Affiliate tracking

The Affiliate Manager tracks every referral from the moment someone clicks an affiliate’s link through to a completed sale or qualified lead. Understanding how this tracking works helps you configure campaigns correctly and interpret the data you see in your affiliate dashboard. Navigate to Marketing > Affiliate Manager to access tracking data.

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How referral tracking works

When an affiliate is enrolled in a campaign, the platform automatically generates a unique tracking link for them. This link points to the campaign’s source (a funnel, website, form, or calendar) and contains an encoded identifier specific to that affiliate. When someone clicks the link:

1. The click is recorded in the Affiliate Manager dashboard, the affiliate’s profile, and the affiliate’s own portal view
2. A tracking cookie is set in the visitor’s browser for the duration of the campaign’s configured cookie window
3. If the visitor completes a purchase within the cookie window, the sale is attributed to the affiliate and a commission is created
4. The commission appears in the affiliate’s record and in the Payouts section

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Tracking link anatomy

Each affiliate’s tracking link follows a consistent format that includes the campaign source URL and the affiliate’s unique identifier. The link is generated automatically — affiliates do not need to modify it. Affiliates receive their tracking link:

• In the welcome email sent when they are added to a campaign
• In their affiliate portal dashboard (where they can copy it at any time)
• Via a Magic Link that gives them one-click portal access

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Click tracking

The platform tracks unique link clicks — each unique visitor who clicks the affiliate’s link counts as one click, regardless of how many times that same visitor clicks the link. This prevents click inflation from refreshes or multiple clicks by the same person. Click data is visible in real time in three places:

• Affiliate Manager Dashboard — aggregate click totals across all campaigns
• Affiliate List — click count displayed next to each affiliate
• Affiliate Profile Page — full click history for an individual affiliate, including date-by-date breakdown

Affiliates can also see their own click data in their self-service portal.

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Cookie duration

Cookie duration (also called cookie life or attribution window) controls how long a click on an affiliate’s link remains active for conversion attribution. Example: If the cookie duration is set to 60 days and a visitor clicks an affiliate’s link on March 1 but does not purchase until April 15 (45 days later), the affiliate still receives credit for the sale because 45 days is within the 60-day window. If the visitor purchases after the cookie has expired, the sale is not attributed to the affiliate. Configure cookie duration per campaign in the campaign settings. Common values are 30, 60, or 90 days. Longer windows favor affiliates; shorter windows give the business more control over attribution in longer sales cycles.

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Coupon code tracking

Affiliates can be assigned a unique coupon code as an alternative or supplement to a tracking link. When a customer uses the code at checkout, the sale is attributed to the affiliate who owns that code — regardless of whether the customer originally arrived via the affiliate’s tracking link. This is useful for:

• Influencer or podcast affiliates who direct audiences to use “their code” verbally or in content where links are not clickable
• Affiliates who prefer to promote a code rather than a URL
• Campaigns where coupon codes are part of the promotional offer (the code both provides a discount and tracks attribution)

To assign a coupon code, open the affiliate’s record and enter a unique code in the Coupon Code field. The code can be combined with a tracking link so both attribution methods are active for that affiliate.

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Lead tracking

The Lead Tracking section of the Affiliate Manager shows which contacts (leads) came through affiliate links — even if they have not yet made a purchase. Each lead tracking record shows:

• The affiliate who referred the lead
• The contact record in the CRM (linked directly to the contact profile)
• The date the referral occurred
• The lead’s current status (active, converted to customer, etc.)
• The campaign the referral came through

Use lead tracking to:

• Calculate pay-per-lead commissions manually if needed
• Identify which affiliates are driving high-quality leads that convert at a strong rate
• Monitor the pipeline value of in-progress affiliate referrals

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Sub-affiliate tracking

In multi-tier campaigns, sub-affiliates have their own tracking links operating the same way as standard affiliate links. When a sub-affiliate’s referral converts, the system records:

• A commission for the sub-affiliate (Tier 1 rate)
• A commission for the recruiter who brought in the sub-affiliate (Tier 2 rate)

Both commissions are tracked separately in each party’s affiliate record and appear in the Payouts section under the appropriate affiliate name.

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External website tracking

For campaigns that drive traffic to an external website (not built on the HoopAI platform), a universal tracking snippet can be installed on the external site. This snippet monitors the entire domain and attributes conversions to the affiliate whose link the visitor originally clicked — even across multiple pages or sessions. Configure external tracking in the campaign source settings by selecting External Website and following the snippet installation instructions.

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Frequently asked questions