Guide to Using Postbacks and Tokens for Media Buyers

Guide to Using Postbacks and Tokens for Media Buyers 

A tracking token is a predefined placeholder that appears on a offer URL that a traffic source will automatically replace with data when a visitor clicks on your offer URL. Postbacks work by generating a session transaction ID, which is a unique series of numbers and letters associated with each click. The transaction ID is then passed to the URL of the landing page in which the advertiser will take the value and store it on their end. When a conversion occurs, the transaction ID is passed back to the postback URL, which then fires the stored value back and creates a successful conversion.

Track Revenue supports passing parameters (tokens) back to the traffic source once a conversion has fired.  The following diagram shows the typical click flow of how conversion data is transferred from the Traffic Source through to Track Revenue then to the Affiliate Network (or advertiser) and back once the conversion has happened.

1. SETTING UP CUSTOM TOKENS ON AFFILIATE NETWORK LEVEL

• After setting up your affiliate networks, you may be requested to passback certain parameters to the network. You can add custom tokens such that the next time you setup your campaigns, your pre-set tokens will be populated into your offer URL based on the network you select.
• Selection Under your Track Revenue Settings, select the Affiliate Networks you would like to add your network custom tokens to. Update your tokens under the Network Custom Token and select update. Your new custom token will now be configured for the next time you setup your campaigns.
• Please refer to our token values posted on our help guide if you want to pass Track Revenue tokens to your affiliate network

*Note: Check with your affiliate network on specific formatting of tokens in order for parameters to be returned.

2. SETTING UP CUSTOM TOKENS ON A TRAFFIC SOURCE LEVEL

• For your traffic sources, you may be requested to pass back certain parameters. You can add custom tokens such that the next time you setup your campaigns, your pre-set tokens will be populated into your postback/callback URL based on the traffic source you select. Each traffic source will be designated a unique third party postback URL based on these defined parameters.
• Under your Track Revenue Settings, select the Traffic Sources you would like to add your traffic source tokens to. Update your tokens under the Traffic Source Tokens and select update. Your new custom token will now be configured for the next time you setup your campaigns.
• You many also choose to add custom tokens to pass back to your traffic source under each campaign in Campaign Management -> Postback. Any tokens or postbacks added on a campaign level will override those set up under the Traffic Sources settings.

3. SETTING UP TOKENS ON CAMPAIGN/OFFER LEVEL

*Important Note: Setting up tokens on a campaign level is not required. However, if you do choose to setup additional tokens specific to this campaign. These token parameters will have a higher priority than those setup on the network level. This is typically used only if you want to use a third party postback to the traffic source.

• When setting up a new campaign, you will be prompt with the Token & SubID Setup section on the right side under the Configuration tab located in the new Campaign Management panel.
• Toggle the Use Tokens button to on and your additional tokens can now be added and enabled. You can also choose to switch between your Traffic Tokens or Custom tokens. For intent of this example, the Custom option has been selected.
• You can now add additional tokens which you want specific to this campaign.

TRACKING CONVERSIONS

Traffic sources commonly require a third party conversion tracking via Server-to-server (S2S) postback URL or tracking pixels. A source may also require third party tracking to provide useful data regarding the campaign itself. This allows more granular targeting and optimization of campaigns.

Postback URLs are dynamic, while track pixels are more static. A S2S postback URL allows data to be sent between servers by requesting a unique URL via HTTP method, hence the name postback method. Our system will only request a postback URL when a conversion has successfully fired.

Track Revenue allows three methods of tracking your conversions:

          1. Postback Method

Postback URL allows you to submit a link to your affiliate network, allowing a third-party tracking system to track your conversions.

Enter token after ?subid= and submit Postback URL to your affiliate network. This is the token you passed to the affiliate network as [[subid]]. Note that the below domain URLs are to be switch to your own domain as previously recommended.

http://avocado.trtrak.com/track?subid=SUBID_TOKEN_PASSED_TO_AFF_NETWORK

Optional Payout Passback: You may also choose to automatically passback a payout amount through your token tag below such that it does not need to be adjusted manually. This will be done on a network level.

http://avocado.trtrak.com/track?subid=SUBID_TOKEN_PASSED_TO_AFF_NETWORK&amt=#paypout#

          2. Image Pixel Method

Image Pixel allows you to submit an image to your affiliate network.

<img height="1" width="1" border="0" style="display:none" src='http://avocado.trtrak.com/track.png'>

         3. IFrame Pixel Method

IFrame Pixel allows you to submit an "image" (needs to be iFrame) to your affiliate network.

<iframe height="1" width="1" style="display: none;" src='http://avocado.trtrak.com/track.html'></iframe>

Updating CPC and Lead Values (Optional)

Updating CPC correlates with price and Lead Values is the number of conversions a campaign generates.

Instructions to modify the above links is to leverage

• 1) Add &cpc=CPC_AMOUNT and/or &amt=LEAD_VALUE after the URL postback.
• 2) Replace CPC_AMOUNT and/or LEAD_VALUE with the appropriate tokens.

TOKEN SETUP FROM AFFILIATE NETWORK LEVEL

As well as setting up the offer payout on the campaign level, you may also override the postback from affiliate network.  The example below shows a postback URL passed back to Cake for the common parameters SUBID and PAYOUT.  In this example, SUBID is passed back through the S2S parameter and amt through price parameter, respectively. You may choose to pass additional parameters based on the affiliate network you are working with.  Refer to our commonly used tokens list for more info. 

Example:

http://mango.trkpre.com/track?subid=#s2#&amt=#price#