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In affiliate marketing the most important aspect of a successful campaign is tracking and analyzing the results. And that’s where postback and conversion tracking come in. Postback plays a crucial role in allowing advertisers and partners to track every action a user takes and link it to a specific campaign or ad source. It’s not just to know what happens after a click on an ad; postback allows advertisers to optimize their efforts and direct budgets to the channels that perform best.
In this guide from ROIads ad network’s experts we will dive into what is postback, why you need it, how to set it up and how this setup can help you maximize your campaign results and ROI.
Postback is a way to send conversion data between two servers, it’s a server to server (or S2S) way. This means that when a user performs a desired action (e.g. registration, purchase or subscription) the data about this event is automatically sent from the tracker server to the partner’s server or the ad network. This approach ensures data integrity as the data is sent directly between servers, bypassing the client’s device and avoiding data loss due to ad blockers or cookies. Postback is set up using the postback URL.
Postback URL (postback link) is a special link used to send conversion data from one server to another to track user actions (conversions).
Conversion is a key term in marketing that means a user has completed a desired action from an ad campaign. Conversions can be different actions depending on the campaign goals: purchase, registration, subscription, app download, form fill and many more. Each of these actions reflects the success of marketing efforts because conversions tell us that users are taking the desired action after interacting with the ad.
Types of Conversions
Conversion types depend on the ad campaign goal. Here are a few examples:
Based on the principle we described above, let’s see how the conversion tracking works through postback URL.
It all starts with the fact that the user sees an advertisement (for example, a popunder or a push notification) and interacts with it, for example, by clicking. This action initiates the tracking process.
After the user clicks, they land on the landing page and the Click ID is passed in the URL. This ID links all subsequent user actions to the specific click and traffic source.
When the user lands on the landing page, Click ID is saved on the ad network or tracker’s server. This allows linking all further actions to the specific click, which is the basis for conversion tracking.
The user performs the action that is the goal of the ad campaign (e.g. registration, purchase or subscription). This action is registered by the tracker as a conversion.
Once the conversion is registered, the tracker or ad network’s server sends the conversion data to the partner’s server via postback URL. This URL includes parameters such as Click ID and payout (if applicable). Example of postback URL in ROIads:
The actual value is replaced with {click_id} when sent, so the partner’s server can identify the conversion and link it to the specific click.
The partner’s server receives the data and records the conversion, linking it to the corresponding Click ID. This allows advertisers and partners to see the full picture of the campaign, analyze results and optimize the budget.
So, conversion postback tracking is a key tool for partners and advertisers to track campaigns and make data-driven decisions. Postback as a method of passing conversion data makes this process more accurate and reliable.
Benefits of conversion tracking
Conversion tracking and postback allow advertisers to react to changes in campaign performance in real-time. With exact data on which sources are converting, the advertiser can redirect budget to more profitable channels and increase ROI.
Postback ensures full transparency of user actions. With it you can exactly see which channels and creatives converted and track the whole user journey from click to conversion. No ambiguity and only work with verified and accurate data.
With postback the advertiser can quickly identify non-performing channels and remove them from the campaign, saving costs. This way the budget can be used more efficiently, focusing on sources that bring more conversions and sales.
Postback tracking helps to protect from fraud, as every click and conversion is tracked with unique identifiers. This allows it to detect suspicious activity, remove incorrect actions and make sure the advertiser pays only for real users and real conversions.
ROIads advertising network that offers push and pop traffic provides a simple way to set up postback so advertisers can track every conversion and link it to a specific traffic source. Below is the step by step guide to set up postback on the platform and list of supported trackers.
Step-by-Step Postback Setup on ROIads
Login to your ROIads account, select the ad format (push or pop). Then you will go to the campaign settings. In the Tracking Type section select Postback request.
ROIads is integrated with several popular trackers, which makes the process easier. Here are the trackers we support full integration with:
Select the tracker if you already work with one of these systems or set it up according to your campaign requirements.
To start tracking conversions you need to add ROIads as traffic source in the tracker. Use the following postback URL to track actions:
You can also find this url in the campaign settings and copy it from there.
This URL sends the conversion data and includes the unique parameter {click_id}, that allows linking each conversion to a specific click and traffic source.
To track data accurately you can use the macros available on ROIads platform. Depending on the ad format (push or pop) you will have macros that allow you to collect the metrics through URL and tracker. List of macros for each of our ad formats is available in the advertiser dashboard in the Tracking tab.
Here are some macros you can use for push ads format:
And here you can find list of macros for pop ads format:
5. Connecting the affiliate program
To track conversions in the tracker you need to not only set up the ad network (ROIads), but also integrate the affiliate program from where you got the offer. This will match the traffic and conversions. We will go through the steps.
Now in the tracker you need to add the affiliate program where your offer is placed. This is done by:
Connecting the affiliate program will link the traffic from ROIads with the conversions happening on the offer side.
6. Tracking the offer through postback URL
7. Creating a campaign in the tracker
Now let’s combine all the data in the tracker by creating a campaign:
8. Saving and Verifying Settings
After setting up postback, save the changes and test. Check if the conversion data is being sent correctly between ROIads and your tracker. You can do a test click and check if it’s being recorded and showing up in the system with the right parameters.
Setting up postback in ROIads ensures precise conversion tracking and offers advertisers key benefits, including:
So setting up postback on ROIads allows you to use conversion data to optimize your campaigns. ROIads doesn’t share postback data with 3rd parties or use it for our own purposes. We only care about helping advertisers optimize their campaigns and get the best results.
ROIads is an international ad network that helps media buyers and advertisers to get targeted traffic and increase conversions. The network specializes in premium traffic and offers innovative tools and advanced campaign optimization methods — for example, AI-Bidding technology that automatically adjusts traffic sources based on their performance. All this allows advertisers to get maximum ROI.
In affiliate marketing, accurate tracking and data analysis is the key to successful campaigns. Postback and conversion tracking allows advertisers and partners to see how each click and user action is connected to a specific traffic source. This helps not only to measure the ad performance but also to optimize the budget and direct the resources to the most productive channels.
Setting up postback on ROIads makes conversion tracking easy and reliable. If you have any issues, contact your personal manager — he will help with setup and answer your questions. Also check out our tutorials on integration with popular trackers in the Conversion Tracking Tutorials section.
