Affiliate tracking is how brands connect sales, sign-ups, and other conversions to the affiliate partners who drove them. Without tracking relevant data, there’s no way to know which partners in your affiliate strategy are driving the best results.
You need accurate tracking to optimize campaigns and know where to invest for more growth. In fact, research from Forrester found that a lack of understanding of affiliate impact on revenue was one of the top three concerns for those running an affiliate partner program.
This guide covers how affiliate tracking works, the most common tracking methods, and the software you can use to manage attribution and accurately pay affiliates.
What is affiliate tracking?
Affiliate tracking is the process in an affiliate marketing strategy that involves monitoring and attributing every consumer action that affiliate partners influence. To gauge campaign performance, you measure link clicks, newsletter sign-ups, and sales with the help of affiliate tracking software. Monitoring these activities helps you determine your return on investment (ROI), which commission structure works best, which affiliate partners are driving the most revenue, and which channels are the most effective for conversions.
For commission structures tied to sales, like earning a percentage of each transaction, accurately track where affiliate marketing efforts originate so you can pay your partners correctly and on time.
How affiliate tracking works
Affiliate marketing software allows you to track conversion data, attribute sales from different traffic sources, and implement tiered commission structures. How much complexity this software can handle varies by product. Lauren Kleinman, founder of the PR agency Dreamday, says on the Shopify Masters podcast that brands making less than $150,000 a month in affiliate revenue should choose a simple software option.
For more complex affiliate programs, she recommends software that can not only track attribution but also different conversion paths. She explains that Vogue, for example, could refer readers to explore a particular product, but the coupon website Honey is the one that ultimately converts them. An advanced tracking software option can accurately calculate the commission on this sale so that Vogue gets 80% and Honey gets 20%.
Affiliate tracking methods
An affiliate tracking platform collects data, such as views, clicks, and conversions, and ties it back to attribution. Common tracking methods include cookie-based, pixel-based, server-to-server, and promo codes:
-
Cookie-based tracking. When a customer clicks an affiliate link, a small piece of data called a cookie is saved to their browser, recording where they came from. If they complete a purchase, the software matches the sale to that cookie. It’s the most common tracking method and is compatible with most affiliate platforms. However, cookies can be deleted by the user or blocked by browsers, which means some conversions go unrecorded.
-
Pixel tracking. Pixels are small, invisible pieces of code on a web page that automatically send data to the affiliate platform’s server when a customer completes an action. You can place pixels on more than just websites, such as in marketing emails, making them more versatile than cookies.
-
Server-to-server tracking. Server-to-server tracking is a type of cookieless tracking that sends data directly between the brand’s server and the affiliate software’s server. This allows it to bypass browsers and avoid cookie restrictions.
-
Promo code tracking. Multiple affiliates are given a unique discount code to share with their audience across different platforms, allowing sales to be automatically credited to that affiliate. A creator can mention the code in a podcast, but if the listener forgets to enter the code when they go to purchase, that sale will go unattributed.
Affiliate tracking tools for small businesses
Some of the best affiliate tracking software options for small business owners include Shopify Collabs, Impact.com, Awin, and Northbeam.
Shopify Collabs
Shopify Collabs is Shopify’s native affiliate management software. It automatically generates unique affiliate links and discount codes, allowing you to do both click-based and promo code tracking in one place. Attributed sales appear in real time, and commission payments are processed through Shopify Billing. It also connects with Google Analytics, so you can track affiliate and creator traffic, and has procedures in place to flag high-risk creators and combat affiliate fraud.
With a Shopify account, you can also extend Collabs with Shopify Flow. Shopify Flow automates tasks and actions in your store and connected apps. For example, you can use Shopify Collabs with Flow to tag a high-performing creator, assign them to a higher commission tier, or notify your team when a creator drives their first sale.
Best for: Shopify store owners launching or running a new affiliate program who want tracking, payments, and store management all in one place.
Pricing: Collabs is free to install for Shopify stores. Commission payments are subject to a 2.9% payment processing fee, paid by the store owner.
Impact.com
Impact.com mainly uses pixel tracking and links user activity across devices. A customer who clicks an affiliate link on mobile but converts on desktop is attributed correctly to the referring partner. The tool tracks leads, app installs, and subscription upgrades in addition to standard conversion tracking.
Best for: Brands with longer or more complex customer journeys can benefit from Impact.com’s ability to track a variety of actions.
Pricing: Starts at $30 per month for basic tracking and Shopify integration.
Awin
Awin is a large affiliate network, which is a platform that connects brands with affiliates while also providing tracking capabilities. Awin provides click tracking, commission attribution, reporting, and payments in a single dashboard. It uses a combination of cookies and server-to-server tracking to ensure conversions are recorded even if cookies are blocked.
Best for: Brands looking for an all-in-one platform with a large, established affiliate network as well as tracking software.
Pricing: Plans start at $49 per month, plus a 3.5% tracking fee on each transaction.
Northbeam
Northbeam uses pixels, server-to-server tracking, and ad-platform data from sources like Meta and Google to measure multitouch attribution. It’s built for brands that need to see how affiliate traffic contributes relative to other channels. For brands running marketing campaigns on Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, or Pinterest alongside their affiliate programs, it helps reveal how much each channel is contributing. For example, if a customer saw a TikTok ad, clicked an affiliate link days later, and then bought something, Northbeam is able to track every touchpoint in that journey.
Best for: High-spend brands with complex, multichannel programs.
Pricing: Plans begin at around $1,500 per month for brands that spend less than $1.5 million in media buys.
Affiliate tracking FAQ
What is affiliate tracking?
Affiliate tracking connects conversions generated by an affiliate partner back to that partner. It tracks actions such as clicks, leads, sign-ups, and sales that an affiliate partner generates for a brand. Affiliate tracking allows you to measure campaign performance, calculate commissions accurately, and identify which partners and channels are generating the best results.
How do you track affiliation?
Affiliate marketing software tracks conversions. Common tracking methods in various software include cookie-based tracking, pixel tracking, server-to-server tracking, and promo code tracking. Software monitors how customers behave, matches their actions to the affiliate who drove them there, and calculates commission.
What is an affiliate tracking ID?
Each affiliate partner is assigned an affiliate tracking ID or affiliate link by the business they’re working with. When a customer clicks that link, the ID tells the affiliate software which partner sent the traffic. If the customer takes the desired action, the software uses that ID to credit the right affiliate and calculate their commission.
