First off, a warning, many people become addicted to checking their statistics to the detriment of doing other work.
An unfortunate fact of life in this industry is that some people will try and rip you off if they think they can get away with it. Most terms and conditions state that they will be recorded in good faith and an affiliate can have them independently audited (at the affiliate’s cost) if they desire. Fat chance in reality and do auditors really find everything? Good excuse to wander down to the Caribbean though!
You will be able to track click throughs using scripts at your end but after that, there is nothing you can do. Maybe give a friend a few bucks to try it out and see if everything gets recorded properly. If it doesn’t look right ask why and if you are not satisfied with the answer, move on to another program. Life is too short and money too hard to come by to deal with dishonest people. Be persistent for a while but eventually you may just have to put it down to experience.
There are positives though and it can be a pleasure to deal with some affiliate managers. Their programs are good, their pay scales are acceptable and they are willing to listen to feedback.
Good programs allow you to track your players by period, player, banner, campaign and other metrics. These are designed to help you assess the methods that work best for you. Make sure you understand how to use these functions. It is often a case of trial and error to see what works.
Taking the opening sentence into account, it is necessary to check your statistics regularly. Don’t rely on the casinos and sportsbooks always sending you the money. It does happen and is always a pleasant surprise, but other times they need a bit of prompting. Some programs such as those for the Boss Media casinos require you to request payment. Best to request the money as soon as you can, (subject to the stated minimums) just in case you suffer a loss in the next month. This would wipe out the previous month’s earnings.
Unfortunately affiliates are the first to be ripped off because we don’t have the proof or the power to do much about it. So be organised and keep on top of your earnings.