Once more into the breech, or is it about the crumbs being left behind?

Cookies, and their duration, as set by Sponsors, is an issue many webmasters get passionate about, but I wonder, should we? I mean does it really matter if a cookie is set for infinity or 24 hours?

Myself, I am of the opinion that a cookie should be set to about a month, perhaps a bit longer like six weeks, but I don’t believe cookies set longer really matter in the scheme of things. Not because I am uber rich and it doesn’t matter to me how much I make, but because I believe that most surfers have some form of anti spyware that gets run at least a month or so.

Microsoft even, has some anti spyware nonsense included in VISTA, and I tend to think that most new anti virus software also does. Do they eliminate the cookies? Not sure, but while webmasters may be more security conscious, I think the surfer is rapidly becoming more astute about things like spyware, like cookies.

The more known anti virus programs like Norton, MacAfee, Trend Micro and so on all seem to come bundled these days with scans that include checking cookies, include checking for spyware. And some will count a cookie as spyware, and prompt to delete. Let’s not forget about Ad Aware either, that is popular with consumers.

So why bother with setting them for longer?

Personally I think it is a tempest in a teapot, but then heck I once was blond too. So who really knows, but it would be interesting to find out, just how many sales does a site make from a cookie, and can they even tell when the cookie was initialized. By that I mean, can they tell if the cookie is recent, or was placed on the surfer’s computer six months ago? three months? whatever?

Now that would settle the issue, though somehow, I don’t expect an answer.

Frankly I think it is about perception. I think affiliates are so conscious of being ripped off, that when they see a short time cookie, they have the impression that they are being ripped off somehow. I don’t quite see it that way, though I suppose anything is possible. I just find it weird as to why some sponsors set cookies to expire in a day, others set them to expire in a year or longer.

If it truly is as I believe, that the surfer deletes the cookies on a regular basis, then it makes no difference. On the other hand, if they don’t, then I guess the question is should an affiliate be entitled to a commission for a surfer who visited six months earlier?

What if they visit another affiliate’s site, that has better marketing copy and so makes them click the join page, but as the cookie is from elsewhere, the one who really made the sale is denied the commission?Then there is the issue of ‘how do you know’ if it was your cookie or not?

This whole issue comes down a simple matter of trust, I think. If I am pushing a sponsor who I don’t trust, the real question shouldn’t be about how long their cookie lasts, but why am I pushing them?

I can hear the answers too: ‘Well they convert really well for me” and yet if we mis trust them so much, how are we even sure of even that aspect of the business relationship?

Posted on June 22nd, 2008 by No Bull
Filed under: Marketing 101