Affiliate tracking links: sub IDs, UTM parameters, landing pages and deep links

A tracking link is what an affiliate shares to promote an offer. Every click on it is recorded with country, device and parameters, and then the visitor is sent to the offer. When a conversion happens, it is credited to the link's affiliate.

Create a link

As an affiliate, go to Promote → Tracking links → New link and choose an offer you have access to. You can also set:

• a name, just for you (for example "Instagram October");
• a landing page, when the offer has more than one;
• default values for sub1, sub2, sub3 and source, used when the click doesn't bring them. Handy for links in a bio or a QR code.

The link looks like this, on your network's tracking domain (or your own domain, if set up):

https://track.rastroaff.com/click/AbC123xY

Use a different link for each channel: that's how you'll know where the results come from.

Add sub IDs and UTM parameters

You can add up to five sub IDs and the usual UTM parameters to any link:

https://track.rastroaff.com/click/AbC123xY?sub1=fb_ads&sub2=video_3&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=october

They are stored with every click and conversion, and you can group and filter reports by them. Many ad platforms fill them in automatically with their own macros (campaign, ad set, creative…).

Choose a landing page per click

If an offer has several landing pages, you can pick one in the link itself with lp:

https://track.rastroaff.com/click/AbC123xY?lp=LANDING_ID

Without lp, the link's landing page is used; without one, the offer's destination URL.

Deep links

When the network allows deep linking on an offer, you can send visitors to any page of the advertiser's allowed domains with url:

https://track.rastroaff.com/click/AbC123xY?url=https://shop.example/product/123

Pages outside the allowed domains are ignored and the visitor goes to the normal destination.

What reaches the advertiser

The offer's destination URL can include macros, which Rastro replaces on each click:

Macro	Value
{click_id}	Unique click identifier, used in the advertiser's postback
{affiliate_id}	The affiliate's public ID
{campaign_id}	The offer's public ID
{sub1} to {sub5}	The click's sub IDs
{utm_source}, {utm_medium}, {utm_campaign}, {utm_content}, {utm_term}	The click's UTM parameters

{click_id} is the important one: without it, the advertiser has no way of telling Rastro which click converted (see Set up the advertiser postback).

When a link doesn't redirect

If the offer is paused or ended, the visitor's country or device isn't allowed, a cap was reached or the link was deactivated, the visitor goes to the network's fallback page instead, and nothing is credited. If offers change often, a smart link saves you from replacing links.