What Are Domains in Affiliate Marketing?

Learn what domains are, how they work in affiliate marketing, and why they're essential for tracking clicks and conversions in your Everflow campaigns.

What Are Domains in Affiliate Marketing?

Learn what domains are, how they work in affiliate marketing, and why distinguishing between Tracking and Conversion domains is essential for the health of your campaigns.

What Is a Domain?

A domain is simply a web address that is easy to remember. Instead of typing a confusing string of numbers like 192.168.1.1(the IP address), you type something friendly like buysneakers.com.

Think of it like your home address. Your house has specific GPS coordinates (numbers), but when you tell friends where you live, you give them your street address because it is easier to find. Domains work the same way; they give a friendly name to the server processing your data.

How Domains Work: The Store Analogy

To understand how domains work in Everflow—and why we talk about "Tracking" vs. "Conversion" domains—think of your campaign like a physical retail store.

1. The Tracking Domain is the "Entry Door"

This is the first touchpoint. It counts every person who walks in. It notes who they are and which flyer (Partner) sent them. You cannot make a purchase without walking through the door first.

2. The Conversion Domain is the "Cash Register"

This records the actual sale at the end of the visit. It confirms the purchase amount and tells the manager (Everflow) to pay the commission.

In Everflow, you need both to complete the cycle. The Tracking Domain gets the customer to the site, and the Conversion Domain confirms what they did on the site.

Tracking vs. Conversion Domains

While a single domain can technically perform both jobs, understanding their specific roles is vital for proper setup.

Feature

Tracking Domain

Conversion Domain

Primary Job

The "Entry Door." It redirects the user to the destination URL.

The "Cash Register." It fires the pixel or postback to record the sale.

When it Fires

Before the user sees the landing page.

After the user completes the action (purchase/signup).

Where is it used?

Inside the Tracking Link you give to Partners.

Inside the Postback URL/Pixel placed on the "Thank You" page.

Visibility

Visible to the user in the address bar for a split second.

Invisible to the user (background server communication).

Best Practice: When (and Why) to Use Separate Domains

In Everflow, you can technically use one domain for everything. However, Best Practice is to use separate domains.

1. Reputation Isolation

Different traffic sources carry different risks.

The Risk: Imagine you have a Partner sending traffic via Email or SMS. These sources have a higher risk of spam complaints. If they get your domain flagged as "Spam" by internet service providers, and you are using that same domain for your Conversions, your legitimate sales from other good Partners (like Social Media or SEO) might stop tracking.
The Fix: Use a dedicated Tracking Domain for riskier traffic sources. Keep your Conversion Domain separate and clean.

2. Organizational Safety

By separating your domains (e.g., t.yourbrand.com for tracking and c.yourbrand.com for conversions), you ensure stability. If t.yourbrand.com gets blocked by a browser or firewall due to high traffic volume, your c.yourbrand.com domain remains active, ensuring you don't lose historical data or affect other parts of your integration.

Pro Tip@

This strategy is a key part of Traffic Health. Keeping your Entry Door separate from your Cash Register ensures that even if the door gets jammed, the register is still safe.

What Happens When Domains Have Problems

When domains go down or get blocked, the impact is immediate:

Lost Conversions: Sales may happen, but they won't be tracked back to the Partner.
Revenue Loss: You cannot optimize campaigns you cannot measure.
Partner Issues: Partners see drops in performance and lose trust in your network.

This is why domain health monitoring is critical. Platform issues might cause delays, but domain issues cause complete data loss.

The Technical Side (Simplified)

Behind the scenes, here is what makes this work:

DNS (Domain Name System): The internet's phone book. It points your friendly domain name to the Everflow servers.
SSL Certificates: These ensure the connection is secure (the lock icon in the browser). This is mandatory for user trust and accurate tracking.
CNAME: The specific DNS record type used to alias your domain to Everflow's infrastructure.

Bottom Line

Domains are the invisible foundation of affiliate marketing. They capture every Click and Conversion.

Ensure your domains have active SSL certificates.
Consider using separate domains for Tracking and Conversions to protect your reputation.
Monitor your Traffic Health regularly to ensure no domains are flagged or blocked.