Pixel in affiliate marketing: how to install it and how it can be helpful for an affiliate

A pixel is a small piece of code that an affiliate can find in the Ad account. If you install this piece of code on your site, the ad network will be able to collect data about user actions in order to optimize campaigns and display ad statistics.

The pixel code contains a small 1×1 pixel image.

A pixel is a link between an advertising network and a website to which an affiliate runs traffic. The pixel allows the ad network to collect data, and the marketer to make campaigns more effective.

Without pixels, you would not be able to track the effectiveness of campaigns and the customer journey, you would not be able to analyze the data and correct many errors.

Pixels in affiliate marketing: where are they used and how do they work?

In affiliate marketing, as in advertising in general, pixels are used for:

• Data collection and analysis. The pixel will collect information about users and generate detailed statistics. The affiliate can learn about the performance of individual ads, conversions, clicks, and other user activity;

• Collection of retargeting bases. With the help of a pixel, you can not only track data but also collect users in an audience according to specific parameters. For example, you can add to similar audiences those users who opted out of the conversion at the stage of filling out the form.

In the future, you can run ads on the collected audiences. The collected users are already familiar with your offer, and this raises the chances of a conversion;

• For automatic optimization. In order for an ad network to optimize your campaigns on its own, it needs data on ad performance. Without a pixel, the ad network will not be able to collect them, which means it is a necessary tool for auto-optimization.

A pixel is a simple tool that should be on any landing page. It will collect data, increase the efficiency of social network algorithms and help to gather a hot audience that is already familiar with your project.

A pixel, like its capabilities, is directly dependent on the advertising network. Each pixel is tied to a specific advertising account and sends data only to its “own” network.

This means that if you connect the Google Analytics pixel to the landing page and run traffic from Facebook, there will be no conversion data in the FB advertising account.

The last thing to remember about pixels is that they are safe. Pixels do not analyze the content of the site and cannot tell advertising networks that the page contains offers that are prohibited from being promoted.

Why does an affiliate need to install pixels?

Because if you do not use a pixel, there will be several key problems:

• Without automation. The ad network algorithms will not be able to improve the campaigns, as there will be no data on their effectiveness;
• No data. The affiliate will also not be able to evaluate the campaign and identify errors that affect its effectiveness;
• No retargeting audiences. Gathering into a separate audience of users who have already visited your site will not work either.

There is no reason for an affiliate not to use a pixel – it’s free, safe, and effective.

Many beginners are intimidated by the need to work with code – but it is not as difficult as it seems. Read more about installing and configuring the pixel in the next section.

How to install a pixel?

All pixels work on the same principle – they are installed on the site, configured, and then the pixels collect data and transmit it to the advertising network.

We will consider the adjustment algorithm using the Facebook pixel as an example, but in general, this algorithm will work for most other pixels.

So, to install the FB pixel on the site, you need to:

1. Go to Events Manager;
2. Select “Connect Data Sources”, and type – “Internet”;
3. Select “Facebook Pixel”;
4. Come up with a name for the pixel and enter the website address.

At this stage, the pixel is created – it remains to connect it to the site!

You can do this in two ways:

• Manually. You just need to copy the code and paste it into the HTML code of the site, before the line </head>. If you created a landing page on a builder, you can almost always add code snippets using special tools in the builder itself;
• Through Google Tag Manager. You can register with GTM and add the GTM pixel to your site. After that, you can manage the pixels of different advertising networks from the Google Tag Manager interface, including installing FB pixels.

And when the pixel is created and installed, you need to configure it. At the current stage, it collects data for optimization but does not track target actions (in the FB interface they are called “Events”).

In order for Facebook to track events, you need to set up a pixel.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Click “Add Events” – “From Pixel”;
2. Open the “Event Configuration Tool”;
3. Enter the address of your site, click on the “Open site” button;
4. Select “Track new button”;
5. The tool will highlight all the buttons on the page – select the one you need, specify the target action from the list and click “Confirm”;
6. Set up events for the required buttons in the same way. When the setup is completed, click “Finish”.

Which ad networks have pixels?

Pixels are used by all advanced advertising networks such as Google, FB, and others. Conventionally, they can be divided into three groups:

• Social network. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other major platforms use pixels. Their main task is to improve auto-optimization. Compared to search engine pixels, social media pixels provide much fewer data about a site;

• Search engines. Search engine pixels collect a wider range of data, such as time on page, depth of content read or targeted queries from search. The most popular solution is Google Analytics, but other search engines have their own pixels;

• Advertising networks with specific traffic. Less popular networks, such as teaser or push networks, do not use pixels much. Their necessity and effectiveness in these traffic sources is questionable since everything depends on the functionality of a particular site.

We decided not to write a separate pixel for each network, since they all work on the same principle and solve the same tasks.

When choosing specific pixels, give preference to the pixel of the network from which you are running traffic. Also, it will not be superfluous to install the Google Analytics pixel – it will help you collect more data and get more detailed information about your audience.

Let’s summarize:

• A pixel is a piece of code that allows an ad network to collect data about website visitors;
• The pixel collects analytical data, helps the ad network optimize campaigns faster, and builds retargeting audiences;
• Pixels are free and safe – they do not analyze the content of your site, and you do not have to pay for their use;
• Without a pixel, the affiliate and ad network don’t get enough data to optimize;
• The pixel is easy to install – just insert its code into the site and configure it using the internal tools of the advertising network;
• All pixels solve the same tasks, the only difference is in the site to which they transmit data;
• Search engine pixels provide more information about the user’s actions on the pages;
• Set the pixels of those sites from which you plan to advance;
• Set pixels before campaigns start to collect as much data as possible.