Where Does 30%+ of Influence Traffic Disappear — and Why Your Tracker Can't See It

You've launched an integration, got clicks, registrations, and FTDs, checked retention. Seems like enough data to evaluate the result. Or is it?

According to Makeberry Affiliates, 30%+ of growth from an influence campaign can come through search and direct traffic. Users reach the product, but the tracker no longer links them to a specific influencer.

And when you evaluate a campaign solely by conversions through affiliate links, part of the result falls outside attribution.

How the tracker loses the user

A direct conversion is easy to track: integration → click → registration → FTD.

But part of the audience behaves differently: integration → brand contact → search/direct → registration → FTD.

The user sees the integration, remembers the brand, but doesn't click the link right away. They may encounter the brand again in a follow-up integration, then later search for it by name or navigate directly.

As a result, the product gains a new user, but their conversion falls outside the attribution of the specific influencer.

This can make a campaign look less effective than it actually is: with a higher CPD, fewer FTDs, and a longer projected payback period. And that can already influence decisions about continuing the partnership.

Not by FTD alone

Even accounting for conversions through search and direct, the question of traffic quality remains.

FTD shows the fact of a first deposit, but not what the user does next. That's why 50 FTDs can be more valuable than 200, if the first group keeps playing and making deposits while the second sticks to the minimum deposit and never comes back.

For performance evaluation, what matters is not just the number of players acquired, but the cohort's behavior after the first deposit.

Alongside FTD and retention, it's worth tracking CPD, Avg deposit, One-timers % and 90-day LTV. These metrics in dynamic help assess the subsequent behavior and value of acquired users.

Campaign economics

An influencer can have 500K views and still deliver poor traffic economics. Conversely, a modest result in direct attribution doesn't necessarily mean a weak campaign: some conversions may come through search and direct, and traffic quality will become clearer from the cohort's subsequent behavior.

To see this difference, you need product analytics: what happens to users after acquisition, how cohorts behave, and whether the traffic pays off.

That's why the final decision requires understanding not just how many FTDs an influencer delivered, but also the quality of that traffic and whether it pays off in the long run.

Years of working with influence traffic — in one guide

There is still no single standard for evaluating influence traffic quality. Makeberry Affiliates have compiled the team's hands-on experience, key benchmarks, and proven approaches for Tier 1 and Tier 2 into one guide.

How to vet an influencer before launch, choose the right platform and GEO, spot artificial inflation, evaluate traffic quality and campaign economics, and know when to scale a partnership — all based on real working practices, not generic influencer marketing advice.

To get the guide, fill the form and grab our guide!