Table of Contents
Overview
Clicks can be deemed invalid for multiple reasons. Some of the most common are related to targeting requirements, fraud detection and daily cap limitations. The Fail Traffic function allows you to set up rules for redirecting Invalid Clicks to a specified destination that would otherwise lead to a blank page.
Please Note: By default, Fail Traffic does not apply to Paused offers. If you wish to use Fail Traffic for Paused offers, navigate to Control Center - Configuration > Global Settings and enable the setting Enable fail traffic when an Offer is paused.
A Step-By-Step Guide
Step #1
First, find the Offer for which you would like to redirect Invalid Clicks and switch on the Enable Fail Traffic toggle by navigating to Offers - Manage > Select the Offer > Fail Traffic - Edit.
Step #2
Select the Redirect Mechanism for the Fail Traffic logic.
Priority
This allows you to create a waterfall-like flow for possible redirect destinations. An Invalid Click will be redirected to Offer 1 after checking the Targeting Rules and Fail Reason for eligibility. If the click does not meet the redirect-level targeting rules specified for for Offer 1, it will be redirected to Offer 2 and so on, EXCEPT with the use of Smart Links or Offer Groups, which are explained later.
*PRO TIP* With Priority, an Invalid Click can only be redirected somewhere other than the first Fail Traffic redirect if you add redirect-level Targeting Rules, define specific Fail Reasons or if the first Offer in the flow is Inactive.
WeightThis option allows you to redirect a percentage of Invalid Clicks to each potential redirect Offer according to its assigned weight. For example, 50% of Invalid Clicks are sent to Offer 1, 25% of Invalid Click are sent to Offer 2 and the remaining 25% of Invalid Clicks are sent to Offer 3.
Priority OR Weight with Global Fail RedirectIf there is no viable redirect in the Fail Traffic flow, the click is redirected to the global fail redirect. To set up your Global Fail Traffic destination at the network level, navigate to Control Center - Configuration > Global Settings - Edit and turn on the toggle for Enable Global Fail Traffic.
**Please Note: Any clicks redirected via Global Fail Redirect are not payable to Partners.
Step #3
Select the Destination Type (Offer, Offer Group, Smart Link or Pass Through) for each redirect in the flow.
Offer
This function sends Invalid Clicks to a specific offer (e.g. Offer 1). If the user does not meet offer-level targeting requirements for Offer 1, they are redirected to the Fail Traffic flow of Offer 1 - they do NOT return to the Fail Traffic flow associated the original offer.
Offer Group
This function sends Invalid Clicks to an Offer from the defined Offer Group randomly. If the user does not meet the offer-level targeting requirements of this randomly selected Offer from the Offer Group, they will be taken to a dead/blank page - NOT to a consecutive random redirect.
Pass Through
Enabling this feature means that Invalid Clicks will still be sent to the landing page of the Offer despite not meeting offer-level targeting requirements; however, further activity (i.e. conversions) will be set to Pending. (Potential) revenue from pass-through conversions are shown in the conversion report but not top-level reports. They are not included in advertiser invoicing except when set to Approved.
Note: Pass through conversions (even when set to Approved) are never visible, payable, or fired to Partners.
Smart Link [Recommended]
The user will be taken to the Smart Link, at which point they will follow all the defined logic, which considers the offer-level targeting rules for each Offer included in the Smart Link. If the click does not meet the offer-level targeting rules for any of the offers in the Smart Link, it will be redirected to the catch-all offer associated with that Smart Link or a blank/dead page.
Step #4
Use the toggle and, if desired, select the specific Fail Reason(s) to define what types of Invalid Clicks are allowed to be redirected. When specific fail reasons are defined, a user can only be sent to the associated redirect if the fail reason matches the defined reason. If you do not use the toggle and select specific fail reasons, then this rule will apply to ALL fail reasons.
Step #5
Add the redirect-level targeting for each destination, if applicable.
Please note that NOT adding redirect-level targeting rules means that targeting is not considered when sending the user to the redirect destination. If you want each Offer's offer-level targeting setting to be considered, use a Smart Link for the Destination Type.
If the Partner does not have visibility to the Fail Traffic redirect, the click is taken to the next redirect in the flow where they do have visibility.
Step #6
Define whether or not conversions on Fail Traffic destinations will be paid to Partners. Please note that the Partner must have visibility for the Fail Traffic destination in order for the Pay Partner feature to function properly.
Enabling the Pay Partner option allows for paying your partner for conversions on the defined Fail Traffic offer, unlike a typical Fail Traffic redirect. The conversion will also be fired to the Partner using their Click ID they passed in the original click, if "Fire Partner Postback" is enabled on the fail offer. However, the original click is still considered invalid and will track as an Invalid Click in reporting.
Reporting in your Partner Portal
Partners can add the column Redirect Traffic Rev to any of the following reports to see revenue from Fail Traffic redirects.
Please note: Only the revenue amount will be displayed - no clicks or conversions. There is NOT a way to make the clicks and conversions from fail traffic visible to Partners.
Below is a list of Reporting Options in the Partner Portal:
Offer Report
Sub ID Report
Daily Report
Smart Link Report
Flex Analysis
All Entity Detail views
Example #1
The click fails to meet the original Offer requirements, so the user is redirected to Offer ID 14 Everflow - Our Own Example regardless of the reason for the click failing. The original click is Invalid, and clicks and any subsequent conversions on Offer ID 14 Everflow - Our Own Example will not be shared with the Partner.
If the click fails to meet the offer-targeting requirements for Offer ID 12021, the user will be redirected to the Fail Traffic redirect associated with Offer ID 461 - NOT a consecutive Offer from the original Offer's Fail Traffic flow.
If the click fails due to Offer ID 12021 being inactive or not visible for the Partner, the user is redirected to the Smart Link. Since the Pay Partner feature is turned on, the Partner will see the payout for any Offers associated with the Smart Link. In their Portal, it is under the column Redirect Traffic Rev.
Example #2
The click fails to meet the original offer requirements.
If the click failed due to geotargeting, the user will be redirected to Offer ID 14 Everflow - Our Own Example. Please note in this case that a total of 2 clicks would be tracked: an Invalid Click for the original Offer and a valid click for Offer ID 14. Since the Pay Partner feature is turned on, the Partner sees all clicks, conversions and payouts associated with Offer ID 14.
If the click failed for any reason other than geotargeting, the user will pass through to the landing page of the original Offer at which point Everflow will stop tracking the click. One click will be tracked per pass through.
Example #3
The click fails to meet the original Offer's requirements. The user has a 50% chance of either "passing through" to the original Offer (which removes the potential for further tracking) or being redirected to Offer ID 14.
If the user is redirected to Offer ID 14, the Partner will track the associated new click and any conversions.
If the click fails to meet offer-level requirements for Offer ID 14, the user will be redirected to the Fail Traffic flow associated with Offer ID 14.