaign; it just means the sample size wasn’t large enough.

Pay attention to:

• small samples of clicks;
• extreme daily fluctuations;
• “winning” conclusions after only one conversion;
• suspension of GEOs immediately after the first weak day;
• massive scaling right after an impressive single hour;
• changes in all aspects at once – creative, source, budget, and funnel;
• comparisons between periods with totally different traffic quality.

Choose the test period that best reflects the usual conversion frequency for your campaign. When they are rare, you need a larger sample of traffic or more time. With higher volume, you can see the picture faster. You are not looking for eternity; you just don’t want to pay for wrong decisions.

Ignoring Prelander, Speed and Funnel Quality

Routing is but one step in the customer journey. A page that’s neither fast nor relevant may have turned the visitor away before the Smartlink or ad has a chance to convert.

Check:

• page relevancy: is the messaging aligned with why the customer landed on that particular page?
• speed: does the page load fast enough for the devices generating traffic?
• mobile UX: are buttons, forms, and text readable on mobile devices?
• message alignment: does the customer know where the creative and prelander messaging is routing them?
• quality of traffic: is the traffic coming with intent to engage?
• tracking: are there drop-off points visible?
• compliance: does the funnel conform to the guidelines set out by the traffic, advertiser, and network?

Adverten has put together a guide on using Smartlinks with prelanders. Long-term quality campaigns should use prelanders to increase relevance and qualification—without misleading the customer or breaching any platform policies.

Expert Tips for Improving Smartlink Performance

It is common for experienced affiliates to spend much less time on guesswork and much more on improving the quality of testing. The right campaign naming, reliable postback configuration, and correct sources setup might seem rather trivial, but they are crucial for making a performance report actionable.

Another feature Adverten offers is a dedicated account management service. If you ask your manager for assistance, give them your traffic profile, volume, GEO distribution, source, device ratio, and the metrics you are working to improve.

Segment Before You Scale

Before ramping up volume, ensure you know which dimensions created your current performance.

Segmentation checklist for a pragmatic implementation:

• source: pinpoint the network, website, media channel, or owned medium;
• campaign: segment into individual campaigns or traffic types;
• GEO: make sure countries stay visible even if one Smartlink receives global traffic;
• device: split mobile and desktop if behaviors are different;
• creative: ID major creative versions;
• placement: add placement/publisher IDs where available;
• time period: make sure you compare similar time periods;
• cost: assign cost at the same level as revenue analysis.

Increasing volume without segmentation will disguise worsening performance. What if one GEO gives you great EPC, but the other three lose money? By aggregating everything into one campaign, you risk raising budgets, generating more revenue, but becoming less profitable at the same time.

Give the Optimization System Clean Data

Data accuracy begins at the pre-click stage.

Apply:

• constant parameter names;
• identical source IDs;
• distinct campaign IDs;
• clearly defined conversion actions;
• proper postback setup;
• time zones known to all reporting software;
• a single currency base for comparison of financial results;
• costs of traffic collected or recorded in the same way;
• proper differentiation of test and scaled campaigns.

Do not use the same sub ID for other placements. Avoid changing the source name midway through the test without documenting the change. In case of discrepancies in the number of clicks tracked by two different trackers, find out what causes them before making calculations of EPC from one tracker and revenue from another.

IAB handbook explains the importance of tracking links and attribution in affiliate programs. Smartlink optimization is an additional element beyond the basics of attribution, yet it can’t compensate for flaws in the measurement chain. Without reliable linking among clicks, conversions, and revenue, the decision to optimize won’t have a solid foundation.

Know When to Keep Smartlink and When to Build a Dedicated Funnel

Smartlinks are powerful, but they are not the only reasonable approach.

Situation	Smartlink Approach	Dedicated Funnel/Direct Approach
Multiple GEOs in one source	Strong fit for automatic distribution	Requires separate routing and more manual setup
New traffic source	Useful for discovery and broad monetization testing	Harder when the winning offer is unknown
Small team managing many segments	Reduces manual offer rotation	Can create operational overhead
Stable high-volume single GEO	Can continue working effectively	Dedicated setup may offer more control
Proven audience-offer match	Dynamic routing can preserve flexibility	Direct control may support a specialized funnel
Frequent offer availability changes	Smartlink can adapt eligible routing	Manual maintenance is higher

Either option may be better, depending on the traffic’s maturity and the campaign’s goal. Adverten supports both Smartlink and direct offers. An affiliate does not have to make a permanent decision. The typical process involves analyzing Smartlink data for general traffic before creating specific campaigns for that traffic segment.

Smartlink Statistics and Original Research

Why is it important? Firstly, the original data indicates the actual traffic, not generalized information about the industry. Secondly, the method is very simple to abuse. Just having a certain number of EPMs without information on the source, traffic volume, time interval, or budget can’t help an affiliate understand the profit.

The most reliable way to do this is to use the Adverten historical ranking as evidence of performance fluctuations, not as a guarantee of achieving similar EPM in the same GEO.

What Adverten Traffic Data Shows

The following are the leading GEOs and their respective EPMs from multiple weekly public posts by Adverten in early 2023:

• Norway – $117 in the February 2, 2023 snapshot;
• Austria – $101 in the March 1, 2023 snapshot;
• Canada – $99 in the March 15, 2023 snapshot;
• Germany – $99 in the March 30, 2023 snapshot.

Other reported top performers included Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, the US, Finland, and New Zealand.

This information is only sufficient for one possible conclusion – namely, that the top-performing GEO was changing over the selected weeks. It does not offer enough publicly available information to conclude the reason for such a change.

When making decisions right now, affiliates should use their own live reporting rather than copy an outdated GEO ranking. According to Adverten’s current website, its Smartlink service analyzes traffic data in real time, and affiliates can track it via real-time reporting or postbacks.

Performance Differences by GEO, Device or Traffic Segment

GEO is just one level of segmentation. In a well-planned campaign, performance can be compared according to:

• mobile versus desktop;
• iOS versus Android;
• source;
• placement;
• creative;
• campaign;
• day or week;
• new versus returning source inventory;
• paid versus owned traffic, where it makes sense.

The more pertinent question is not “Which segment has the largest number?” but “Is the gap significant enough, stable enough, and economically relevant enough to take action on?”

For instance, a mobile segment may have a higher CR but a lower EPC, since low-paying events may drive it. A small GEO may have a high EPM temporarily, but it doesn’t have sufficient volume to scale. Paid sources may generate higher income than owned sources, yet deliver a worse ROI.

This is why original research should be presented both through normalized and raw metrics. A graph of EPM becomes far more interesting when we can look at the volume of traffic behind each point.

How the Research Should Be Interpreted

When interpreting the performance data of Smartlink, apply the following methodology checklist:

• Date range: be aware of the period during which the traffic was analyzed.
• Included traffic: be aware of the sources, GEOs, and devices used.
• Excluded traffic: do not include invalid traffic in your calculations of performance.
• Metric definition: make sure you understand the definitions of metrics such as EPM, EPC, CR, and revenue.
• Aggregation: be aware of what exactly the figures represent: averages, medians, sums, weightings.
• Sample size: the larger the sample size, the better the estimate will be.
• Anonymization: sensitive information from partners and advertisers should not be revealed.
• Limitations: past performance cannot predict the future.

The affiliate marketing industry also requires some additional disclosure and compliance requirements beyond the tracking software. For an affiliate promoting a product in the United States, the FTC Endorsement Guides require that a material relationship be disclosed clearly. Adverten has its own Terms prohibiting illegal sources, spam, bots, motivated leads, referrer manipulation, spyware, and other malicious behavior.

Conclusion: Build a Data-Driven Smartlink Monetization Workflow

Smartlinks have the potential to improve the efficiency of affiliate traffic monetization through automation, helping you avoid excessive manual work routing users across various GEOs, devices, traffic sources, and available offers. However, automation is most efficient when supported by proper traffic tracking, segmentation, high-quality traffic, and sufficient performance data.

It is better to think about monetizing your traffic using Smartlinks as an iterative process, not a one-off job. Decide which traffic you want to monetize, track each source and each campaign separately, measure metrics such as EPM, EPC, conversion rate, revenue, and costs, and change something only after collecting sufficient performance data.

If you operate on a traffic pool that includes various segments and want to see how they perform, Smartlinks can be a great solution for testing them and reducing unnecessary traffic loss due to a lack of knowledge.

Adverten provides its affiliates with Smartlink technology along with real-time traffic monitoring, automated offer distribution and tracking, postbacks, prelandings, and account management. Affiliates who want to analyze how their traffic behaves can begin by testing and then increase traffic once results are in.

Frequently Asked Questions About Affiliate Smartlinks

What Happens When a Smartlink Offer Becomes Unavailable?

It’s possible to set up an affiliate smartlink to reroute traffic in the event of unavailability, capping, or unsuitability of the selected offer. The system can select another available path for routing in line with the present conditions of the campaign and the specified settings.

Do Prelanders Improve Smartlink Performance?

In smartlink affiliate marketing, the use of prelanders may improve traffic preparation before reaching an offer and allow for smoother messaging. The impact depends on factors including relevance of the prelander page, its loading speed, source of traffic, and other aspects; therefore, testing is needed.

Which Metrics Should I Compare Between Smartlink Traffic Segments?

For smartlink traffic monetization, the metric EPM describes the earnings per traffic (either visits or clicks), whereas EPC is earnings per click. Combine these with other parameters, including conversion rate, cost per traffic, and traffic volume, to compare GEOs, sources, and campaigns for further scaling.

Can I Use a Custom Domain With a Smartlink?

Absolutely. When using a smartlink in affiliate marketing, a custom domain allows you to structure your campaign links more effectively. Adverten allows you to connect a custom domain via CNAME, which helps you organize your links and keep your campaign well-structured.

How Does Traffic Source Quality Affect Smartlink Results?

Understanding how to use smartlinks effectively also means paying attention to the quality of traffic sources. Each placement attracts users with different intentions, behaviors, and conversion opportunities. Traffic source quality matters, so it is important to keep traffic sources separate when tracking campaigns.

Can I Test Several Traffic Sources With One Smartlink?

It is possible to test different traffic sources using the same CPA Smartlink. However, it is recommended to track traffic sources individually to ensure clean data for comparing their performance and identifying weak sources.

Does a Smartlink Monetize Every Click Equally?

A common question is: how does a smartlink work when individual clicks have different conditions? Smartlink automation doesn’t ensure that each click will monetize equally. Results will depend on offer availability, user intent, GEO, device, source quality, and conversion conditions. The point here is to minimize any unnecessary waste and optimize routing rather than trying to make each visit convert.

When Should I Scale a Winning Smartlink Segment?

Affiliates need to check if stronger segments will stay steady before scaling them up. If some GEOs, sources, or placements consistently show better EPC, EPM, or conversions, they may need special testing, a budget increase, and campaign structure optimization.

What Traffic Quality Rules Apply to Smartlink Campaigns?

Traffic quality rules also apply to Smartlink campaigns. Non-compliance with traffic requirements will negatively affect your campaigns and partnerships. For instance, Adverten prohibits the use of bots, artificial or self-created leads, spamming, spyware, and all other kinds of unlawful traffic practices.

Is a Higher Offer Payout Always Better for Smartlink Traffic?

The offer payout should never be considered in isolation. A higher payout can also lead to lower revenue when the conversion rate is low. When comparing offer payout to EPC, EPM, conversion volume, traffic price, and profit, you’ll see the most efficient segments and offers.