Dissecting Cookies

What are cookies?

Cookies may seem small, but they’re trusty helpers in understanding your journey online! These clever tools gently note how you interact with websites – like pages visited or devices used – to help create smoother experiences and personalized insights. Along with partners, we sometimes use cookies and similar technologies (like pixels) to support accurate tracking, all while working behind the scenes to improve our shared connections.

Cookies in BrandU

Cookies allow brands and BrandU to track data in the affiliate marketing industry. In the realm of brands collaborating with BrandU, these cookies play a pivotal role in data tracking and sales analysis. Here you can learn just how brands partnering with BrandU utilize cookies to share data with BrandU.

First-Party Cookies

When a user visits a website, first-party cookies come into play. These cookies are collected by the website itself, mainly to personalize the user’s online experience. This helps build a detailed user profile. This data helps websites offer personalized experiences and exhibit precisely targeted advertisements to users.

Third-Party Cookies

While third-party cookies function similarly, there’s a subtle difference: they are collected by another company, rather than the visited website. This means that when a user clicks on a BrandU affiliated link, makes a purchase, and leaves the website, data about this transaction is relayed to the brands affiliate channel, which in turn shares it with BrandU. This information is used in determining the creator’s analytics.

Keep in mind, this process hinges on the user’s willingness to share cookies. If a follower/consumer opts out of sharing cookies, the data remains concealed from the brand and BrandU, resulting in a sale not tracking through.

In essence, advertising cookies serve BrandU‘s data-driven ecosystem. The insights used from cookies contribute to a more streamlined and efficient brand collaboration process.

Cookie Window

In affiliate marketing, a cookie window refers to a specific time period during which a user’s activity (like clicks or purchases) is tracked and attributed to an affiliate partner. When a user clicks on an affiliate link, a cookie is stored in their browser. If they make a purchase or complete an action within this window, the affiliate earns credit for the conversion. The duration of the cookie window varies (e.g., 30 days, 90 days) and is set by the advertiser or affiliate program. It ensures that affiliates are rewarded for driving traffic, even if the user doesn’t convert immediately.

We recommend that all creators review the brand commissions, terms and conditions and commission rules to understand commissions applied.

We’re committed to helping everyone access new top brands, transparent data, and a user-friendly experience. For questions, join our Discord and find our team directly.

FAQ

What are best practices for increasing sales?

Track trends via industry reports & customer insights.
Drive decisions with sales metrics & campaign data.
Boost engagement through polls/Q&A/live chats.
Craft platform-specific content (videos, tutorials, curated guides).

Why didn’t I receive payment?

There are only a few reasons as to why you may not receive a payout, such as:

You did not select your payment method.
There is an active returns and reversals balance greater than your earnings. (Review the Transaction history.)
You did not earn commission for that pay cycle. (Review analytics)
Your commission earnings for the cycle were less than the minimum threshold.
Account is on hold and requires verification.

Which time zone are payouts allocated?

It is important to note that payments are calculated in CST for the pay period. All payments will net accordingly for the month depending on the time zone you are in.

What are the minimum thresholds?

Payout requests are processed when your balance reaches $80.00 USD within a payment cycle. If earnings don’t meet the threshold, they remain securely in your account and automatically roll over to the next cycle. Every dollar you earn matters—we safeguard your balance until it qualifies for payout. Once your balance meets the threshold and you submit a payout request, funds will be transferred to you within 3 business days.

Why didn’t the order track?

Attribution Model: Most brands use last-click attribution (credit goes to the final affiliate clicked). If a user interacts with another site (e.g., coupon toolbar) after your link, you lose credit.
Ad Blockers: Block tracking cookies, preventing brands from recording affiliate-driven sales.
Cookie Duration: Sales outside the cookie window (e.g., 30 days) aren’t tracked. Competing clicks after yours can overwrite tracking.
Coupon Codes: Unique codes may override affiliate links, redirecting credit to other partners.
User Error: Shoppers may claim they clicked your link but actually used another source or abandoned the session.
Delayed Tracking: Brands like Walmart report sales 3-5 days later, creating lag in visibility.