Introduction
Domain assignments in Everflow follow a clear priority hierarchy that determines which domain is used when generating tracking links. Understanding this hierarchy is crucial for managing your tracking infrastructure effectively and ensuring partners use the correct domains for their campaigns.
Think of domain assignments like a filing system with specific folders. When Everflow needs to generate a tracking link, it looks through these folders in order from most specific to most general until it finds an assignment.
Assignment Priority
Everflow uses a priority system when determining which domain to use for any tracking link. The system checks assignments in this order:
1. Partner + Offer Combination (Highest Priority)
The most specific assignment. When you assign a domain to a particular Partner-Offer combination, it overrides all other assignments for that specific pairing.
Example: Partner ABC promoting Offer XYZ uses "special.domain.com" while Partner ABC promoting other Offers uses their general Partner domain.
2. Partner-Level Assignment
Applies to all Offers promoted by a specific Partner, unless a Partner + Offer assignment exists.
Example: Partner ABC always uses "partner-abc.domain.com" for all their campaigns.
3. Offer-Level Assignment (Global)
Acts as the default tracking domain for an Offer. Used by any Partner promoting that Offer unless they have a more specific assignment.
Example: Offer XYZ always uses "offer-xyz.domain.com" unless a Partner has their own assignment.
4. Default Domain (Lowest Priority)
Your account's default tracking domain, used when no specific assignments exist.
Example: "default.domain.com" is used for any Partner-Offer combination without specific assignments.
This hierarchy ensures the most specific assignment always takes precedence, giving you maximum control over domain usage.
Understanding Assignment Mismatches
Assignment mismatches occur when Partners use domains they weren't assigned to use. This can happen in several ways:
What causes mismatches:
- Partners discover domains from other affiliates and start using them
- Partners use old tracking links after assignments change
- Partners manually modify tracking URLs
Why mismatches matter:
- Can lead to domain reputation issues if new traffic is lower quality
- Violates your intended traffic segmentation
- Makes it harder to track which Partners are causing domain problems
Example: You've set up offer-level domain assignments, but a partner discovers that you have multiple domains available. They decide to switch from their assigned domain to a different one without your knowledge, creating a mismatch that could affect your domain's reputation.
Managing Assignments Through Traffic Health
Traffic Health provides a centralized way to create, edit, and manage domain assignments.
Accessing Domain Assignments
The Assignments Interface
The assignments screen has two tabs:
Current Tab: Shows all active assignments for the domain
History Tab: Displays a log of all assignment changes with timestamps
Assignment Information Displayed
For each assignment, you'll see:
- Partner: The partner the domain is assigned to (if applicable)
- Offer: The offer the domain is assigned to (if applicable)
- Assignment Level: Whether it's Offer (Global), Partner (Specific), or Partner + Offer (Specific)
- Edit Assignment: Button to modify the assignment
Creating New Assignments
To create a new assignment:
Editing Existing Assignments
To modify assignments:
To delete assignments:
Bulk Assignments
Traffic Health allows you to manage multiple assignments efficiently:
Bulk Edit Function:
Individual Offer and Partner Management
While Traffic Health provides bulk management, you can still create assignments through individual Offer and Partner management:
Offer-Level Domain Assignment
To assign domains to specific Offers:
Partner-Level Domain Assignment
To assign domains to specific partners:
Bottom Line
Domain assignment hierarchy gives you precise control over which domains partners use for different campaigns. By understanding the priority system and leveraging Traffic Health's management tools, you can:
- Maintain clean traffic segregation between different partner types
- Quickly respond to domain issues by reassigning traffic to healthy domains
- Monitor unauthorized domain usage and take corrective action
- Streamline partner communications when assignments need to change
The key is using the most specific assignment level appropriate for your needs while maintaining clear documentation of why assignments exist. Traffic Health's centralized management makes it easy to oversee your entire domain assignment strategy from one location.