The path of one click
Click ID — a tag that travels with the person
When someone clicks an ad, they first hit the tracker. It records everything about the click — source, campaign, creative, GEO, device — and assigns a unique click ID. Then the person goes to the landing page, and the click ID is passed with the lead to the affiliate program.
Postback — the callback from the affiliate program
When an order is confirmed (or rejected), the program sends the tracker a postback — a short request with the click ID, status and amount. The tracker finds the original click and credits the revenue to exactly the creative and campaign the person came from.
Without a postback you see spend in the ad account and revenue in the affiliate program, but not which setup earned it. Decisions turn into guesswork.
What the tracker report gives you
| Creative | Clicks | Leads | Confirmed | Revenue | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 420 | 31 | 20 | $240 | $190 |
| B | 390 | 12 | 7 | $84 | $175 |
It's obvious at once: creative A pays off, B doesn't, even though their clicks are almost equal. During onboarding you make decisions like this every day — the company provides the tracker.
Common mistakes
- The ad link goes straight to the landing page, bypassing the tracker — clicks aren't counted.
- No postback set up — tracker revenue is zero even though orders exist.
- Comparing campaigns by clicks instead of revenue from confirmed actions.