Affiliate system and method

Abstract

To provide an affiliate system and method for, when a user performs access through an affiliate site to the site of an advertiser, and performs conversion to merchandise, and for the merchandise within a fixed range provided by the advertiser, determining that introduction in the affiliate site is valid.SOLUTION: The link 15 to the merchandise of the advertising client site 1 is changed according to the procedure s0 at the time of access from the affiliate site. The link 21 to the merchandise of the affiliate site 2 stores a link including identification information of an affiliate. When the user 3 visits the affiliate site 2 in accordance with the procedure s1, reads the link 21 to the merchandise, and visits the advertising client site 1 as the procedure s2 by the link, the affiliate determination means 13 can determine that the visit is based on the introduction by the affiliate in accordance with the procedure s3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an affiliate system and method in which advertisements of companies (advertisers) wishing to sell products are posted on media such as blogs and websites on the Internet, and when a conversion (result such as a product purchase or a request for information) occurs, the media receives a reward from the advertiser. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, affiliate systems have rewarded affiliates who place advertisers' advertisements on their media when a conversion occurs. Advertisers and affiliates typically collaborate through an affiliate service provider (ASP), which provides the infrastructure necessary for operating affiliate advertisements. That is, when an affiliate registers with an affiliate service provider, it can select an advertiser and become the operator of an affiliate site that introduces the advertiser's advertisements on its own website or blog. When a user who is a visitor to the affiliate site converts by purchasing a product, service, or other commodity from the advertiser's website via an advertisement, the affiliate is paid a reward. Whether the affiliate site is involved in a user's conversion is determined by tracking (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] When a user visits an affiliate site, they are directed to the advertiser's site using a link to the featured product. Tracking uses cookies to determine whether the product being traded on the advertiser's site is sold by an affiliate who is the seller or introducer. Alternatively, the user opens a referral link issued by a third-party service with referral functionality, and a cookie for that service is saved. At the purchase confirmation stage, the user is directed to a domain related to that service, creating a state in which the cookie can be acquired, and ultimately using the cookie to determine whether the purchase and referral have been completed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-117318 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-193613 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In tracking that uses cookies, basically only one piece of referrer identification information can be associated with a URL that serves as a link to a product, and it is not possible to use a link that comprehensively introduces products. Also, even if a user accesses an advertiser's site via a product link on an affiliate site and ends up purchasing other related products that are not linked, the referral information cannot be associated with that purchase.

[0006] To provide an affiliate system and method that, when a user accesses an advertiser's site via an affiliate site and converts to a product, determines that the introduction of the product on the affiliate site is effective if the product is within a certain range provided by the advertiser. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In the present invention, the advertiser's site: a link modification means for modifying a link to a product when accessed by an affiliate to include identification information of the affiliate; an affiliate determination means for determining that an introduction by an affiliate has been established based on identification information contained in the link when a user visits the affiliate site, is directed to the advertiser's site using a link for the introduced product, and converts to the introduced product or other related products; The affiliate system is characterized by having a management computer including:

[0008] In the present invention, the management computer has an identification information association storage means for storing the association between the user and the identification information for a predetermined period of time, The affiliate determination means determines that a transaction of a product by the user within the predetermined period is an introduction established by the affiliate. It is characterized by:

[0009] Furthermore, when an affiliate accesses an advertiser's site, the link to the product is modified to include the affiliate's identification information, This is an affiliate method in which when a user visits an affiliate site, uses a link to the introduced product to be directed to the advertiser's site, and converts to the introduced product or other related products, it is determined that the affiliate's introduction has been established based on the identification information contained in the link. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, when an affiliate accesses the management computer of the advertiser's site, the link modification means modifies the link to the product to include the affiliate's identification information. When a user visits the affiliate site, is directed to the advertiser's site using the link of the introduced product, and converts to the introduced product or other related products, the affiliate determination means of the management computer determines that the affiliate's introduction has been established based on the identification information included in the link. If the product is within a certain range provided by the advertiser, the introduction on the affiliate site can be determined to be valid.

[0011] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it can be determined that an introduction by an affiliate has been established if a user accesses the advertiser's site via the affiliate site within a certain period of time.

[0012] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when an affiliate accesses an advertiser's site, the link to the product is modified to include the affiliate's identification information. When a user visits the affiliate site, uses the link to the introduced product to be directed to the advertiser's site, and converts to the introduced product or other related products, the identification information included in the link can be used to determine that the affiliate's introduction has been established. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram showing the configuration of an affiliate system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the management computer 11 of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparison between the affiliate flow according to the present invention and the conventional affiliate flow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The configuration of affiliate system 10 and affiliate method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. For the sake of convenience, parts not shown in the figures being described may be referred to by reference numerals shown in other figures. [Example]

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a simplified configuration of an affiliate system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the affiliate system 10, an advertiser site 1, an affiliate site 2, and a user 3 are interconnected via the Internet. Naturally, other advertiser sites, affiliate service providers, and the like are also present, but are not shown in the figure. The advertiser site 1 includes a management computer 11. The management computer 11 includes a link modification means 12, an affiliate determination means 13, and an identification information storage means 14. The management computer 11 enables external access to product A 15a and product B 15b via a link 15 to products such as products sold or services provided. The number of products is not limited to two; more products are also possible. When the affiliate site 2 accesses the advertiser site 1, the content of the link 15 to the product is stored in a link 21 to the product within the affiliate site 2. A user 3 accesses the affiliate site 2, reads the link to the product, and follows the link to the product to access the advertiser site 1.

[0016] That is, the link 15 to the product on the advertiser site 1 is changed according to step s0 when accessed from the affiliate site. A link including the affiliate's identification information is stored in the link 21 to the product on the affiliate site 2. When the user 3 visits the affiliate site 2 according to step s1, reads the link 21 to the product, and visits the advertiser site 1 using this link in step s2, the affiliate determination means 13 can determine that the visit is based on an introduction by the affiliate according to step s3.

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the management computer 11 of FIG. 1. In step S1, after operation begins, a determination is made as to whether or not there has been access to the advertiser site 1. If there has been no access, the determination is repeated until there has been access. If there has been access, then in step S2, it is determined whether or not the access is from an affiliate. It is assumed that the affiliate has been registered in advance through an affiliate service provider. If it is determined that the access is from an affiliate, then in step S3, as in step s0 of FIG. 1, the content of the link 15 to the product is modified to include the affiliate's identification information, and the process returns to step S1. The link to the product held by the affiliate, for example, link 21 to the product on affiliate site 2, is updated with the modified content. Note that links 15 and 21 to the product are in HTML format when introduced on affiliate site 2 or a blog, and are URLs beginning with "https" when introduced as text in an email newsletter, etc.

[0018] If it is determined in step S2 that the access is not from an affiliate, the process proceeds to step S4, where it is determined whether affiliate identification information is included. Since affiliate identification information is included in links when the access is via affiliate site 2, if it is determined that affiliate identification information is included, it is stored in identification information related storage means 14 in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S6. If it is determined that affiliate identification information is not included, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0019] In step S6, it is determined whether or not there has been a conversion for a product within a predetermined range, such as the purchase of product A 16a or product B 16b. If it is determined that there has been a conversion, in step S7, the affiliate identification information is stored in the identification information related storage means 14, and it is determined whether or not the storage period is within the period. In step S8, the affiliate determination means 13 determines that an introduction by the affiliate has been established for a product transaction by user 3 within a predetermined period, for example, one month. If it is not determined in step S6 that there has been a conversion for the product, or if it is determined in step S8 that the identification information related storage period has expired, the determination of whether or not an affiliate introduction has been established in step S8 is not made, and the operation is terminated.

[0020] FIG. 3 compares the affiliate flow (a) according to the present invention with the flow (b) of conventional affiliate marketing. In the present invention, (1) an article or video is introduced, (2) a user finds it interesting, (3) the user becomes aware of the existence of a product, and (4) the user purchases it from the product page, and (5) a reward is generated for the introducer. In the past, (1) a product was introduced, and (2) the user purchased the introduced product from the product page, and (3) a reward was generated for the introducer. In conventional product introductions, if many products were introduced, the number of articles for each individual product would decrease. If too many articles were created, and a product different from the one introduced was purchased, no reward would be generated. [Explanation of symbols]

[0021] 1. Advertiser site 2. Affiliate Sites 3 users 10. Affiliate System 11 Management Computer 12 Link Change Methods 13 Affiliate Judgment Method 14. Identification-related storage means 15,21 Link to product 16a Product A 16b Product B

Claims

1. The advertiser's site is a link modification means for modifying a link to a product when accessed by an affiliate to include identification information of the affiliate; an affiliate determination means for determining that an introduction by an affiliate has been established based on identification information contained in the link when a user visits the affiliate site, is directed to the advertiser's site using a link for the introduced product, and converts to the introduced product or other related products; An affiliate system comprising a management computer including:

2. the management computer has an identification information association storage means for storing the association between the user and the identification information for a predetermined period of time; The affiliate determination means determines that a transaction of a product by the user within the predetermined period is an introduction established by the affiliate.

2. The affiliate system according to claim 1, wherein:

3. When an affiliate accesses the advertiser's site, the link to the product is modified to include the affiliate's identification information, An affiliate method in which when a user visits an affiliate site, uses a link for the introduced product to be directed to the advertiser's site, and converts on the introduced product or other related products, the affiliate is deemed to have made an introduction based on the identification information contained in the link.

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