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    Affiliate link structure

    Hello,
    I would like to point our affiliates to other pages rather than the SFNT one.
    I need to comfirm the exact structure because I am just about to send a bulk mail and I am not sure if the links that I created will carry the affiliate code.

    The default is:
    http://www.air-vest.com/mm5/merchant...liate=Lauriola

    1) I need one pointed to the CTGY page
    http://www.air-vest.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=&Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=airvest&Category_Code=Hit-Air-Equestrian&Affiliate=Lauriola

    2) One pointed to the PROD page.
    http://www.air-vest.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=airvest&Product_Code=ADVANTAGE&Aff iliate=Lauriola

    Do you see anything wrong within them?
    Thanks!

    #2
    Re: Affiliate link structure

    Has anyone gotten affiliate links to work with shortlinks?

    The default URLs are so long, and it would be nice if our affiliates could just add "&Affiliate=emdub" or something to the end of any of our urls. At the very least, is the session id necessary, or can that be removed?
    Last edited by emdub; 04-04-13, 12:47 PM.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Affiliate link structure

      You should be able to just append "&Affiliate=emdub" to the end of your short links. If that is not working there is probably something in your .htaccess file that is not passing along the query string.

      You should have QSA or %QUERY_STRING at the end of your re-write rules. If you're hosted with us, let me know what your domain is and I can verify for you.
      Brennan Heyde
      VP Product
      Miva, Inc.
      [email protected]
      https://www.miva.com

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Affiliate link structure

        This is what I have in htaccess that was inserted by Miva (there is more, from Wordpress and for some redirects). Where would the QSA or %QUERY_STRING go?

        Code:
        ### Begin - Inserted by Miva Merchant
        
        RewriteEngine On
        
        RewriteRule ^mm5/admin.mvc? - [L]
        
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-s
        RewriteRule ^product/([^/.]+).html$ /mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_code=$1 [L]
        
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-s
        RewriteRule ^category/([^/.]+).html$ /mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_code=$1 [L]
        
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-s
        RewriteRule ^([^/]+)/([^/.]+).html$ /mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Category_code=$1&Product_code=$2 [L]
        
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-s
        RewriteRule ^([^/.]+).html$ /mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=$1 [L]
        
        ### End - Inserted by Miva Merchant

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Affiliate link structure

          it would be added the the [L] and the end of each link.

          It should look like this:

          [QSA, L]
          Brennan Heyde
          VP Product
          Miva, Inc.
          [email protected]
          https://www.miva.com

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Affiliate link structure

            Originally posted by Lauriola View Post
            Hello,
            I would like to point our affiliates to other pages rather than the SFNT one.
            I need to comfirm the exact structure because I am just about to send a bulk mail and I am not sure if the links that I created will carry the affiliate code.

            The default is:
            http://www.air-vest.com/mm5/merchant...liate=Lauriola

            1) I need one pointed to the CTGY page
            http://www.air-vest.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=&Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=airvest&Category_Code=Hit-Air-Equestrian&Affiliate=Lauriola

            2) One pointed to the PROD page.
            http://www.air-vest.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=airvest&Product_Code=ADVANTAGE&Aff iliate=Lauriola

            Do you see anything wrong within them?
            Thanks!
            Everything looks OK to my Hostasaurus Support team. So I'll go ahead and send them.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Affiliate link structure

              Brennan - I replaced all the [L]s with [QSA, L], but when I uploaded the modified .htaccess file, the entire website became unreachable: every page (both in and out of Miva) gave Internal Server Errors. I reverted back to the unmodified file, so the site is back up, but I still am not sure what went wrong or what I should do differently.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Affiliate link structure

                Add this at the end of the rewrites needing the query strings (before the [L] but at the end of the string):

                Code:
                &%{QUERY_STRING}
                That *should* fix it.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Affiliate link structure

                  Just so I'm sure, they should look like this:

                  Code:
                    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-s RewriteRule ^product/([^/.]+).html$ /mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_code=$1&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
                  And this part should be left as is?
                  Code:
                  RewriteRule ^mm5/admin.mvc? - [L]
                  or should it be
                  Code:
                  RewriteRule ^mm5/admin.mvc?&%{QUERY_STRING} - [L]
                  On the subject of affiliate links, how long does the affiliate cookie last? I'm not finding any place in the Miva back end to adjust the cookie lifespan.
                  Last edited by emdub; 04-05-13, 09:30 AM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Affiliate link structure

                    This is correct, as we've implemented it:

                    Code:
                    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-s 
                    RewriteRule ^product/([^/.]+).html$ /mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_code=$1&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
                    I don't have anything appended to our admin line, so no -- don't add to that line.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Affiliate link structure

                      That seems to work perfectly, thank you!

                      Still haven't been able to find out anything about the affiliate cookie length, though. I can't seem to find anything about it in the miva documentation or back end.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Affiliate link structure

                        From the PR8 reference:

                        "When a customer reaches your store by clicking on an affiliate link, the affiliate information is added to the customer's session cookie. It's the session cookie that lets Miva Merchant know that the customer made a certain purchase in your store after clicking on an affiliate's link. If the customer's basket expires, or if the customer deletes their cookies, and then buys something from your store, your affiliate does not get credit for the purchase."

                        http://www.mivamerchant.com/pdf/MivaPR8_11-08-12.pdf

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Affiliate link structure

                          So, the affiliate cookie uses the same expiration as the Shopping Interface Cookie set under "Timeouts" in Domain Settings? If so, that is extremely helpful.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Affiliate link structure

                            I gathered the affiliate information is added to the existing session cookie -- it's not a stand-alone cookie. As such, yes on the cookie duration.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Affiliate link structure

                              Originally posted by emdub View Post
                              So, the affiliate cookie uses the same expiration as the Shopping Interface Cookie set under "Timeouts" in Domain Settings? If so, that is extremely helpful.
                              I would agree helpful if you knew this before testing. I have found, if you are using the same browser when both logged in to admin and running the page with the affiliate link, the affiliate function wont register an affiliate "hit." As a practice to test this, You need to clear cookie for the sites/store and use a different browser or computer. Can't say of that is technically precise, but, it's my solution.

                              FWIW,

                              Scott
                              Need to offer Shipping Insurance?
                              Interactive Design Solutions https://www.myids.net
                              MivaMerchant Business Partner | Certified MivaMerchant Web Developer
                              Competitive Rates, Custom Modules and Integrations, Store Integration
                              AutoBaskets|Advanced Waitlist Integration|Ask about Shipping Insurance Integration
                              My T-shirt Collection is mostly MivaCon T-shirts!!

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