[Journey] Creating Flask + React conversion tracker

t4nk78 · Oct 28, 2023

Hi, welcome to my first ever documented journey. This will actually be the first in a series of journeys that will ultimately lead to cpa pop/push/ lead generation.

But for now as I don't have the capital to burn I might as well start here. I am always creating my own tools for different things and I currently have more half- finished projects than I care to admit.

Anyways, I'm well aware that there are free options out there but I want to tackle this on my own and customize it to my own liking. Documenting this here will help keep me focused on this project as well as keep me motivated enough to alleviate shiny object syndrome.

There will most likely be weekly updates here as I am very busy and have little time here and there to devote to this everyday.

Not much has happened yet, so far i have: created empty flask and react apps. So...

Day 1: we have an empty canvas.

Next steps:
1. outline all needed basic features and key data points.
2. design the database schema to handle clicks, conversions, campaigns etc and create a tracking mechanism for reporting.

That's it for now. I welcome your criticism so please feel free to chime in!

Until next time....

zabie f karake · Oct 28, 2023

you shoold be ready to burn a few thousends $ before to start seeing results good luck

t4nk78 · Oct 28, 2023

zabie f karake said:
you shoold be ready to burn a few thousends $ before to start seeing results good luck

Thanks, I'll need all the good luck I can get.

t4nk78 · Oct 28, 2023

Small update #1:

Have created basic schema and related api endpoints. Functionality so far -

I can create and view campaigns, clicks, conversions using curl post and view them with GET.

Very basic so far. At this point I think I will extend the api endpoints for deleting/modifying objects etc a bit more and then connect this to the front-end so that we can do this using a gui.

Going to call it a day for now though while I'm ahead. No issues as of yet...

MR.Spuf · Oct 28, 2023

t4nk78 said:
Hi, welcome to my first ever documented journey. This will actually be the first in a series of journeys that will ultimately lead to cpa pop/push/ lead generation.

But for now as I don't have the capital to burn I might as well start here. I am always creating my own tools for different things and I currently have more half- finished projects than I care to admit.

Anyways, I'm well aware that there are free options out there but I want to tackle this on my own and customize it to my own liking. Documenting this here will help keep me focused on this project as well as keep me motivated enough to alleviate shiny object syndrome.

There will most likely be weekly updates here as I am very busy and have little time here and there to devote to this everyday.

Not much has happened yet, so far i have: created empty flask and react apps. So...

Day 1: we have an empty canvas.

Next steps:
1. outline all needed basic features and key data points.
2. design the database schema to handle clicks, conversions, campaigns etc and create a tracking mechanism for reporting.

That's it for now. I welcome your criticism so please feel free to chime in!

Until next time....

Solid and new type of journey, love it. I am curious, what are your skills of expertise?

t4nk78 · Oct 28, 2023

MR.Spuf said:
Solid and new type of journey, love it. I am curious, what are your skills of expertise?

I can't honestly call myself an 'expert' in anything, really. I have been dabbling quite a bit in python for a couple of years now but never on any professional level.

As far as day to day. I'm a cnc machine operator/programmer in the offline world.

t4nk78 · Oct 29, 2023

Got the react dashboard connected to flask db and added some sample data and crude styling to give yall a little bit to see what I'm doing so far.... it's not pretty so don't laugh at me!

Kukiezi · Oct 29, 2023

What is the point of creating this tracker? I don't really know where this is going?
What are the impressions supposed to be here?

If you wouldn't mind explaining a bit more on, why are you creating this and for what? And how you are planning to use it?

t4nk78 · Oct 29, 2023

Kukiezi said:
What is the point of creating this tracker? I don't really know where this is going?
What are the impressions supposed to be here?

If you wouldn't mind explaining a bit more on, why are you creating this and for what? And how you are planning to use it?

It's just a conversion tracker for traffic campaigns. Like voluum/bemob etc to track performance of ad campaigns. The data is all zeroes here bc it's just sample data/in development.

This specific journey isn't about earning money or anything like that but more like a public diary recording my progress and keeping myself focused on this specific task. It will end when this thing is deployed and working.

It will only be for personal use, also.

Deleted member 1501362 · Oct 29, 2023

I love this journey G. As a new developer myself, just finished with CS. About to just start out in the development world but a very seasoned internet marketer that's been into CPA Marketing for years, this gets me really excited. I like your little layout so far man, keep it up. I really want to see where this goes. I use Binom for my campaign tracking but Bemob and Voluum are really good as well. Keep this up, and please don't quit, I'll be following all the way to the end and maybe test your tool as well.

Kukiezi · Oct 29, 2023

t4nk78 said:
It's just a conversion tracker for traffic campaigns. Like voluum/bemob etc to track performance of ad campaigns. The data is all zeroes here bc it's just sample data/in development.

This specific journey isn't about earning money or anything like that but more like a public diary recording my progress and keeping myself focused on this specific task. It will end when this thing is deployed and working.

It will only be for personal use, also.

But to track ad campaings... don't you need to have you own AD solution? Like if you have a campaign somewhere, like google ads, they give you the tracker of impressions etc.
So what's the point in creating a table that shows value, while there is no way to attain those values without having actual ad solution?
How and what is going to populate this data?

I don't mean to be rude, Im just really wondering if I am missing something here

Deleted member 1501362 · Oct 29, 2023

Kukiezi said:
But to track ad campaings... don't you need to have you own AD solution? Like if you have a campaign somewhere, like google ads, they give you the tracker of impressions etc.
So what's the point in creating a table that shows value, while there is no way to attain those values without having actual ad solution?
How and what is going to populate this data?

I don't mean to be rude, Im just really wondering if I am missing something here

The adnetworks will give you a postback URL, your tracker will be connected to their postback url to fire back the ad spend amount. Your offer also comes with a postback url to connect to your campaign tracker link and fires off the conversion to the tracker. So the tracker is getting data from the adnetwork as well as the offer/cpa network. I think he is on the right path. I hope you understand what I'm saying.

Kukiezi · Oct 29, 2023

Deleted member 1501362 said:
The adnetworks will give you a postback URL, your tracker will be connected to their postback url to fire back the ad spend amount. Your offer also comes with a postback url to connect to your campaign tracker link and fires off the conversion to the tracker. So the tracker is getting data from the adnetwork as well as the offer/cpa network. I think he is on the right path. I hope you understand what I'm saying.

Oh okay. So some ad networks offer webhook functionality, that will contain info about the "conversion" or w/e happened. So you can use this data to populate your own dashboard.
I guess it makes sense then.

If as OP said, its not journey about making money, then by all means. Have fun!
But overall, it seems like this is not something you need to do, to be better at CPA, push w/e. Maybe once you have multiple campagins in different networks, and you can't track it all easily.
But as someone who has been working in the industry for awhile and done some side projects etc. I always applause and recommend doing (even silly, fun) projects on the side.
Just don't aim too big, and this time finish it to the state that is satisfactory and can be considered "complete".

GL!

t4nk78 · Oct 29, 2023

Kukiezi said:
But to track ad campaings... don't you need to have you own AD solution? Like if you have a campaign somewhere, like google ads, they give you the tracker of impressions etc.
So what's the point in creating a table that shows value, while there is no way to attain those values without having actual ad solution?
How and what is going to populate this data?

I don't mean to be rude, Im just really wondering if I am missing something here

Bedazzled answered it concisely I will implement the necessary postbacks to get the data from ad and traffic networks. This will cut down on costs of using a paid service that costs $99/month or more and will allow me the freedom of customizing it to my liking. To use this tool would cost me the price of a vps for hosting...

I am fully aware that I am being a bit ambitious here, seeing the complexity of such a project. However, all complex tools start from a single line of code. Here I am fleshing out the simple core features and will add more to it until it either breaks or becomes something very useful to me.

In either case I will gain some knowledge so I am perfectly fine with the outcome no matter what.

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Deleted member 1501362 · Oct 29, 2023

Kukiezi said:
Oh okay. So some ad networks offer webhook functionality, that will contain info about the "conversion" or w/e happened. So you can use this data to populate your own dashboard.
I guess it makes sense then.

If as OP said, its not journey about making money, then by all means. Have fun!
But overall, it seems like this is not something you need to do, to be better at CPA, push w/e. Maybe once you have multiple campagins in different networks, and you can't track it all easily.
But as someone who has been working in the industry for awhile and done some side projects etc. I always applause and recommend doing (even silly, fun) projects on the side.
Just don't aim too big, and this time finish it to the state that is satisfactory and can be considered "complete".

GL!

Yeah, that's true. This won't make him better in terms of finding profitable campaigns and offers but if he gets this completed. It will cut the cost down of him having to pay for a tracker which can be quite expensive. This could in return let him keep more profit for himself. But in terms of just pure cpa marketing, I see where you are coming from.

temichoni1979 · Nov 6, 2023

t4nk78 said:
Hi, welcome to my first ever documented journey. This will actually be the first in a series of journeys that will ultimately lead to cpa pop/push/ lead generation.

But for now as I don't have the capital to burn I might as well start here. I am always creating my own tools for different things and I currently have more half- finished projects than I care to admit.

Anyways, I'm well aware that there are free options out there but I want to tackle this on my own and customize it to my own liking. Documenting this here will help keep me focused on this project as well as keep me motivated enough to alleviate shiny object syndrome.

There will most likely be weekly updates here as I am very busy and have little time here and there to devote to this everyday.

Not much has happened yet, so far i have: created empty flask and react apps. So...

Day 1: we have an empty canvas.

Next steps:
1. outline all needed basic features and key data points.
2. design the database schema to handle clicks, conversions, campaigns etc and create a tracking mechanism for reporting.

That's it for now. I welcome your criticism so please feel free to chime in!

Until next time....

Why waste time on DIY when free options exist? Be realistic and cut the half-finished projects. Your grand plan sounds like a recipe for burnout. CPA pop/push/lead gen requires patience, capital, and expertise. Motivation won't cut it. Stay humble, focus on achievable goals, and don't reinvent the wheel. Save your aggression for competitors, not yourself. Remember, in this journey, it's better to walk before you try to run.

t4nk78 · Nov 6, 2023

temichoni1979 said:
Why waste time on DIY when free options exist? Be realistic and cut the half-finished projects. Your grand plan sounds like a recipe for burnout. CPA pop/push/lead gen requires patience, capital, and expertise. Motivation won't cut it. Stay humble, focus on achievable goals, and don't reinvent the wheel. Save your aggression for competitors, not yourself. Remember, in this journey, it's better to walk before you try to run.

This specific journey is all about learning, not earning. I learn by doing things that interest me.

I explained in the initial post that I am well aware that this already exists as a free option.

Some people are just fine with knowing that a machine does its job, but I want to take it apart, inspect each individual gear and know exactly how it interacts with its counterparts.

The cpa stuff will come later when I'm good and ready.

wizard007 · Nov 6, 2023

Good Luck On Your Journey Mate

arc323 · Nov 6, 2023

Are you trying to just build a reporting platform? Because it sounds like you're pulling data directly from ad networks, which is fine, but the best trackers are working independently of ad networks.

For example, we use Redtrack (enterprise level plan) and Redtrack is our source of truth for attribution, not the ad networks. So if you are trying to build an alternative to Voluum/Bemob, etc., you might consider making your tracker be the source of truth and not just pull data down from ad networks. To do this you need to add click ids. You might be able to start with some open source analytics tool as your base and build on top of it, if that's the route you wanted to go.

One tool that Redtrack has that not many others know about is host/post for conversion data. Meaning, I can take conversions from website A, post that conversion data back to FB CAPI as if it came from website B. This helps marketers move data around their ecosystem. I think Voluum might offer this sort of thing too, but it was one of the reasons we went to Redtrack.

So if you somehow built a simple host/post system, you would have a very unique product and one that solves a problem for lots of marketers, even agencies.

Most trackers are structured like this:

Offer Source - Aff network or website (Shopify, woo, etc.)
Offer
Traffic Source - Ad network / website, etc.
Campaign

It's cool to something new on the journeys. Keep going man! Build something cool, regardless of whether or not people say it has a use case.

t4nk78 · Nov 6, 2023

arc323 said:
Are you trying to just build a reporting platform? Because it sounds like you're pulling data directly from ad networks, which is fine, but the best trackers are working independently of ad networks.

For example, we use Redtrack (enterprise level plan) and Redtrack is our source of truth for attribution, not the ad networks. So if you are trying to build an alternative to Voluum/Bemob, etc., you might consider making your tracker be the source of truth and not just pull data down from ad networks. To do this you need to add click ids. You might be able to start with some open source analytics tool as your base and build on top of it, if that's the route you wanted to go.

One tool that Redtrack has that not many others know about is host/post for conversion data. Meaning, I can take conversions from website A, post that conversion data back to FB CAPI as if it came from website B. This helps marketers move data around their ecosystem. I think Voluum might offer this sort of thing too, but it was one of the reasons we went to Redtrack.

So if you somehow built a simple host/post system, you would have a very unique product and one that solves a problem for lots of marketers, even agencies.

Most trackers are structured like this:

Offer Source - Aff network or website (Shopify, woo, etc.)
Offer
Traffic Source - Ad network / website, etc.
Campaign

It's cool to something new on the journeys. Keep going man! Build something cool, regardless of whether or not people say it has a use case.

That's definitely something to look into. I don't think I've ever worked with redtrack before, surely not anytime in recent years. If I'm understanding you correctly, this would be a separate tracking id that fires on our side only?

Forgive me if I sound retarded, I'm on break with other stuff on my mind but you have piqued my interest...

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