What is dynamic pricing?
Most brands start with a flat payout — a fixed amount per sale or per click that every partner gets paid the same way. That's fine on day one, but every partner converts differently. The traffic source, audience, geo, and creative all move conversion rate around. A flat payout overpays your worst partners and underpays your best ones.
Dynamic pricing is a per-offer engine that watches your traffic, computes how each partner is actually performing, and adjusts each partner's CPC (cost per click) so you keep a fixed share of the revenue. You set a target margin once; Trcker tunes the CPCs.
You don't have to use it. Most new programs leave it off and pay a flat rate per offer. Turn it on once you have real partner traffic and want the engine to do the math.
When to enable it
Three things should be true before you turn it on:
- You have at least 100 clicks per partner you want to optimize. With less data the engine can't reliably tell signal from noise.
- You have a few conversions per partner. Specifically, more than the Min sales needed threshold (default: 3).
- You're willing to let payouts move week-over-week. A partner whose CR drops will see a lower CPC. A partner whose CR rises will see a higher CPC. That's the point.
If any of those aren't true, leave it disabled. Pay a flat rate per offer in the meantime — set on the offer itself.
What each setting does
When you enable the rules form on Pricing for an offer, you'll see:
Target Margin
The slice of revenue you want to keep. The engine computes a CPC such that, given each partner's measured EPC (earnings per click), you net the target margin per click.
CPC = EPC × (1 − margin%)
A higher margin means lower partner payouts (you keep more). A lower margin means higher partner payouts (you keep less). Most early-stage programs run between 15% and 30%.
Min CPC (floor) / Max CPC (ceiling)
Hard caps on what any single partner's CPC can become. Floors prevent the engine from setting a CPC so low that partners walk away. Ceilings prevent overpaying when a partner has a hot streak that won't last.
Both are optional. If you don't set them, the engine uses the math result directly.
How payouts adjust
Three modes:
- Manual — you keep flat per-offer payouts; the engine just previews what it would set on the Simulate tab. Useful for "what if I turned this on?" without committing.
- Algorithmic — the engine sets CPCs automatically and applies them on the next refresh cycle.
- Hybrid — algorithmic by default, but you can override individual partners' CPCs from the Pricing dashboard. Overrides win.
Start with Manual. Look at the Simulate tab. When the numbers feel right, switch to Algorithmic.
Data window
How far back the engine looks to compute each partner's EPC and CR. Shorter windows react faster to changes; longer windows are more stable. Default is 30 days. Use 7 days only if you have very high traffic volume.
Max change per run
A dampening factor. The engine won't change a CPC by more than this percentage in any single refresh, even if the math says it should. Prevents big swings from a few unlucky days. Default is 25%.
Min clicks needed / Min sales needed
Floors on the data the engine is willing to act on. If a partner has fewer than this many clicks (or conversions) in the data window, the engine leaves their CPC alone and waits for more data.
How updates happen
Once dynamic pricing is enabled and in Algorithmic or Hybrid mode, Trcker re-runs the math nightly. Every change (and the reasons for it) lands in the History tab so you can see exactly what the engine did and undo a bad call.
You'll also get a Slack alert if you've connected one — same alerts you can already configure for conversions, partner applications, and daily summaries.
Common questions
Will partners notice their CPCs change? Yes. Partners see their per-offer payout when they pull a tracking link, in their portal, and in the conversion notifications they receive. If you don't want them to see CPC churn, stay in Manual mode and set CPCs by hand.
Can I override a single partner without disabling the whole engine? Yes — that's what Hybrid mode is for. The engine handles the rest, you handle the exceptions.
What happens if I turn dynamic pricing off? Nothing immediate. The last CPCs the engine set stay in place until you change them manually. There's no "revert to flat payouts" button — you'd just edit the offer's payout back to a single rate.