Affiliate Tracking: What It Is, Common Methods & Which is Right for Your Business? 

Affiliate marketing is a powerful way for businesses to grow by working with partners who help promote their products. But how do you know which partner brought in a sale?

That’s where affiliate tracking comes in. The technical backbone enables you to monitor affiliate performance, track sales, and pay commissions accurately.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about affiliate tracking: what it is, 7 common tracking methods, and which tracking option is right for your business.

Take a quick look at some of the popular affiliate tracking approaches:

1. Tracking links (URL-based tracking)
2. Cookie-based tracking
3. Coupon code tracking
4. Postback URL tracking
5. Affiliate fingerprint tracking
6. Pixel tracking
7. Connected customer tracking

To track affiliate activities effectively, using affiliate marketing software that supports multiple tracking methods is a smart move. Check out UpPromote, the top trusted Shopify affiliate solution for growth, recommended by experts and over 115,000 users worldwide, to simplify the tracking process for your affiliate campaigns.

What is Affiliate Tracking?

Affiliate tracking is the process of monitoring, recording, and attributing sales or conversions generated by your affiliates. This system shows you which affiliate is behind each sale, lead, or other desired customer action. Then, you can accurately reward affiliates with commissions and clearly measure their performance.

A good tracking system brings transparency and helps avoid commission disputes. Also, it offers key data on which marketing channels and partners are most effective for your business.

So, using affiliate marketing tracking software right when you start an affiliate program is a smart move to automate tracking and commission processes, saving time and resources.

The tracking process usually goes like this:

1. Affiliates sign up for your affiliate program, and you assign them unique tracking links or codes.
2. Affiliates promote your brand by sharing their affiliate tracking links or discount codes through their website, social media, email, or other channels.
3. When customers click these links or use coupon codes to make a purchase, your affiliate tracking system records the transaction and attributes it to the referring affiliate.
4. You pay affiliates their earned commission based on this attribution data.

7 Common Affiliate Tracking Methods You Should Know

There are several ways to track affiliate marketing activities. Each method works differently, and some are better suited for certain business types or partner activities.

Here is a table summarizing the key differences between the most common affiliate tracking methods:

Tracking Method	How It Works	Pros	Cons	Best For
Tracking Links	Uses unique URLs with parameters to identify affiliates	Simple to implement Works across platforms	Can be lost if links are modified	General use for most affiliate programs.
Cookie-Based Tracking	Places a cookie on the user’s device to remember the affiliate	Tracks across multiple sessions Easy to implement	Cookie blocking Limited lifespan Privacy concerns	Most affiliate programs, especially with longer consideration cycles.
Coupon Code Tracking	Use unique discount codes for each affiliate	Simple to create Works offline Popular with customers	Manual redemption Can be misused	Influencer marketing, social media affiliates, offline promotion
Postback URL Tracking	Server-to-server communication after conversion	More reliable Not affected by cookies	More complex to implement	iGaming, SaaS, mobile apps.
Fingerprint Tracking	Creates a “fingerprint” based on the user’s device characteristics	Works without cookies	Privacy concerns Less accurate	Supplementary tracking method
Pixel Tracking	Uses small image files loaded on conversion pages	Works across platforms Detailed analytics	Can be blocked by ad blockers	Retargeting campaigns
Connected Customer Tracking	Directly link customer accounts to affiliate referrals	Most accurate works long-term	Requires customer accounts Complex setup	SaaS, subscription businesses

Tracking Links (URL-based tracking)

Tracking links, also known as affiliate links, are a popular and easy way to track. Each affiliate gets a unique URL containing special parameters identifying them when a visitor clicks through to your website.

For example, a standard tracking link might look like this:

https://yourstore.com/product?affiliate_id=123

The tracking system recognizes the affiliate_id=123 parameter and attributes any resulting conversion to affiliate #123.

Affiliate tracking links provide key benefits that appeal to both advertisers and affiliates:

• Simple to implement and understand
• Works across most platforms and browsers
• Doesn’t require technical knowledge from affiliates
• Add more UTM parameters to track traffic sources and mediums

However, affiliate tracking links also have some limitations that you should keep in mind when using this method:

• Tracking information can be lost if links are modified or shortened.
• Users might manually remove tracking parameters.
• Cannot track effectively if customers revisit your site directly at a later time without clicking the link again.
• Unable to track user activity across multiple sessions or different devices.

To reduce the limitations of basic tracking links, implementing dedicated affiliate marketing software offers a more robust solution. It will simplify link creation, enable cross-device and multi-session tracking, and provide advanced reporting features, giving you greater control and better insights to scale your program.

If you use UpPromote, you can track the full customer journey through the Referral Detail page. The app automatically generates a timeline view showing key actions taken after a customer clicks an affiliate link. You’ll gain detailed insights such as:

• Landing page: The URL the customer visited to access your store
• Referring page: The page they came from
• Source: Tracked based on the referring page, indicating where the traffic originated
• Affiliate information: The partner who referred the customer
• UTM parameters: Any attached UTM tags used for campaign tracking

With this valuable data, you can trace each customer’s path to conversion and assess the performance of individual affiliates. This helps you see which partners and channels bring in the most valuable sales. Then, you can tweak your affiliate marketing strategies. For example, shift resources to the best sources and offer higher commissions or bonuses to top affiliates.

Cookie-Based Tracking

Cookie-based tracking uses small text files, called cookies, to keep track of visitors who click affiliate links. When someone clicks on an affiliate’s link, a cookie with the affiliate’s ID is saved on their device. This affiliate cookie stays there for a set period of time (for example, 10 days, 30 days, or longer).

If the visitor returns to your site directly and buys something within that time, the sale still goes to the original affiliate. Affiliates get fair credit for the sales they’ve helped generate, even if customers don’t buy right away.

Cookie-based tracking offers several benefits, such as:

• Track conversions across multiple sessions.
• Allow longer attribution windows (typically between 7 to 90 days).
• Work even if users bookmark your site or return directly.

Despite these advantages, cookie-based tracking also presents several challenges you should think about:

• Face increasing browser restrictions on cookies.
• Lose tracking data when users clear cookies or use private browsing.
• Fail to track users effectively across multiple devices.
• Face compliance challenges with privacy regulations, such as GDPR.

Coupon Code Tracking

Another popular method to track affiliates is by using coupon codes. You give each affiliate a unique discount code to share with their audience. When customers use an affiliate’s code at checkout, you’ll know exactly who brought in the sale. It’s a friendly, simple way to support affiliates and encourage customers to make a purchase.

Using coupon codes for affiliate tracking comes with several practical advantages:

• Easy to set up, manage, and use, even without technical skills.
• Effective for offline marketing channels such as podcasts, radio, or print media.
• Offers extra value to customers through discounts, which can boost sales.
• Remains reliable, unaffected by cookie blockers or privacy restrictions.

Still, there are some potential downsides when using coupon codes for affiliate tracking:

• Affiliate codes can easily be shared beyond their intended audiences.
• Customers have to manually enter codes, which can be inconvenient.
• Risks confusion or misattribution if different affiliates have similar codes.

Postback URL Tracking

Postback URL, also called server-to-server, enables cookieless tracking. This method connects your server directly to the affiliate network’s server after a conversion occurs. It is more technically advanced but offers greater reliability.

When a customer makes a purchase, your system sends a notification to a unique URL from the affiliate network. This message shares key details about the transaction and the affiliate who should get credit.

Postback URL tracking has several key advantages, especially when cookie-based tracking falls short:

• Not affected by cookie limitations or browser settings.
• More reliable for tracking conversions from mobile apps.
• Works effectively across multiple devices and user sessions.
• Difficult for users to disable or block tracking.

However, it also comes with certain technical challenges to keep in mind:

• Implementation is more complicated than other methods.
• Requires integration directly on your server.
• Often needs technical support for proper setup.

Affiliate Fingerprint Tracking

Fingerprint tracking generates a distinct “fingerprint” for every visitor. It relies on device details such as browser type, screen size, operating system, and IP address.

This fingerprint helps you recognize returning visitors even if cookies aren’t available. It’s like remembering someone’s face in a crowd, so you can still give affiliates credit for bringing customers back to your site.

Fingerprint tracking offers certain advantages, such as:

• Works effectively without cookies.
• Functions across multiple browsers.

Yet, fingerprint tracking has certain limitations you should consider carefully:

• Less accurate than other tracking methods.
• Raises privacy concerns related to device fingerprinting.
• Can be disrupted by VPNs or changing network conditions.
• May face compliance issues with regulations such as GDPR.

Pixel Tracking

Pixel tracking involves a tiny piece of code on specific web pages. It’s usually found on confirmation or “thank you” pages. This code sends information about successful actions back to the affiliate tracking system.

When a customer referred by an affiliate reaches that page, their browser loads a tiny 1×1 pixel image from the tracking server. This action passes information like affiliate ID and conversion details, confirming the sale.

You’ll find several good points about this tracking approach, for example:

• Works effectively across different platforms.
• Captures detailed analytics about user behavior.
• Often used alongside other tracking methods
• Useful for retargeting campaigns

But there are a few things to keep in mind when using this method:

• Can be blocked by ad blockers.
• Requires careful setup on all conversion-related pages.
• Might experience limitations with certain mobile platforms.

Connected Customer Tracking

Connected customer tracking directly links customers to the affiliates who first referred them. Once a customer connects with an affiliate, all their future purchases go to that affiliate. This happens no matter how the customer comes back to your store.

There are several positive points about this tracking method:

• Provides long-term tracking beyond cookie lifespans.
• Works across all devices and platforms.
• Not affected by cookies or browser settings.
• Ideal for subscription businesses.

Even so, some difficulties can arise from using this method:

• Requires customers to create accounts.
• More complicated to implement.
• May not fit well with every business model.

Which Tracking Method Is Right for Your Business?

Now that you understand the most common affiliate tracking methods. Let’s figure out which one is best for you.

So, which affiliate tracking method should you choose for your affiliate campaign?

The best tracking method for your business depends on several factors. These could be your business model, technical capabilities, and the types of affiliates you work with.

Here are some simple recommendations to help you select what’s right for you:

Based on Business Types

Ecommerce Stores

For eCommerce businesses, using a mix of tracking methods often gives the best results:

• Main method: Tracking links with cookie-based tracking, coupon code tracking
• Extra methods: Postback tracking to better track mobile sales

Many eCommerce stores benefit from cookie durations of 30 to 60 days. This time helps cover the period shoppers often need to think before buying. If you sell expensive items that take time for people to decide on, longer cookie durations might be a good fit.

💡Bonus tip: Pick affiliate marketing software with strong link tracking. Look for customizable cookie durations and the option to add coupon tracking when needed.

With UpPromote, you can easily set up a combination of tracking methods for your online store.

Our system enables you to track affiliate sales automatically through:

• Affiliate links
• Affiliate coupon codes

Affiliate links

When you activate an affiliate account, our system automatically creates a default affiliate link with unique tracking details.

But that’s just the beginning.

If you want to make things more personal for your affiliates, you can customize their links. This makes their URLs look clean and professional, helps build trust with their followers, and can lead to more clicks and sales.

By turning on the Auto-Create Custom Link feature, you can quickly make unique, custom links for all your affiliates—quickly and in bulk.

You can also set how long your tracking cookie lasts, so it fits your business and makes your program more attractive to affiliates.

Affiliate coupon codes

Just turn on Tracking by Coupon to record referral orders through coupons. When a customer enters the coupon at checkout, our app automatically tracks the order and gives the right commission to the affiliate.

You can easily create a discount code in the app and assign it to any affiliate. Just choose the affiliate and fill in the coupon details, such as the name, discount type, amount, and usage limits.

That is not all.

To save time, you can use the Auto-generate Coupon feature. Pick the programs you want and select how the coupon name should appear. For example, you can use the affiliate’s name, random letters, or another format to complete the setup quickly.

SaaS (Software as a Service) and Subscription-Based Businesses

For subscription companies, it’s important to track how much value a customer brings over time and to pay affiliates for repeat purchases. That’s why these businesses should use tracking methods that continue to give affiliates credit over time.

So, the affiliate tracking methods they should prioritize could be:

• Tracking links with extended cookie durations
• Connected customer tracking
• Postback URL tracking

💡Bonus tip: Find an affiliate management app designed for subscription businesses. It should support special commission structures like recurring commissions and lifetime customer tracking.

If you use UpPromote, our system offers several tracking options to help you manage affiliate commissions effectively. You can:

• Enable Lifetime Commission. This way, when customers buy through an affiliate, they stay linked to that affiliate for all future orders.

• Link a customer to a specific affiliate. This means that all future purchases from that customer will earn the affiliate a commission. This happens even if the customer doesn’t use affiliate links or coupons.

• Connect with apps that allow recurring orders and commissions. These include Appstle, Recharge, Bold, Partially, Seal, and Recurpay.

Based on Types of Affiliate Partners

Social Media Influencers

Social media influencers are individuals who have a large following on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. They usually promote products through engaging content such as short videos, live streams, and posts.

However, some platforms often limit the ability to share direct clickable links, especially in captions or video descriptions. Due to these limits, it’s important to use tracking methods that fit how influencers share and connect with their audiences.

So, here are a few tracking methods that might work well for this type of affiliate:

• Coupon code tracking: Ideal for Instagram and TikTok, where sharing links is limited.

• Tracking links (URL-based tracking): Useful if influencers can place links in bios or stories.

💡Bonus tip: You should provide a custom affiliate coupon code and tracking link for each influencer you partner with. So they can share simple, personalized codes or links with their fans.

Bloggers and Review Sites

Bloggers and review sites write articles, tutorials, and product comparisons to promote brands. Their content often ranks on search engines and drives long-term traffic. They rely on inserting affiliate links within their articles to guide readers to a brand’s website.

However, since visitors might not buy immediately, it’s key to track returning visitors and delayed conversions.

Below are some tracking methods worth considering

• Tracking links (URL-based tracking): Placed in blog posts, reviews, and SEO content.
• Cookie-based tracking: Tracks returning visitors who may purchase later.
• Coupon code tracking: For cases when customers buy directly without clicking a link.

Coupon Codes and Deal Sites

Coupon and deal sites share discount codes, special offers, and promotions from various brands. These sites draw in customers who want to save money. They often sway purchase choices at the final stage.

For this affiliate partner, it’s helpful to use both coupon code tracking and tracking links:

• Coupon code tracking: This is suitable when customers find a code on the deal site and enter it directly at checkout without clicking a link.
• Tracking links (URL-based tracking): It works well when customers click on a deal link to visit the merchant’s website before making a purchase.

Email Marketers

Email marketers promote products through newsletters and promotional emails. They often include affiliate links or coupon codes in the email content to drive traffic and conversions. However, tracking can be tricky. Customers might open emails on one device and buy on another. Also, some email providers block tracking tools.

Track Affiliate Sales Effectively: Choose the Right Affiliate Tracking Software

Knowing which affiliate tracking methods suit your business and the types of partners you work with is only half the journey. To track affiliate sales accurately and ensure proper attribution for payouts, you also need a reliable tracking system in place.

A good affiliate tracking tool should offer the following features:

• Easy link and coupon creation
• Support for different tracking solutions
• Reliable tracking and reporting
• Fraud prevention to ensure only valid conversions count

If you’re looking for a robust solution that combines all the criteria above, check out UpPromote- the top trusted Shopify affiliate solution for growth, with a 4.9/5 rating and over 4,000 reviews.

Here’s what UpPromote brings to the table:

• Automatically generate affiliate links and coupon codes
• Offers multiple tracking methods, including tracking by link, coupon, connected customer, and more
• Provides real-time tracking data through easy-to-use analytics dashboards
• Includes built-in fraud detection to protect your affiliate program from scams

It gets even better.

With affordable pricing plans starting at $0, you can try UpPromote with no upfront costs.

And here’s the best part: UpPromote’s outstanding support. Their 24/7 support team is always ready to help, making your experience smooth and stress-free.

Wrapping Up

Effective affiliate tracking is the foundation of a successful affiliate marketing program. When you understand the different tracking methods and choose what fits your business, you can build a system that tracks sales accurately, rewards affiliates fairly, and gives you helpful insights.

The best setup often uses a mix of tracking methods to ensure everything is covered. As privacy rules and technology change, it’s important to stay updated and adjust when needed.

When done right, affiliate tracking helps both sides. Your business gets more sales and reach, while affiliates earn fair rewards for their efforts. This builds trust and strong, long-term partnerships that help your business grow.