Foundations · Lesson 3 of 4
Tracking links, sub-IDs and getting paid
About 11 minutes · Yogender Kumar, Managing Partner
By the end of this lesson you'll be able to
- Build tracking links with sub-IDs that show which page earns
- Calculate what a month's pending commission is likely to pay
- Chase a missing or declined commission with the right evidence
Why this matters
Your dashboard shows £600 pending. Two months later, less than that may arrive. You'll want to know which pages earned it, and where the rest went.
The core idea
A tracking link does two jobs. It tells the network the reader came from you, and it sends the reader to the right page.
A deep link sends readers straight to the product you're writing about, not the advertiser's homepage. Fewer steps often means more sales.
A sub-ID is a label you add to a link, such as the name of an article or an email. It comes back in your reports, so you can see clicks, sales and EPC page by page. Without sub-IDs, every link looks the same. Never put a reader's name, email or other personal data in a sub-ID.
Each sale then moves through the same stages: pending while the advertiser checks it, then approved or declined, then paid. The share that gets declined is your reversal rate.
Worked example
Kettle & Crumb, the imaginary baking blog from Lesson 1, illustrative as before. It adds a sub-ID to every link to the kitchenware shop. Commission is £12 a sale. Here's March:
- mixer-review: 1,200 clicks, 26 sales, £312. EPC £0.26.
- bread-guide: 2,500 clicks, 9 sales, £108. EPC £0.04.
- newsletter-march: 400 clicks, 15 sales, £180. EPC £0.45.
That's 4,100 clicks, 50 sales and £600 pending.
The bread guide sends the most clicks but earns the least per click. Its links sit next to passing mentions of flour and tins, and probably few of those readers are shopping. The newsletter sends the fewest clicks and earns the most per click, because its readers asked to hear about kit.
So Kettle & Crumb moves the bread guide's links to one "what you'll need" box, and adds a monthly kit pick to the newsletter.
My view: judge pages by EPC, and stop adding links to the ones that don't earn.
March earnings per click, by sub-ID
From pending to paid
Six of the 50 sales were returned, so the advertiser declined them: 6 × £12 = £72. That's a reversal rate of 12%. The other 44 were approved, worth £528.
Timing, still illustrative: a sale on 3 March sits pending for the shop's 35-day validation period, so it's approved around 7 April. The network pays publishers once the advertiser has paid it, which here means the 15 May payment run. That's about ten weeks from sale to money.
One sale's path to payment (illustrative dates)
A sale made on 3 March
Missing commission
Sometimes a reader buys and nothing is tracked. Common causes are cookie consent being refused, an ad blocker, or the reader switching device.
Most networks have a missing-commission form. Send the order number, date and value, the date and time of the click, and any order confirmation the reader can share. Claim promptly, because networks set a deadline.
In practice
- Add a sub-ID to every link: one per article, email or social post.
- Use deep links to the product you're writing about.
- Test each new link yourself: click it, check where it lands, and look for the click in your report.
- Check EPC by sub-ID every month, and move links towards the pages that earn.
- Track pending against approved to know your real reversal rate.
- Claim missing commission quickly, with the order details.
- Remember affiliate income is taxable. Check HMRC's guidance on the trading allowance and Self Assessment, or ask an accountant.
Common mistakes
- One link for everything. Without sub-IDs you can't tell a page that earns from one that doesn't.
- Counting pending as income. Plan on what usually gets approved.
- Ignoring declines. Ask why sales were declined. A pattern, such as returns on one product, tells you what to link to less.
Try it yourself
In June you have £1,200 pending from 100 sales at £12 each. Your reversal rate has averaged 15%. How much should you plan to be paid? If 22 sales end up declined, what's your reversal rate that month, and what are you paid?
Show answer
Plan on £1,200 × 0.85 = £1,020. If 22 are declined, the reversal rate is 22 ÷ 100 = 22%. You're paid for 78 sales: 78 × £12 = £936. That's well above your usual 15%, so ask the advertiser for the reasons.
Quick check
Not scored. Pick an answer to see the explanation.
What does a sub-ID let you do?
A page sent 3,000 clicks and earned £150 in commission. What's its EPC?
Key takeaways
- Deep links send readers straight to the product. Sub-IDs show which page earned.
- Compare pages by EPC, not by clicks.
- Plan on approved commission, using your own reversal rate.
- Claim missing commission quickly, with the order details.