Overview
NOTE: If you have an established integration not created through the Postback/Pixels feature, it WILL NOT be impacted by the release of this feature and will continue to operate and function as expected. However, users may experience positive benefits if they transition their existing integrations to S2S integrations.
Related: Transitioning to the Updated Postback/Pixel Technology
ClickBank’s S2S Postback/Pixels feature enables clients to send ClickBank order form impression and conversion events to third-party services, like ad tracking providers and traffic sources, through a modern server-to-server (S2S) integration method, providing the most reliable and accurate data to these external services.
This article contains the following sections:
- Introduction to the New S2S Postback/Pixels Feature
- Postback Tracking: What is it?
- Key Features & Improvements
- How to Set Up a New Postback/Pixels Integration
- How to Test Your Integration
- How to Manage, Edit, Delete, and Duplicated Integrations
- Troubleshooting integrations
- Postback macros
- Transitioning Existing Integrations
- Postback/Pixels FAQ
- Additional Resources & Related Articles
Introduction to the New S2S Postback/Pixels Feature
The S2S Postback/Pixels integration is an optional, highly customizable feature intended for clients who need to leverage ClickBank data in one or more third-party service, including:
- Ad trackers, such as RedTrack, Voluum, ClickMagick, and others
- Traffic sources, such as FaceBook, Google, and other properties
- Other External tools, such as off-site analytics platforms
Setting up a new Postback/Pixels integration does not require development expertise, but some experience with tracking integration methods is beneficial. We also recommend consulting and understanding the integration documentation of each third-party source throughout the setup process.
NOTE: Because the S2S Postback/Pixels feature is an additional integration type, there is no requirement to immediately switch out any of your existing integrations. However, you may want to consider replacing an INS or ISR integration in some cases given that Postback/Pixels integrations improve and solve upon the current problems:
- Under-reporting: In the case of missing conversions from custom “Thank You” page or upsells with ISR pixel
- Over-reporting conversions: In the case of indiscriminate global ISR pixel-firing, especially for some CPA affiliates
- Complex setup: ISR and especially INS require custom development in many cases, which can delay affiliates from promoting
- Difficult to test: ISR/INS testing can be time-consuming and require seller partnership
Postback Tracking: What is it?
Postback tracking, also commonly called server-to-server (S2S) or “cookieless” tracking, is a method of tracking order and conversion data that uses server-side communication instead of a user's browser communicating to the third party’s server. Postback tracking is a reliable, modern way to track order and conversion data that does not rely on the client-side behavior or settings.
ClickBank has historically supported clients with ISR (Integrated Sales Reporting) tracking integrations, which use a browser-based pixel, alongside instant notification service (INS)/instant payment notifications (IPN), for transaction-level data. While these integration methods serve a purpose and work for many needs, postback tracking provides more reliable and accurate data to your external systems based on the server-to-server integration method.
Additionally, ClickBank’s Postback/Pixels tracking provides more robust functionality aligned with client needs, such as integration filters, event customization, and formatting options.
Consult the chart below for a full comparison of integration types:
Key Features & Improvements
There are a number of notable benefits to using the S2S Postback/Pixels tracking feature, including:
-
Server-to-Server Integration
Server-to-Server integrations provides the most reliable and accurate order form impression and conversion data. Rather than rely only on data generated through a browser, server-to-server integrations are able to "vet" data, creating a more insightful tracking experience. -
Flexible Integration Filters
Flexible integration filters allow clients to set up integrations for select promotion efforts. This provides a solution for over reporting that can be a side effect of indiscriminate pixel firing based on all account activity. - Highly Customizable and Configurable Postback URL Format
-
Customizable Integrations
Clients can customize their integrations to only provide the data they care about tracking. For example, CPA affiliates can optimize their integration to only get conversions where commission is earned. -
Realtime Data
Realtime data means that events are delivered to reporting as soon as possible, allowing clients to make data-driven decisions as they arise. - Easy-to-Use, Prebuilt Integration Templates
- The integration process is streamlined and built for users of all skill types.
NOTE: More pre-built integration templates coming soon! -
Built-in Testing & Troubleshooting
Clients can test their integrations directly from the interface.
How to Set Up and Create a New Postback/Pixels Integration
To set up a Postback/Pixel integration, follow these instructions:
NOTE: You must be the owner of an account nickname or be granted account nickname access in order to create or manage a postback/pixel tracking integration.
Related: How do I create additional users for my primary account?
Step 1: Log in to your ClickBank account.
Step 2: Select Integrations from the vertical navigation menu on the left side of the screen. Then, select Postback/Pixels.
Step 3: Click Add Integration.
Step 4: Either choose from one of the integration templates or select Custom Postback/Pixel.
NOTE: This is the first version of our S2S Postback/Pixels Tracking integration. Expect more pre-built, easy-to-use integration templates and additional feature enhancements in the near future!
Step 5: Name your integration so you can easily identify it.
NOTE: This name is not exposed anywhere and is only for your purposes.
Step 6: Select which account nickname you wish to integrate from the Account dropdown.
Step 7: Select the role (affiliate or seller) you are operating as in that account nickname.
Step 8: Select the integration level: “Global” applies tracking integration for all account activity. “Custom” allows you to apply filter criteria so that only events which meet the specified criteria will be delivered to the external source.
NOTE:
If “Custom” is selected, select the integration filter field and input the filter value(s) for the integration to apply for. To provide a list of multiple values, utilize a comma-separated format as shown in the example below.
Example of Custom integration filter: In this scenario, the external source will only be notified of events where the Seller Nickname is either cb1test, cb2test, or cb3test.
Step 9: Select the event type(s) you want to trigger a postback to be sent to your integration.
-
- Order form impression
Note: This is initial order form visit - Initial Purchase
- Upsell Purchase
- Combined Conversion: send one conversion event with earnings and sales amounts reflecting both the initial purchase and upsell purchases.
- Order form impression
Step 10: Add the postback URL provided by the third-party platform where the order form visit or conversion event will be sent. You will need to gather this URL from the desired third party.
Optionally, you can toggle on “Customize the postback URL per event type” so that you may define different postback URL formats for the various event types selected. Reference your third party’s documentation to understand if the postback format should differ for various event types.
Step 11: Customize your postback URL with ClickBank Macros: Macros, also known as tracking tokens, enable you to map the right data to be passed back to the third-party system. Macros work like placeholders for dynamic data. While they appear in the postback URL as placeholders, at runtime the placeholder is replaced with the value as tracked in ClickBank’s system. View the complete list of macros available here.
Step 12: Once the desired settings have been input, click to Save, and continue to test your integration.
How to Test Your Integration
To ensure the integration is properly configured and firing the right data to your third-party tool, utilize our test integration tool to trigger test events.
Access the Test Integration Tool
After saving the integration, you will automatically be redirected to the Integrations home page. A small modal will provide quick access to the Test Integration tool, as pictured below:
You can also access the Test Integration tool at any time by clicking on the Action menu within the Integrations table, as pictured below:
Configure Test Integration Data
- If desired, you can customize the postback URL which will be fired to your integration partner upon clicking the test button. We recommend checking with your third party’s documentation regarding test integration events to ensure the data will be processed as test events, not real events. Note: ClickBank macros will be replaced with fake data defined by ClickBank.
- Click Test to trigger the test events. Wait a few seconds and the integration test response will automatically be displayed, providing confirmation of the integration.
- Click the response to expand and view details if the integration test was successful or failed.
- If the test failed, make the necessary changes and retest.
Note: Orders submitted with a ClickBank test credit card will not trigger the postback pixel configured.
How to Manage, Edit, Delete, and Duplicate Integrations
Follow these steps to manage, edit, or delete an integration created through the Postback/Pixels feature.
- Change the status of an integration: activate or deactivate the integration
- Edit your integration settings/details
- Delete integrations which are no longer needed
- Duplicate the integration to quickly create a new integration, copying the details of the existing integration into a new integration form.
Note that you can save time by using the “Duplicate” Integration Action. This feature provides an efficient way to create a new integration, copying the details of the integration into a new “Create Integration” form for you to adjust the desired settings and save the new integration.
To duplicate an integration:
- Find the integration you wish to duplicate, then click the three dots to open the quick Action menu
- Select Duplicate
- Make the desired changes
- Click Save to add the new integration
Troubleshooting Your Integration
Have you tried validating your integration with our Test Integration tool? If the integration test has failed, click to expand and view details of the error response returned from the third-party request.
The error message will commonly contain helpful information about why the request has failed, which may inform the adjustments required to successfully integrate.
We also recommend reviewing your third-party party integration documentation for guidance and best practices.
List of Macros for Postback
Macros, also known as tracking tokens, enable you to map the right data to be passed back to your third-party system. Macros work like placeholders for dynamic data. While they appear in the postback URL as placeholders, the placeholder is replaced with the value as tracked in ClickBank’s system at runtime.
Below is a list of the supported macros you can add to your Postback URL to ensure the right conversion data is passed back to the external system.
| Data Point | ClickBank Macro (as entered in the postback URL) | Definition | Role Accessibility |
| Order Info | |||
| Account | {account} | Your account nickname | both |
| Role Type | {role} | Your account’s role for the event | both |
| Affiliate | {affiliate} | The affiliate nickname for the associated event | both |
| Seller | {vendor} | The seller (aka vendor) nickname for the associated event | both |
| Event Type | {event_type} |
The type of event: order form impression, initial purchase, upsell purchase, rebill, refund, chargeback Order_impression Purchase Upsell |
both |
| Event ID | {event_id} | ClickBank generated ID for the event | both |
| Event Time | {event_time} | Time of transaction in ISO 8601 format | both |
| Receipt ID | {receipt_id} | ClickBank receipt ID for the transaction. Note this would not be populated for the order impression event type | both |
| Order ID | {order_id} | ClickBank generated ID that links all transactions within an order. The Order ID links together initial sale and upsell purchase types. | both |
| Order Language | {order_language} | Language used on the order form | both |
| Upsell Original Receipt ID | {original_receipt} | Receipt number that started the upsell flow | both |
| Upsell Flow ID | {upsell_flow_id} | ID of the upsell flow | Seller Only |
| Upsell Session ID | (upsell_session} | Session ID for the upsell | both |
| Upsell Path | {upsell_path} | The upsell path that was taken by the customer during the transaction. This field will contain a code that represents the upsell cadence (1-7) and the characters "a" or "d" which represent "accept" and "decline" respectively. | Seller only |
| Sale and Earnings Amounts | |||
| Affiliate Earnings | {affiliate_earnings} | Total amount your account earned for the transaction in USD | Affiliate only |
| Seller Earnings | {vendor_earnings} | Total amount your account earned for the transaction in USD | Seller only |
| Affiliate Commission | {affiliate_commission} | The total affiliate commission paid to the affiliate. This includes total affiliate commission as the primary affiliate earnings + JV affiliate commissions if applicable | Seller only |
| Transaction Amount | {total_transaction_amount} | Total the customer was charged for the transaction in USD. This includes: product purchase price, product discounts, taxes and shipping paid by the customer. | both |
| Order Currency | {order_currency} | Currency the user paid in | both |
| Tracking Data | |||
| Tracking Type | {tracking_type} | The tracking type indicates if attribution was provided based on a click from a HopLink, Direct Tracking Link, or from the Affiliate fallback method. Example: hop | both |
| Alternate HopLink Destination | {cb_page} | The ‘cbPage’ parameter applied to the affiliate tracking URL for the alternate HopLink destination page | both |
| Click Id | {click_id} | Unique identifier generated by ClickBank on the hop (click) which is tracked across subsequent order form impression and purchase event(s). Note: if a visitor is not attributed to a hop, a unique identifier is generated on the order form visit and tracked across subsequent purchases. Example: 16cc1494-8332-40bd-b869-b97357194f12 | both |
| Click Timestamp | {click_timestamp} | Timestamp of the initial hop or order form impression event if there is no attributed hop. Example: 2023-10-02T12:34:20.093332Z | both |
| Tracking ID | {tid} | ‘tid’ value passed in the affiliate tracking link | Affiliate Only |
| Ad | {ad} | ‘ad’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Adgroup | {adgroup} | ‘adgroup’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Affiliate Sub ID 1 | {aff_sub1} | ‘aff_sub1’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Affiliate Sub ID 2 | {aff_sub2} | ‘aff_sub2’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Affiliate Sub ID 3 | {aff_sub3} | ‘aff_sub3’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Affiliate Sub ID 4 | {aff_sub4} | ‘aff_sub4’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Affiliate Sub ID 5 | {aff_sub5} | ‘aff_sub5’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Campaign | {campaign} | ‘campaign’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Contact ID | {contact_id} | ‘contact_id’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Creative | {creative} | ‘creative’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| External Click ID | {extclid} | ‘extclid’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Facebook Click ID | {fbclid} | ‘fbclid’ (Facebook click identifier) value passed in the affiliate tracking URL. | Affiliate Only |
| Offer | {offer} | ‘offer’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Traffic Source | {traffic_source} | ‘traffic_source’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Traffic Type | {traffic_type} | ‘traffic_type’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Unique Affiliate Sub ID 1 | {unique_aff_sub1} | ‘unique_aff_sub1’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Unique Affiliate Sub ID 2 | {unique_aff_sub2} | ‘unique_aff_sub2’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Unique Affiliate Sub ID 3 | {unique_aff_sub3} | ‘unique_aff_sub3’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Unique Affiliate Sub ID 4 | {unique_aff_sub4} | ‘unique_aff_sub4’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Unique Affiliate Sub ID 5 | {unique_aff_sub5} | ‘unique_aff_sub5’ value passed in the affiliate tracking URL | Affiliate Only |
| Vendor Tracking ID (VTID) | {vtid} | the ‘vtid’ (vendor tracking ID) which is used on the payment link | Seller only |
| Location & Device Data | |||
| Country | {country} | Customer's country. Example: US | both |
| State | {state} | Customer's state. Example: NV | both |
| Postal Code | {postal_code} | Customer's postal code or zip code. Example: 89101 |
both |
| Device Type | {device_type} | Type of device. Example: Desktop | both |
| Device Brand | {device_brand} | Brand of device. Example: Apple | both |
| Device Model | {device_model} | Model of device. Example: Apple Macintosh | both |
| Operating System | {os} | Operating System of device. Example: Mac OS | both |
| Operating System Version | {os_version} | Operating System Version Example: >=10.15.17 | both |
| Browser | {browser} | Browser Name. Example: Safari | both |
| Browser Version | {browser_version} | Browser Version. Example: 16.6 | both |
| Browser Language | {browser_lang} | Browser Language. Example: en | both |
If you do not see a macro for a datapoint that you wish to pass back to a third party integration, please reach out to productfeedback@clickbank.com so we can explore creating a solution.
Transitioning Existing Integrations
If you are currently using existing tracking integrations features (like Integrated Sales Reporting tracking pixels or Instant Notification Service) you may want to transition your integrations to the new Postback/Pixels feature to take advantage of the additional benefits of this particular technology.
Before cutting over any services, please refer to the transition guide for important considerations. If you commonly encounter any of the issues listed in the “Key Features and Improvements” section of this article, you may want to replace an existing integration with Postback/Pixels.
Related: Transitioning to the Updated Postback/Pixel Technology
Postback/Pixels FAQ
Q: Does this replace IPN/INS?
A: The S2S Postback/Pixels integration is an additional, optional integration method. For some clients, the new Postback/Pixels Tracking feature may be a suitable option to replace their IPN/INS integration, but for others it may not. It depends which events are required for your 3rd party integration. INS provides event notifications beyond basic purchase events, such as abandon cart notifications, which are not available for Postback Pixel notifications.
Q: Will my existing integrations (ISR and IPN/INS) still work?
A: Yes, both INS/IPN and ISR tracking integrations will continue to work. Eventually, this new Postback Pixels will replace the existing ISR feature. Advance notice will be provided well in-advance before we begin to deprecate the existing feature.
Q: What happens if the postback delivery to the external service fails?
A: If we receive a 5xx error, we will attempt to retry the event up to 3 times, and if it is still unsuccessful we will log the postback failure. Undelivered / failed postback logs, and events delivered successfully will be accessible within the client interface in a future iteration of this feature.
Additional Resources & Related Articles
- KNOWLEDGE BASE: Integrated Sales Reporting
- KNOWLEDGE BASE: Instant Notification Service
- KNOWLEDGE BASE: Transitioning to the New Postback/Pixel Technology
- ClickBank Partners
- ClickBank Integrations