Tracking Links

Anatomy of a tracking link

A Trcker tracking link is just a URL that hits a redirect endpoint. The redirect captures the click, attributes it to the right partner, and sends the user to your landing page.

Without a custom domain (the default during early access):

` https://trcker.io/api/r//?via= `

With a custom domain set up under Settings:

` https://go.yourbrand.com/?via= `

Both formats produce the same outcome — the same click row, the same attribution, the same conversion tracking. The custom domain just changes the host the user sees in their address bar.

Required parameters

• — your brand's URL slug. Visible in the address bar everywhere in the dashboard. Stable; doesn't change unless you rename the brand.
• — the offer's slug. Editable when you create the offer; visible on the offer detail page.
• via= — the query parameter that attributes the click to a partner. Without via, the click is recorded but unattributed (it'll show up in Reports under "Direct" or with no partner).

Optional sub-ID parameters

You can pass up to five custom tags to slice your data later:

| Parameter | Display label | Typical use | |---|---|---| | sub1= | Campaign | Which campaign the click came from | | sub2= | Ad set | Which ad set or placement | | sub3= | Creative | Which creative variant | | sub4= | Source | Where the click originated (organic, paid, etc.) | | sub5= | Medium | The medium (email, social, etc.) |

These are completely freeform — Trcker stores whatever string you pass. The labels above are the default headings the dashboard renders; the raw sub1–sub5 keys are the URL parameter names partners actually use.

Example with sub-IDs filled in:

` https://trcker.io/api/r/acme-trading/premium?via=jane-smith&sub1=summer-promo&sub2=ad-set-a&sub3=carousel-v2 `

How partners use the link

Partners get a tracking link from one of three places:

1. Their portal at /partner/resources — copy-paste UI for every offer.
2. The approval email — sent automatically when they're approved, contains a starter link.
3. Direct from you — generate the URL by hand using the format above.

They drop the link wherever they normally promote things — a blog post, an email, a TikTok bio, a paid ad's destination URL. Every click on that link counts as theirs.

Click attribution rules

When a click hits a tracking link, Trcker:

1. Drops a first-party cookie scoped to your custom domain (or trcker.io if you don't have one) so we can match a future conversion back to this click.
2. Logs the click in the clicks table with country, device, browser, referrer, and the sub-IDs.
3. Redirects to the offer's destination URL.

The cookie respects the offer's cookie window (default 30 days). When a conversion fires within that window — via postback, the JavaScript pixel, or a coupon match — Trcker links the conversion to the latest click with a matching cookie.

If multiple partners' links touched the same user before conversion, the last-touch click wins by default. You can change this in Reports → Attribution.

Common questions

Can partners use deep links (specific product pages, not the offer's landing page)? Yes — append redirect= to the tracking link with a URL-encoded destination. Trcker validates the redirect against the offer's allowed-domain list, then sends the user there instead of the default landing page.

What happens if a partner pastes the link into an iOS in-app browser (Instagram, TikTok)? First-party cookies still work in those environments because the redirect lands on your custom domain (or trcker.io). The cookie isn't third-party — it's set by the destination directly. This is the whole point of first-party tracking.

Do tracking links work in paid ads? Yes, and they're how you'd run paid traffic for an affiliate offer. Set the tracking link as the ad's destination URL; sub1=campaign, sub2=ad-set, sub3=creative covers Google/Meta-style hierarchies cleanly.

Can I shorten the link? Yes — any URL shortener (Bitly, Dub, your own) works. Trcker doesn't care that the link comes through a redirect chain; only the final hit on /api/r/... matters.

Testing a link

Paste your tracking link into a browser. You should land on the offer's destination URL within ~50ms. Open Trcker → Activity → Clicks; the click you just made should appear at the top within a second or two.

If the click doesn't show, check: - Brand status is active (not paused or pending_review) - Offer status is active - Partner status is active - The via= slug exists for that brand (typo'd partner slugs are recorded but flagged)