In this article you will learn how Kickbooster tracks clicks and pledges made towards your campaign through Kickbooster referral links.
What does Kickbooster use to track activity?
Kickbooster uses both Google Analytics and collaborator or team access to your campaign to track and validate referral activity.
Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo allow you to insert a GA4 tracking ID (Google tag ID) on your campaign page. When you sign up with Kickbooster, we need to connect to that same tracking ID. Without connecting to Google Analytics, you won't be able to activate your Kickbooster referral program.
What is Kickbooster able to track, exactly?
Kickbooster has the ability to track when someone visits your campaign after clicking on one of your referral links.
We are able to track clicks, pledges, adjustments, and cancellations.
Are there ever any cases where referrals aren't tracked?
Yes, there may be cases where a referral is not tracked through Kickbooster:
Due to limitations within Kickstarter and Indiegogo, we are only able to track pledges that occur within the same browser session as the initial click.
Different browsers and devices define a session differently, so the accuracy of all pledges varies depending on the person being referred to the campaign. This limitation is because Kickstarter doesn't allow campaign owners or third party software to place a tracking pixel or cookie information within the Kickstarter platform.Google Analytics cannot track the source of conversions when users block cookies or use advanced privacy settings in their browser. In this case, we rely on the referrals tracked directly through the platform. We will still be able to track a pledge made through a Kickbooster referral link, but will not be able to associate the pledge with a specific backer transaction due to the backer’s privacy settings.
The Campaign Owner/Merchant is logged into Kickbooster and has clicked one of their Affiliate links to make a purchase. In this case, we do not track the purchase as a referral (eCommerce referral programs only).
Important Reminder
Kickstarter campaigns use first-click attribution, meaning if a backer has visited the campaign page prior to clicking on the Kickbooster referral link, then the backer’s pledge will not be counted as a referral from that specific Kickbooster referral link.
Why is Kickbooster reporting more clicks to my project than Google Analytics is showing?
Users may click on a Kickbooster link but close your project page before it loads fully and sends analytics data to Google. This is especially common on mobile devices where project pages take longer to load. When this happens, Kickbooster may report a click on your project, but Google Analytics will not get a chance to record a visit to your project page.
How does Kickbooster prevent fraudulent pledges being made in return for commissions?
Throughout your campaign we monitor any pledge cancellations and adjust commissions accordingly. After your campaign ends, we will conduct a final validation sync before issuing your affiliate fees invoice to ensure any pledges we detect as having failed when the backers’ credit cards get charged are removed and associated commissions are voided.