Tracking Links

Parameters you append to your Linkrunner click tracking links

Overview

Create each campaign link from All Campaigns → Create Link in the affiliate dashboard. Linkrunner generates a tracking-link template with the parameters configured for your affiliate account.

Copy the exact template into your platform. Do not build the URL or add parameters manually. A generated template may look like this:

https://track.example.com/?c=CAMPAIGN_ID&tid={click_id}&s2={campaign_id}

The domain belongs to the advertiser. c is the Linkrunner campaign identifier. Values such as {click_id} and {campaign_id} are your platform's macros, using the syntax configured for your affiliate account.

Your platform replaces those macros before it sends the click to Linkrunner. Linkrunner does not expand them for you.

Only the values after each = come from your platform. Keep everything else exactly as generated:

• c stays as it is. Do not add a campaign or publisher name to it. c=OgWmhiSXhG_MyCampaign does not match any campaign, so those clicks are lost.
• Parameter names stay as they are. Send your click ID as tid={your_macro}, not CLICK_ID={tid} or clickid={tid}.

A link the advertiser created without selecting your network does not send you postbacks. Create the link from your own dashboard, or ask the advertiser to select your network when they create it.

Does your placement send the user straight to the store without opening a browser (OEM icons, preloads)? Report those clicks from your server instead. See Server-to-Server Clicks.

To get credit for users who see your ad but don't tap it, report impressions too. See Server-to-Server Impressions.

The two forms of the link

The same link exists in two states, and mixing them up is the most common cause of missing attribution.

The template you configure, carrying your macros:

https://track.example.com/?c=OgWmhiSXhG&tid={click_id}&s2={campaign_id}

The URL that actually reaches Linkrunner, after your platform substitutes them:

https://track.example.com/?c=OgWmhiSXhG&tid=a1b2c3d4e5&s2=camp_88

Macro syntax varies by platform. {click_id}, {TID}, ##CLICKID## and [clickid] are all common. Use whatever your own platform expands; Linkrunner never expands it for you.

Your platform must replace its own click macros before the click reaches Linkrunner. If the final URL still contains a value like {click_id} or {campaign_id}, Linkrunner stores it as text and the conversion cannot be matched back to your click. Linkrunner only fills macros in the server-to-server postback URL.

Parameters

You fill each parameter with your own value at click time.

Required

Parameter	Description
tid	A unique ID you generate for every click. Linkrunner returns this value in the {click_id} and {tid} postback macros, so you can match conversions back to clicks.

Passthrough values

Parameter	Description
s2	Optional campaign, source, or publisher value. Linkrunner returns this in the {s2} postback macro.
s3	Optional ad set, placement, or sub-publisher value. Linkrunner returns this in the {s3} postback macro.
s4	Optional deduplication or extra tracking value. Linkrunner returns this in the {s4} postback macro.

Device and request

Pass device advertising IDs when you have them. They improve match rates, especially for device-ID matching.

Parameter	Description
gaid	Google Advertising ID (Android).
idfa	iOS Advertising ID (Apple).
device_id	Optional fallback. Linkrunner treats it as GAID or IDFA based on the device platform.

URL-encode every value before appending it. Linkrunner stores values as received.

Links for your sub-publishers

Use one campaign link for all your sub-publishers. Pass each sub-publisher's ID in s2 or s3 through your platform's macro. Linkrunner returns both in your postbacks, so you can split conversions by sub-publisher.

https://track.example.com/?c=OgWmhiSXhG&tid={click_id}&s2={campaign_id}&s3={sub_publisher_id}

Create a separate link only when you want a separate campaign in the Linkrunner dashboard.

Calling the link from your server

Some platforms call the tracking link from their own server instead of sending the user's browser to it. Linkrunner then sees your server's IP address, not the user's, and the click can't be matched to an install.

If you do this, pass the user's device IP and user agent on the link:

Parameter	Also accepted	Description
ip	af_ip, ip_address	The user's public device IP address, IPv4 or IPv6.
ua	af_ua, user_agent	The user's device user agent, URL-encoded.
redirect		Optional. Set to false to get a JSON response instead of a redirect to the store.

https://track.example.com/?c=OgWmhiSXhG&tid=a1b2c3d4e5&ip=49.204.110.61&ua=Mozilla%2F5.0%20%28Linux%3B%20Android%2014%3B%20Pixel%208%29...&redirect=false

With redirect=false, Linkrunner records the click before it answers, and responds 200 with:

{"status": "accepted", "click_id": "8f6d2a1e-3c4b-4d5e-9f60-7a8b9c0d1e2f"}

If Linkrunner could not record the click, it responds 503 with {"status": "rejected", "reason": "unavailable"}. Retry the same request later.

If the click is not recorded, the response says why, for example {"status": "ignored", "reason": "invalid_ip"}:

reason	What to fix
missing_ip	Send the user's IP in ip.
invalid_ip	ip is not a public address. Send the device's public IP, not a private, loopback or carrier-NAT one.
not_a_browser	Send the user's user agent in ua.
declared_bot	The user agent belongs to a crawler or bot.

Linkrunner reads ip and ua only after the advertiser turns on S2S clicks for your partner account. Send them these steps. Until then, these parameters are ignored and the click records your server's IP.

Notes:

• Always send ip with a public address. If your server sends its own User-Agent header, a click without a valid ip is not recorded. If your server forwards the user's user agent as its User-Agent header, Linkrunner keeps that header, and a click without a valid ip records your server's IP.
• Don't add ip or ua to links that open in the user's browser. Linkrunner already sees the right values there.
• Building a new integration? Use Server-to-Server Clicks instead. It authenticates each request with your partner token and returns errors you can act on.

What not to put in the tracking link

Do not add postback-only values to the tracking link.

Value	Where it belongs
postbackKey or another secret key	Your postback URL template, not the user-facing tracking link.
{event_name}	The postback URL template. There is no event name at click time.
{revenue}, {sale_amount}, {currency}	The postback URL template. These values exist only after a conversion.

Example

A complete click tracking link:

https://track.example.com/?c=OgWmhiSXhG&tid=a1b2c3d4e5&s2=camp_88&s3=pub_4471&gaid=38400000-8cf0-11bd-b23e-10b96e40000d

Troubleshooting

Conversions arrive with an empty click ID. You did not send tid on the click, sent it under another name (such as CLICK_ID or clickid), or the value was empty. Confirm the final clicked URL includes tid= with a unique value.

Clicks do not show up on the campaign. The c value was changed. Use the exact value from the generated link, with nothing added to it.

Installs show up, but you get no postbacks. The campaign link was not created under your network. Create it from your own dashboard, or ask the advertiser to recreate it with your network selected. Also check that your postback URLs are set up. See Postbacks.

The final URL still shows {click_id} or another macro. Your platform did not replace that macro before redirecting the user. Replace it in your platform first, then send the resolved value to Linkrunner.

Installs are not attributed to your clicks. Check that traffic actually passes through the Linkrunner tracking link and that the campaign identifier (c) is correct. If you rely on device-ID matching, make sure gaid or idfa is present on the click.

Your server calls the link and installs are not attributed. Pass the user's ip and ua on the link, and ask the advertiser to turn on S2S clicks for your account. See Calling the link from your server.

Need help? Contact support@linkrunner.io