How are clicks tracked?

Clicks is an important metric to track your audience’s interest in the merchants and products you’re featuring in your content. It tracks the number of clicks on affiliate links in your content as reported by our click server. You can find clicks data in your performance reports in the Publisher Hub or you can access them via the Reporting API or Datapipe. 

Changes to how clicks are defined

Starting March 6, 2025, we’re revising how we calculate clicks to align with more recent industry changes and make it easier for you to compare your performance across platforms. Please note, there are no changes to revenue data.

What’s changing:

• Deduplicating clicks from the same individual: To reflect changes in the industry, we will deduplicate clicks from one individual on the same article to the same merchant within a 30 minute interval.
• Advanced bot traffic removal: We already removed most bot traffic, but this change enhances our bot-detection systems, helping us identify and remove even more bots from your data.

To make it easier to compare your performance over time, we’re applying the changes to performance data in the Publisher Hub and Reporting API back to January 1, 2023. This is also available for Datapipe users by request.

Which metrics will change?

As a result of this change, you’ll see updated data for click-related metrics, including:

• Clicks – The number of clicks on links in your content reported by our click server. This shows you what content is generating the most interest 
• CTR (Click-through rate) – The number of clicks divided by page impressions. This helps you compare links to see what content your readers are engaging with most.
• Conversion rate – Sales divided by the number of clicks. This shows if your readers are buying after clicking through from your content.
• EPC (Earnings per click) – Earnings divided by the number of clicks. This metric helps you compare merchant performance more accurately. Sometimes, a merchant’s commission rate is lower, but the EPC is higher.

When are the improvements taking place?

The new click tracking will go live on March 6, 2025. If you’ve downloaded data or ingested it into other platforms, you can redownload this from March 7, 2025.

Can I keep a record of my old click data?

If you would like to keep a record of your old click data for reference, you can download your existing reports before March 6, 2025.

I download or ingest my data into a different platform – what do I need to do?

Any data that you’ve downloaded or ingested into a different platform should be deleted and redownloaded for the last two years from the Publisher Hub or Reporting API. You can do this from March 7, 2025 and data will be backdated to January 1, 2023 to allow you to compare your performance over time. If you use the Datapipe, you will need to request backfill data – your Account Manager can arrange this.

Why are my clicks shown in network platforms different from Skimlinks?

The clicks shown by your affiliate network will be based on how they define clicks. You can check with your network to understand how clicks are calculated and then use the EPC (earnings per click) to compare your performance through your network and Skimlinks.

Why are my clicks shown in Google Analytics different from Skimlinks?

The clicks shown in Google Analytics will be based on how they define clicks. Google Analytics doesn’t apply the same process of click deduplication and bot traffic removal as Skimlinks and affiliate networks do. 

Can I access raw clicks?

Should you require raw click data, you can access this through the Datapipe.

Why have Skimlinks made this improvement?

We have updated our click methodology to align better with current industry trends around click calculation. These changes bring us closer to how many networks calculate clicks, making it easier for you to compare your performance across different platforms. 

Will sales data also change?

No, sales and revenue data will remain the same. Only click metrics will change with this update.