New eBay Affiliate Link Migration.

Here's a quick guide I decided to write in hopes it will help other eBay affiliates with the link migration. If you didn't get it, I have included the email sent to eBay affiliates on Sept 26th regarding the migration. SEE End of Guide A word of caution, I have tested both version of the link structure "mpre" vs "loc" and the links work, but I don't know if there is a difference in the tracking or if one is preferred over the other as eBay has not gotten back to us in that regard. I will update this as soon as I know. Enjoy . . . Scott

PID: Your Publisher ID available in the Commission Junction Interface. AID: is a country specific value that associates the click with the correct eBay Region SID: Shopper ID (SID) is an affiliate defined variable used to monitor the specific link that produced each transaction. The SID can be up to 64 characters and is URL-encoded (%20 for a space, %2E for a comma, etc) loc: Destination target URL or landing page where user will be directed and must be URL-encoded (ex: http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2F).

PlacementID and AID pair: The PlacementID and AID pair is a country and tool specific value that associates the click with the correct eBay Affiliate Campaign. PID: Publisher Site ID available in the Commission Junction Interface. SID: Shopper ID (SID) is an affiliate defined variable used to monitor the specific link that produced each transaction. The SID can be up to 64 characters and is URL-encoded (%20 for a space, %2E for a comma, etc). loc or mpre: Target URL or landing page where user will be directed and must be URL-encoded (ex: http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2F).

In order to convert your old links it will be faster for you to do a search and replace with a text editor. Search for the highlighted section of the old link style and replace it with the new Rover link style. I have provided examples with and without the SID tracking code, as well as the SID tracking code inserted in the front of end of the target encoded URL. Pay close attention to the "?" and "&" characters between the sections you are replacing as well as the placement of the SID tracking.

Migration eMail

Rover migration starting! The eBay Affiliate Program is excited to launch the final phase of Project Rover.

We have now completed the Pre-Migration and are ready to begin the Affiliate Link Migration.

As mentioned in our previous communication, we ask that you migrate all of your links before November 15th, 2006.

Please note that both the current tracking and new Rover systems will run in parallel during the migration.

Thank you for all the questions and feedback that we have received on our discussion board http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jspa?forumID=118.

We are doing our best to answer all of you and we are looking into ways to help you migrate your links, so please keep posting!

Rover details by tool All Rover URLs will use the same server name, rover.ebay.com, regardless of the target destination domain or eBay site.

The general form for Rover links is as follows: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/PlacementID/1?SID=KEYWORD&AID=XXXXXX&PID=XXXXXX&loc=TARGET ENCODED URL

PlacementID and AID pair: The PlacementID and AID pair is a country and tool specific value that associates the click with the correct eBay Affiliate Campaign. - PID: Publisher Site ID available in the Commission Junction Interface. - SID: Shopper ID (SID) is an affiliate defined variable used to monitor the specific link that produced each transaction. The SID can be up to 64 characters and is URL-encoded (%20 for a space, %2E for a comma, etc). - loc: Target URL or landing page where user will be directed and must be URL-encoded (ex: http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2F).

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Flexible Destination Tool and Keyword Linking Tool

The Flexible Destination Tool and Keyword Linking Tool now output updated Rover links. You can recreate your links using the tools (http://affiliates.ebay.com/tools). If you prefer to change your links manually, you can refer to the table below, that shows the PlacementID and AID pair for the flexible destination tool by country:

Country ..................................................Site Placement ID ........... AID
Australia ................................................ 705-10061-5969-5 ..........10281274
Belgium (Dutch) .....................................1553-22136-8894-7 ........10372511
Canada ..................................................706-5367-2978-10 ...........8417593
France ....................................................709-23234-2978-9 ..........10367739
India .......................................................4686-26182-2978-42 ......10382423
Italy ........................................................724-24676-10417-2 ........10383434
Netherlands ...........................................1346-21022-9149-7 ........10363499
Singapore ..............................................3423-39206-15408 ..........10431024
Spain .....................................................1185-24651-10004-2 .......10380493
United Kingdom..................................... 710-5232-2978-1 .............9479574
United States .........................................711-1751-2978-71 ...........5463217

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Banners, Buttons and Logos:

All active Banners, Buttons and Logos are available within the Commission Junction interface. Please note that expired creatives will not be available in the interface.

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Editor Kit, Product Kit, RSS Feed Generator and the Rest API GetSearchResults call

No action is needed if you are using the Editor Kit, Product Kit, RSS Feed Generator or the Rest API GetSearchResults call – links will be automatically updated. Thank you for continuing to promote all of our eBay Affiliate Programs worldwide. Sincerely, The eBay Affiliate Team