Custom Affiliate Networks

This guide shows you how to track conversions from affiliate networks that aren't in AnyTrack's integration catalog. We'll use Adtraction as a complete example throughout this guide.

Prerequisites

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Prerequisites

• AnyTrack property created with tracking tag installed
• Access to your affiliate network's documentation
• Ability to modify your affiliate links

Step 1: Research Your Affiliate Network

Before setting up tracking, collect this information from your affiliate network:

Find the Tracking Parameter

Look for the parameter name used to pass tracking data. Common examples:

• Impact: subid1
• CAKE: s2
• ClickBank: TID
• Adtraction: epi (our example)

Check your network's documentation for terms like "tracking parameters," "custom parameters," or "tracking tokens."

Find Postback Variables

Locate the variables your network sends in postback notifications. You need:

• Click ID variable (contains your tracking data)
• Commission variable (payout amount)
• Order ID variable (transaction identifier)
• Other variables (currency, timestamp, etc.)

Adtraction postback variables:

Key variables for AnyTrack:

• ${epi} - Contains tracking data
• ${commissiondecimal} - Commission amount
• Advertiser order number - Transaction ID

Confirm Postback Support

Verify your network can send postback notifications to external URLs when conversions occur.

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Postback url terminology

Different affiliate networks use various terms for the same concept. When searching your network's documentation, look for any of these terms:

• Postback URL / Callback URL
• Server-to-Server Pixel / Server-to-Server URL
• Server Pixel / S2S Pixel
• Webhook / HTTP Callback
• Instant Notification URL / IPN
• Conversion Tracking URL
• Attribution Pixel

All of these refer to the same functionality: a URL that the affiliate network calls when a conversion occurs.

Step 2: Tag Your Affiliate Links

Modify all your affiliate links by adding the tracking parameter with the --CLICK-ID-- placeholder.

Adtraction example:

Original link:

https://adtraction.com/offer123

Tagged link (note the ? for first parameter):

https://adtraction.foo/offer123?epi=--CLICK-ID--

If the URL already has parameters, use & instead:

https://adtraction.foo/offer123?existing=param&epi=--CLICK-ID--

Important: AnyTrack Autotag Feature

AnyTrack's autotag feature automatically substitutes the --CLICK-ID-- placeholder with the actual click ID when visitors click your links. The placeholder is replaced in real-time.

Link Plugin Redirect Considerations

If using link redirect plugins:

• Forward the subid parameter to the destination URL - the redirect must pass through the tracking parameter
• Make the click ID visible on your website - don't embed the --CLICK-ID-- token inside the redirect plugin itself
• The click ID should be visible in the final destination URL that visitors see

Correct redirect setup:

Your page link: yoursite.com/go/offer?epi=--CLICK-ID--
Embedded offer link: adtraction.com/offer123
Final destination after redirect: adtraction.com/offer123?epi=ACTUAL_CLICK_ID

Verify Link Tagging

1. Publish the tagged links on your website
2. Navigate to a page with the links
3. Hover over a link to verify the --CLICK-ID-- placeholder is replaced with an actual click ID value
4. Click the link and confirm the click ID appears in the final destination URL

Step 3: Create Custom Integration

1. Go to Integrations in your AnyTrack dashboard
2. Search and install Custom Integration
3. Fill in the integration details:
   • Name: Adtraction
   • Login URL: https://adtraction.com (optional)
4. Click Next

Configure Postback URL Template

Map Adtraction's postback variables to AnyTrack's placeholders:

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Enhanced Event Data for Better Attribution

AnyTrack supports additional Event Attributes that can significantly improve your conversion tracking and ad platform integration. If your affiliate network provides any of these parameters in their postback, include them in your configuration by adding them &country=${country}&currency=${currency}after the postback url provided by AnyTrack.

Geographic Data (sometimes available to affiliates):

• country - Customer country (US, CA, GB)
• state - Customer state/region (CA, NY, TX)
• city - Customer city
• zipcode - Customer postal code

Enhanced Transaction Details:

• currency - Transaction currency (USD, EUR, GBP)
• transactionId - Unique order identifier
• brand - Brand/product name
• shippingPrice - Shipping cost
• taxPrice - Tax amount
• timestamp - Transaction timestamp

Product Information (if available):

• items - Array of purchased products with id, name, quantity, price

Why this matters: Ad platforms like Facebook, Google, and TikTok use this data for Event Match Rate optimization. Geographic data is particularly valuable as it's often available to affiliate marketers and significantly improves attribution accuracy, leading to better lookalike audiences and enhanced campaign performance.

Note: Personal data (email, phone, names) is typically not available in affiliate marketing but geographic data often is and provides substantial attribution benefits.

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Important

The Sub ID/Click ID field must use ${epi} since that's where Adtraction sends the tracking data you passed in your links.

4. Click Save to generate your postback URL

Step 4: Configure Network Postback

1. Copy the generated postback URL from AnyTrack
2. Log into your Adtraction dashboard
3. Find the postback/callback settings
4. Add the AnyTrack postback URL
5. Save the configuration

Step 5: Test Your Setup

Method 1: Test Mode

1. Enable test mode in your funnel settings
2. Click through an Adtraction affiliate link
3. Complete a test conversion
4. Check the Events Log in your custom integration

Method 2: Live Testing

1. Wait for an actual conversion to occur
2. Check the Events Log in your custom integration
3. Verify the conversion data appears correctly

Note: You'll only see conversion events after Adtraction confirms a sale and sends the postback notification.

Understanding Conversion Types

AnyTrack automatically determines the conversion type based on the commission value:

• Lead Conversion: Triggered when commission = 0 (zero commission)
• Purchase Conversion: Triggered when commission > 0 (positive commission value)

This automatic detection helps properly categorize your conversions without manual configuration.

Troubleshooting

No conversions appearing?

• Verify your postback URL is correctly configured in Adtraction
• Check that your links are properly tagged with ?epi=--CLICK-ID--
• Verify the Sub ID mapping uses ${epi}

Conversions missing data?

• Check your postback variable mappings
• Ensure Adtraction is sending all required variables
• Verify variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)

Link redirect issues?

• Ensure redirect plugins forward the epi parameter
• Verify the click ID is visible in the final destination URL
• Don't embed --CLICK-ID-- inside redirect plugin configurations
• Don't use link shorteners
• Don't trigger links using javascripts

This same process works for any affiliate network that supports postback notifications. Simply replace Adtraction's specific parameters (epi, ${epi}, etc.) with your network's equivalent parameters.