How to Track Affiliate Links (2026): See Which Clicks Earn Commissions

Why Track Affiliate Links?

Affiliate networks tell you how many sales you made, but usually not which post, email, video or ad produced them. If you promote the same offer in several places, you're left guessing where to spend your time and money. Tracking each link separately shows exactly which placements earn commissions and which don't.

Three Ways to Track Affiliate Links

Method 1: Use Your Network's Sub-IDs

Most affiliate networks let you add a tracking tag, often called a sub-ID or tracking ID, to your link. Use a different tag for each placement, such as "youtube-review" or "email-day3," and your network reports will show sales by tag. It's free, but you only see data inside each network, and you get little information about the clicks themselves.

Method 2: Use UTM Tags With Analytics

If your affiliate links point first to a page you own, such as a review or bridge page, you can add UTM tags to links that bring visitors there and see the results in your analytics tool. This shows which sources bring visitors, but it can't see what happens after they leave for the merchant's site.

Method 3: Use a Click Tracker

A click tracker such as ClickMagick sits between your audience and the offer. Every click passes through your tracking link, so you see unique clicks, filtered bots and repeat clicks for each source. Where the network supports it, sales are passed back to the tracker, so each commission is tied to the exact link and source that produced it.

1. Create a tracking link for the affiliate offer in your tracker.
2. Make one link per placement or traffic source, and name each clearly.
3. Where the network supports postbacks or integrations, connect them so sales flow back to your tracker.
4. Share your tracking links in place of the raw affiliate link.
5. Review clicks, conversions and earnings per link every week.

Our ClickMagick tutorial shows the setup in detail.

Example: Tracking ClickBank Commissions

ClickBank's version of a postback is called the "Instant Notification URL." In a tracker like ClickMagick, you add the tracker's postback address as your Instant Notification URL in ClickBank and set the secret key ClickBank requires. From then on, each commission shows up against the tracking link that produced it, so you can see exactly which video, email or post made the sale.

Track Placements With Sub-IDs

When one link appears in several spots, such as a video description and a pinned comment, add a Sub-ID to each copy. ClickMagick supports up to five Sub-IDs per link, added after the link with slashes, and shows stats for each.

How to Name and Organize Your Links

• Use a consistent pattern: offer, source and placement, such as "offer-email-day3."
• Group links by campaign or offer so reports stay readable.
• Never reuse a link across sources you want to compare.
• Keep a simple spreadsheet of links and where you placed them.

Disclose Your Affiliate Links

Tracking links are still affiliate links. In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides require a clear disclosure wherever you share them, close to the link itself. Also check each network's terms, as some restrict link cloaking or redirects.

Using Tracking Links on Social Media

Social platforms watch for spam links. If you share tracking links in posts or groups, use a custom tracking domain you own. ClickMagick requires this for social posts other than paid ads and private messages, and it makes your links look more trustworthy.

What to Do With Your Data

1. Find the placements that earn the most per click.
2. Put more effort or budget into those.
3. Fix or drop placements that get clicks but no sales.
4. Test new offers against your best performer.

Frequently Asked Questions