Quick answer: Affiliate link tracking is how a program knows a customer came from you. Your link carries an ID. When someone clicks, the click is recorded, and when they sign up or deposit, the conversion is matched back to that click. The match is made with a browser cookie, a server-to-server postback, or both.
I'm Rihards, founder of Seven Affiliates, and I've spent five years in iGaming. Tracking is the least glamorous part of this business and the only part that decides whether you get paid.
Think of a parcel. [Sticks a label on own forehead.] The label says who sent it, and every depot scans it on the way through. If the label falls off, the parcel still arrives. It's just that nobody knows it was yours, and nobody pays you for posting it.
The parts of affiliate tracking at a glance
| Part | What it does | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate ID | Says the click is yours | The program |
| Sub ID | Says which of your pages or campaigns it came from | You |
| Click ID | Gives this one click a unique reference | The tracking system |
| Cookie | Remembers the click in the visitor's browser | The tracking system |
| Postback | Reports the conversion from server to server | You and the program together |
Names vary between platforms. One system's "sub ID" is another's "sub1" or "campaign". The jobs are the same.
What is affiliate link tracking?
The tracking tool We Can Track defines it as "the process of monitoring clicks, conversions, and revenue generated by your affiliate links. When a visitor clicks your affiliate link, a tracking system records the click, follows the visitor through to the merchant's site, and attributes any resulting purchase back to your link" (We Can Track).
Swap "merchant" for "operator" and "purchase" for "registration and deposit", and that's iGaming. Three things have to happen: the click is recorded, the visitor is recognised later, and the result is credited to you.
It's the middle one that goes wrong. Recording a click is easy. Recognising the same person two days later, on a different browser, after they've cleared their history, is where the label starts peeling.
What's inside an affiliate link?
A destination plus a few labels. Everything after the question mark is information about the click, and you can read it like a parcel label once you know the parts.
| Piece | Meaning | If it's missing |
|---|---|---|
| aff_id=123 | This click belongs to affiliate 123 | Nobody is credited |
| sub_id=review-page | It came from your review page | You're paid, but can't tell which page earned it |
| click_id=abc789 | A unique reference for this click | Postback tracking can't match the conversion |
An illustration of the pattern. Parameter names differ by platform, so use the exact link your program gives you.
This is also why you shouldn't "tidy up" a tracking link by trimming the long bit off the end. That long bit is the label. Our guide to affiliate link cloaking covers how to make links shorter without losing it.
How does a click become a commission?
In four scans. The click is logged, the visitor lands on the operator's site, they complete the action your deal pays for, and that action is matched back to the click.
What counts as step 3 depends on the deal. Our CPL vs CPA guide covers which event triggers which payment.
Why do affiliate clicks go missing?
Mostly because the browser threw the label away. This isn't a conspiracy against affiliates. Browsers have been restricting cookies for years to limit cross-site tracking, and affiliate cookies are caught by the same rules.
Apple's browser team announced in March 2020: "Cookies for cross-site resources are now blocked by default across the board." The same post recalls that Safari's tracking prevention "would cap the expiry of client-side cookies to seven days" (WebKit).
| Cause | What happens | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Browser blocks or expires the cookie | A later conversion isn't matched | Postback tracking |
| Visitor clears cookies | Same | Postback tracking |
| Visitor switches device | The second device has no record of the click | Hard to fix: a known limit |
| Link was shortened or edited | The ID never arrives | Use the exact link you were given |
| Postback misconfigured | Conversions happen but aren't reported | Test with a real conversion |
On the device problem, impact.com notes that cookies "don't track a user across multiple devices". Someone who clicks on their phone at lunch and deposits on a laptop that evening is, to a cookie, two strangers. [Looks at parcel. Label is now on a different parcel.]
What are sub IDs, and why use them?
Sub IDs are your own labels inside the program's label. We Can Track explains: "SubID tracking adds custom parameters to your affiliate links that identify the specific page, button, or campaign where the click originated."
Without them you know you earned a commission. With them you know which page earned it, which is the difference between a business and a nice surprise.
| Tag by | So you can answer |
|---|---|
| Page | Which article sends players who deposit? |
| Position | Does the top button beat the table link? |
| Traffic source | Is search or email doing the work? |
| Campaign | Did the ad I paid for earn its money back? |
Keep the names boring and consistent. "review-top-button" will still make sense in six months. "test2-new-FINAL" will not, and the person cursing whoever named it will be you. Our metrics guide covers what to do with the numbers once they're split.
Should affiliate links be marked as sponsored?
For Google, yes. Its documentation says: "Mark links that are advertisements or paid placements (commonly called paid links) with the sponsored value." It adds that nofollow "is still an acceptable way to flag them, though sponsored is preferred" (Google Search Central).
| Attribute | Google's guidance |
|---|---|
| rel="sponsored" | Preferred for paid and affiliate links |
| rel="nofollow" | Still acceptable |
| Neither | Not what Google asks for on paid links |
This attribute doesn't affect tracking at all. It's a note to search engines, not to the program. The rules about telling human readers that a link is an affiliate link are separate, and our compliance guide covers those.
How do you test that your tracking works?
Click your own link and follow the parcel. Do it before you send real traffic, and again any time you change a link, a page builder or a redirect.
| Check | What you should see |
|---|---|
| Click the link from your live page | The click appears in your reports |
| Look at the address you land on | You arrive at the right offer and country version |
| Check the sub ID in the report | It matches the page you clicked from |
| Ask about a test conversion | Your manager confirms how to test one for that offer |
| Compare your tracker with the program's numbers | Close, with differences you can explain |
This checklist is my working practice, not an industry standard. Whether and how you can run a test conversion depends on the offer.
Tracking at Seven Affiliates
Our dashboard tracks your traffic in real time, so you can see clicks arrive as you test. Ask your account manager for the exact tracking link and the postback details for each offer, along with that offer's terms.
| Ask your account manager | Why |
|---|---|
| What is the exact tracking link for this offer? | Edited links lose their label |
| Which parameters can I use for sub IDs? | So your pages show up separately |
| How do I set up the postback? | So conversions reach your own tracker |
| Which event am I paid on? | It depends on the deal: CPA, RevShare or Hybrid |
Then send one click before you send a thousand. A parcel with a good label is a boring parcel, and boring is exactly what you want from the thing that pays you.
FAQ
What is affiliate link tracking?
Affiliate link tracking is the process of recording clicks on your affiliate links and matching later conversions, such as registrations or deposits, back to those clicks so the right affiliate is credited.
How do affiliate links track sales?
The link carries an affiliate ID. When someone clicks, the click is recorded and remembered using a browser cookie, a server-side click ID, or both. When the person converts, the system matches the conversion to that click.
What is the difference between cookie and postback tracking?
Cookie tracking stores the click in the visitor's browser, where it can be blocked or deleted. Postback tracking passes conversion data directly between servers using a click ID, so it does not depend on the browser.
What is a sub ID in affiliate marketing?
A sub ID is a custom parameter you add to your affiliate link to identify the page, button, traffic source or campaign a click came from. It appears in your reports next to the conversion.
Should affiliate links use rel="sponsored"?
Google asks site owners to mark advertising and paid links with the sponsored value. It says nofollow is still acceptable, though sponsored is preferred.
Want to see your clicks arrive in real time? See how the Seven Affiliates iGaming affiliate program works, then apply here.