In this article, we will teach you how External Traffic Program (ETP) works and how it can help your business grow outside of the TikTok App. To get started, we will go over the following:

• What is External Traffic Program (ETP)?
• How does External Traffic Program Work?
• How to enroll in External Traffic Program?
• How to Track External Traffic Program's Order?

How to Track External Traffic Program's DataNote: All data presented is virtual information, intended for reference purposes only

What is External Traffic Program?

External Traffic Program is a TikTok Shop affiliate program that lets creators' and external traffic partners' promote your products using affiliate links. They can share these links on platforms like social media, websites, apps and more, helping you reach new customers outside TikTok and drive extra visibility to boost sales.

How does External Traffic Program work?

To learn more about the journey between Seller -> Creator/External Traffic Partner -> Buyer, we created this flowchart:

• When buyers click on the link and checkout the product, creators or external traffic partners will earn a commission from you. They will receive the commission once the orders are completely fulfilled. Here is how it works:

By default, this program’s commission rates are based on your Open Collaboration settings. If the purchase is made through Target Collaboration/TAP creators you collaborate with, the commission rates are determined by those settings.

How to Enroll in External Traffic Program?

• You’ll be enrolled in the program as long as you have at least one product in either the TikTok Shop Affiliate Collaboration: Open or Target Collaboration. Learn how to start affiliate collaboration here.
• This means, if previously you already have a product registered for affiliate collaboration, you'll automatically be enrolled and can expect to see more exposure without needing to set up anything!

How to opt out of the program?

• You can opt out of the program at any time, but you will no longer get extra exposure. Leaving the External Traffic Program does not mean you will quit the affiliate program. You can still receive in-app promotions from creators who can promote your product through LIVE sessions, short videos, and showcases.

To rejoin the program, simply click "Join":
Important: Creators or External Traffic Partners will still earn commissions on orders they generate before you quit the program. After you quit, orders made will not qualify for commission.
For example, if you quit the program at 10:00 AM and a Creator or External Traffic Partner generates an order at 9:59 AM, they will still get a commission once the order is completed.

How to Track External Traffic Program's Order

You can track the orders coming from External Traffic Program on Seller Center > Affiliate Center > Affiliate Order
On this page, you can view all of your affiliate orders. To filter orders from the External Traffic Program, use the 'Content Type' filter and select "External Traffic Channel"

How to Track External Traffic Program's Data

Understanding the impact of ETP can help you optimize your product strategy within the Affiliate Program. By analysing this data, you can enable creators to drive more affiliate link sharing for products that are proven to have high or growing contribution towards your overall Affiliate Program performance!
Check out these 2 ways to analyse overall ETP performance by Product-level and by Creator-level:

Product Analytics

Navigate to: Seller Center > Affiliate Center > ProductIn the Core Data section, view the overall attribution of ETP towards your Affiliate Program. The data shown here reflects a combination of affiliate links shared via both Open Collaboration & Target Collaboration. To learn more about each metric, simply hover over the (?) icon beside each metric!
Tip: Check out the newly added metric ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) to assess the effectiveness of ETP! This reflects the return generated on the money spent to drive sales. Here's an example calculation:This indicates for every $10 spent, you are earning back 10x the GMV!In the Product list section, view all the products that have been promoted by creators via affiliate links. Here, you can:

• Quickly zoom into a specific product performance by searching for the product name
• Filter the product list by product category
• Export the full product list for offline analysis
• Sort the product list based on the metric of your choice
  • Tip: Sort the product list by highest to lowest GMV to identify which product drove the highest GMV via affiliate links.
    • For high GMV products: Continue to maintain this product within affiliate products and engage with more creators!

For low GMV products: Consider replacing this product with a different product to test the performance of a different affiliate product.

Creator Detail Analytics

Navigate to: Seller Center > Affiliate Center > CreatorIn the Product Card tab, select 'External Traffic Program' from the dropdown to deep dive into further performance insights (such as Revenue, Item Sold, Buyers and Est. Commission) on each affiliate link product shared by the selected individual creator.
Tip: Try to analyse a few creators and see if there are similar trends of a same product driving high GMV and Est. Commission across these creators. Knowing that this works well, you can then engage with other creators by encouraging them to promote the affiliate link of the high performing product! Creators can earn more commission while you earn more GMV.

FAQ

1. Can Creators promote any product links in my shop?
   • Creators can only promote products that you’ve registered in either Affiliate Open Collaboration or Target Collaboration.
   • If the product is registered only on Target Collaboration, only invited Creators can promote it. The same applies if the product is registered on TAP campaigns.
2. Does this mean that any product I successfully register for Open or Target Collaboration will be eligible for the External Traffic Program?
   • Yes, as long as you have at least one product in either Open or Target Collaboration, you will automatically be eligible for the program.
   • This also applies to products you registered for affiliate collaborations before the program launched. Any products registered after the launch will also automatically be eligible for the program, unless you decide to leave the program.
3. Is it possible to remove the option for Creators or External Traffic Partners to promote my products using Affiliate Links?
   • You can do so by leaving the External Traffic Program, but you will no longer receive external promotions for any products registered in Affiliate Collaborations.
   • Leaving the External Traffic Program does not mean you will quit the affiliate program. You can still receive in-app promotions from creators who can promote your product through LIVE sessions, short videos, and showcases.
4. Can I change the commission for orders through TikTok Shop recommendations?
   • No, the commission is 50% of the rate you've set in the Open Collaboration.
     • However, if a creator or External Traffic Partner promotes your product through a TAP campaign, the commission will be 50% of the rate set in the TAP campaign.
     • If the creator or External Traffic Partner promotes your product through Target Collaboration, the commission will be 50% of the rate set in Target Collaboration.
     • In all other cases, the commission will be 50% of the rate set in Open Collaboration.
5. Can I set different commission rates for Affiliate Links and Content?
   • No. The commission rate set in Open and Target Collaboration will apply to all promotion channels.