How to set up affiliate campaign tracking

A complete affiliate tracking setup connects six things: the ad click, campaign route, landing page, offer click, advertiser conversion, and report. If one boundary loses the click ID or changes the intended destination, the dashboard cannot repair the chain later.

Tracked keeps these pieces in one campaign workspace so you can configure the route, host or connect the page, assign offers, receive postbacks, and inspect the attributed journey together.

Still choosing your tracker? Use the affiliate tracking software checklist for media buyers. Once the campaign is verified, the daily media-buying review shows how to turn its data into a page or offer decision.

Buying Facebook or Instagram traffic? Facebook ads for affiliate marketing covers the offer, ad promise, and commission evidence around this setup. Use the Facebook landing-page checklist for the destination checks before spending.

The affiliate tracking path

Use this model before opening any settings screen:

Ad → Tracked campaign URL → landing page → /click/N → offer
   → advertiser stores click ID → advertiser postback → Tracked conversion

Every step has a specific responsibility:

• the traffic source supplies campaign and ad context;
• Tracked creates the visit and click context;
• the landing page preserves the campaign-relative action;
• the offer or advertiser stores the click identifier;
• the postback returns the verified conversion;
• the report joins the event to the original route, page, and offer.

1. Create the site and campaign route

Choose the domain that will serve the campaign and a clear path such as:

https://example.com/compare-plans/

The route should be stable enough to use in ads. Keep preview URLs, temporary import paths, and editor-only locations out of live traffic.

Give the campaign a name that distinguishes the offer, market, or test without stuffing every targeting dimension into one label. Tags and platform mappings can carry additional organization.

2. Choose the landing-page delivery mode

Tracked supports three destination models:

• hosted: Tracked serves files stored with the site;
• proxy: an approved upstream page is delivered through the campaign URL;
• redirect: the campaign sends the visitor to an external URL.

Hosted mode gives Tracked the strongest page workflow: file ownership, custom macros, tracked links, preview, and editing stay close to the campaign. The hosted, proxy, and redirect comparison covers the tradeoffs.

3. Add the landing page and assets

Upload or import the entry HTML and every required stylesheet, script, image, and font. Keep an index.html entry file in the hosted folder.

Before adding tracking changes, confirm that:

• the page renders on mobile and desktop;
• asset paths resolve from the campaign domain;
• forms still submit to the intended destination;
• required policies and disclosures remain present;
• existing analytics and pixels behave as expected.

4. Replace offer links with tracked click slots

Point primary offer actions to campaign-relative paths such as:

<a href="/click/1">Check availability</a>

Use separate numbered slots for distinct offer placements or intents. The campaign can route each slot to one or more eligible offers.

Do not replace navigation, privacy, terms, or social links merely because they are external. Track the actions that represent the campaign’s offer handoff.

5. Configure offers and weights

Create each real destination as a Tracked offer, then attach it to the appropriate landing page or click slot.

If more than one offer is eligible, assign explicit weights. A simple starting configuration might be 50/50 for a controlled comparison or 80/20 when one destination must receive most traffic.

Use rules when eligibility changes by supported request context. A country-specific advertiser, for example, should not remain in the default pool for visitors it cannot accept.

The weighted offer rotation guide explains slots, pools, and test design in more detail.

6. Configure campaign and platform macros

Traffic-source macros describe the incoming ad context. Hosted pages can read campaign, impression, session, platform, query, device, and geographic context. {{click.id}} is resolved for the outgoing offer URL when /click/N creates the offer click; it is not a landing-page visit or session ID.

Custom {{tokens}} can also fill campaign-specific text, images, and URLs. Use them when one approved page template should carry different campaign values without duplicating the folder.

Keep attribution identifiers out of visible copy. Their job is to survive forms, offer URLs, and callbacks.

Forward needed query values explicitly in the configured offer URL, for example with {{query.fbclid}} or {{query.utm_campaign}}. Incoming parameters are not automatically appended at click-out. A Meta click ID supplies ad context; it does not replace the Tracked offer-click ID returned by the network.

7. Pass the Tracked click ID to the advertiser

Choose the advertiser field that stores the offer-click ID, often a supported sub-ID or external identifier. Put {{click.id}} in that field on the configured offer URL. Tracked fills it when /click/N creates the offer click, not while it serves the landing page.

Inspect the real outgoing request. A template that looks correct in the UI can still send a literal macro, drop a query string, or use the wrong field name.

The advertiser must retain that value until conversion time.

8. Add the advertiser postback

Configure the advertiser or affiliate network to call the Tracked postback endpoint with the stored click ID and supported conversion fields. The untyped callback represents the primary conversion; an explicit conversion_type or type marks a secondary funnel signal, which receives zero payout.

A simplified pattern looks like:

https://your-tracked-endpoint/postback?click_id={saved_subid}&payout={payout}

This untyped pattern records a primary conversion. To report a secondary funnel signal, use conversion_type={event_type} or type={event_type} instead; Tracked treats explicitly typed callbacks as secondary and records zero payout, even if a payout parameter is also sent. Use the sending platform’s actual macro names. The placeholders above are explanatory, not universal syntax.

Use the free postback URL builder to assemble the callback with raw values or your advertiser’s documented macros. Keep click_id as the receiving parameter for Tracked. The preview does not send a request or verify a conversion; continue with the end-to-end check below.

Map advertiser event names to stable reporting events where needed. Keep lead, qualified lead, purchase, refund, and chargeback states distinct when they affect payout or optimization.

9. Run an end-to-end test

Use a fresh campaign URL and note the route and page. After you follow /click/N, record the {{click.id}} value sent to the offer.

1. Open the campaign URL.
2. Confirm the intended page variation loads.
3. Verify system and custom macros resolved correctly.
4. Click each relevant /click/N link.
5. Confirm the selected offer receives the value from {{click.id}} in its click-ID field.
6. Complete a supported test conversion.
7. Inspect the advertiser callback.
8. Confirm Tracked attaches one conversion to the original click.
9. Check the campaign, page, offer, revenue, and event classification.
10. Repeat the callback to verify duplicate behavior.

Do not stop at an HTTP 200. Transport, attribution, deduplication, and reporting are separate checks.

10. Read the journey before scaling traffic

Inspect the sequence from impression or visit through offer click and conversion. A useful launch check should show:

• the intended campaign route;
• the served landing page;
• the clicked slot and selected offer;
• the original click identifier;
• the conversion event and revenue where supplied;
• any outbound traffic-source feedback.

Fix missing evidence before increasing spend. More traffic makes a broken join more expensive, not more accurate.

For Meta traffic, recording a conversion in Tracked and delivering a usable event to Meta are separate jobs. The Meta CAPI guide explains the current partial delivery boundary. If you own the store checkout rather than an affiliate offer, use the ecommerce tracking workflow to plan confirmed order evidence.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need before setting up affiliate tracking?

You need a campaign domain or site, a landing-page destination, at least one offer URL, an advertiser field that can store the Tracked click ID, and a supported conversion callback.

Should every landing-page link use /click/1?

No. Use tracked click slots for offer actions. Preserve navigation, policy, contact, and other non-offer links unless they have a separate campaign requirement.

How do I know the postback worked?

Confirm the callback resolved to the intended test click, created exactly one eligible conversion, and appeared under the correct campaign, page, and offer.

Can I use one landing page for several campaigns?

Yes. Hosted templates and dynamic macros can reuse a page while campaign and rule values change. Use separate folders when the page structure or assets genuinely differ.

Start free — early access. Use your invite or request access, then build one campaign whose offer click and callback you can follow.