Best Practices for Campaign Attribution and ROI Tracking

Attributing player growth to specific marketing channels or content creator sponsorships is notoriously difficult in Minecraft. Unlike standard web apps where users click tracking links, Minecraft players join using their game clients.

In this guide, we will look at how ShardAnalytics solves this problem using First-Join Domain Attribution and Creator Codes, and how to analyze campaign cost, revenue, and conversion rates.

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The ShardAnalytics Attribution Model

Rather than relying on clunky, redirecting URL shorteners that players cannot use inside the Minecraft game launcher, ShardAnalytics attributes players using two server-side signals:

1. First-Join Domains (Subdomains)

Assign a dedicated subdomain or domain to each campaign (e.g. promo.aurora.net for YouTuber Aurora’s campaign).

• When a player connects to your network, ShardAnalytics intercepts the domain they typed into their multiplayer list.
• If it is their first ever join on your network, they are permanently attributed to that campaign.
• This represents a highly accurate first-touch acquisition model directly tied to game traffic.

2. Campaign Creator Codes

In addition to subdomains, ShardAnalytics tracks creator codes used in your web store (such as Tebex or CraftingStore checkout).

• When a player uses a creator code during a store purchase, ShardAnalytics automatically attributes that transaction and the purchasing player to the corresponding campaign.
• This allows you to track and attribute revenue from players who might have connected via a general domain but used a creator’s discount code at checkout.

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Measuring Campaign Performance and ROI

In your Campaign Overview page, each campaign registers four core metrics to help you calculate its return on investment (ROI):

1. New Users: The total number of players whose first-ever connection was attributed to the campaign’s domain or creator code.
2. Conversion Rate: The percentage of attributed players who completed a target action, such as returning on Day 7, reaching Level 10, or making a store purchase.
3. Campaign Cost: The fixed or recurring cost of the campaign sponsorship (e.g., paying a creator $500 for a video).
4. Campaign Revenue: The sum of all store purchases (Tebex, CraftingStore) made by players attributed to this campaign.

$$\text{ROI} = \frac{\text{Campaign Revenue} - \text{Campaign Cost}}{\text{Campaign Cost}} \times 100$$

Example Scenario:

• Campaign: YouTube Partner Video
• Attribution IP: partner.aurora.net
• Cost: $450
• New Users: 1,240
• Conversion Rate: 8.4% (104 purchasing users)
• Campaign Revenue: $1,820
• Net ROI: +304%

By analyzing these metrics, you can immediately identify which creators drive high-converting, high-spending players, rather than just raw connection spikes.