This guide helps you diagnose and resolve the most common issues when testing Affiliate and Advertiser integrations in Aftrad. Before following these steps, make sure you have completed the initial setup described in How to manage Test Links.
Part 1 — Affiliate integration
Setup checklist
Before troubleshooting, verify the following are correctly configured:
1. Affiliate postback URL The Affiliate must provide their postback URL. Configure it in the Affiliate's profile under General > Postbacks > Default Postback.
The most important parameter in the postback URL is the Affiliate's click ID. The Affiliate must tell you which parameter they expect to receive it in. In Aftrad, the macro that passes this value back to the Affiliate is {affiliate_click_id}.
Example postback URL:
https://affiliate-postback-url.com?click={affiliate_click_id}&payout={payout}
2. Affiliate macros If you know the macro the Affiliate uses in their platform for the click ID, configure it in the Affiliate's profile under General > Macros > Click ID. This way, every Tracking URL generated for this Affiliate will automatically include the correct macro — and the Affiliate won't need to manually edit the URL.
For example, if the Affiliate's platform uses ${sub1} as the click ID macro, set the Click ID field to ${sub1}:
When the Tracking URL is generated for this Affiliate, it will automatically include click_id=${sub1}:
How to run the Affiliate test
Follow the steps in How to manage Test Links — Testing the Affiliate postback integration.
Common issues — Affiliate not receiving the postback
Issue 1 — The Affiliate did not send the click_id in their click
The Affiliate's click ID must be present in the click for Aftrad to be able to return it in the postback. If the Affiliate sent a click without including their click ID, the {affiliate_click_id} macro will be empty in the postback notification.
How to verify: Open the test in Tools > Tracking link tests and check the Affiliate click ID field in the Test summary:
If the field shows a value → the click ID was received correctly. ✅
If the field is empty (
-) → the Affiliate did not send the click ID.
If the field shows the literal macro value (e.g.,
{REPLACE}or${sub1}) → the Affiliate's platform did not replace the macro before sending the click.
You can also verify this using the Decoder tool. Copy the Aftrad click_id (Event ID) from the test summary, go to Tools > Decoder, and paste it. The decoded result will show the Affiliate click ID field — if it is empty or shows the literal macro, the issue is on the Affiliate's side.
Solution: Ask the Affiliate to verify that their platform is correctly replacing the click ID macro in the Tracking URL before sending traffic.
Issue 2 — No conversion was generated in Aftrad
If the Affiliate's postback was not triggered, check whether a conversion was actually recorded in Aftrad. Go to Performance Hub > Advertiser Events and verify that an event exists for the test click.
If no event exists, the Advertiser postback was not received — follow the steps in Part 2 of this guide.
Issue 3 — A conversion was generated but the visibility in the payout rule is Private
If a conversion was recorded in Aftrad but the Affiliate did not receive a notification, check the payout rule applied to the event. If the Visibility of the matching payout rule is set to Private, Aftrad will not send a postback notification to the Affiliate for that event.
Solution: Go to the Offer's Payouts & Events tab and change the Visibility of the relevant payout rule from Private to Public. See Offer payout rules for details.
Part 2 — Advertiser integration
Setup checklist
1. Configure the Offer Tracking URL Agree with the Advertiser on which parameter they want to receive the Aftrad click ID in. Then configure the Offer's Tracking URL using that parameter name and the {click_id} macro as its value.
For example, if the Advertiser wants to receive the click ID in the subId1 parameter:
https://advertiser_offer.com/path?subId1={click_id}
2. Provide the Aftrad Postback URL to the Advertiser Share the Aftrad Postback URL with the Advertiser (found in Advertisers > Postback URL tab) and confirm they will return the click ID they received in subId1 back to Aftrad in the click_id parameter of the postback.
How to run the Advertiser test
Follow the steps in How to manage Test Links — Testing the Advertiser postback integration.
Common issues — Aftrad not receiving the Advertiser postback
Issue 1 — The conversion does not appear in Advertiser Events
If the Advertiser claims to have sent a conversion but it does not appear in Performance Hub > Advertiser Events, ask the Advertiser to share:
The exact Postback URL they called.
The exact parameter values they sent, especially the
click_id.
Without this information it is not possible to investigate the issue further on the Aftrad side.
Once the Advertiser shares the URL, verify the following:
Check 1 — The Postback URL is correct Confirm that the URL the Advertiser called matches the Aftrad Postback URL exactly — no typos, no missing parameters, no incorrect domain.
Check 2 — The click_id is a valid Aftrad click ID If the Advertiser sent an incorrect or empty click_id, Aftrad will reject the postback and it will not appear in Advertiser Events.
To verify whether a click ID is valid: go to Tools > Decoder, paste the click ID, and check the result. If the Decoder returns data, the click ID is a valid Aftrad click ID. If the Decoder returns nothing, the click ID is invalid.
Common reasons for an invalid click ID:
The Advertiser is not passing the click ID back correctly — they may be sending a hardcoded value or their own internal ID instead of the Aftrad click ID they received.
The macro in the Offer Tracking URL was not replaced before the click was sent to the Advertiser.
Issue 2 — The conversion appears in Advertiser Events but is rejected or retained
If the event appears in Advertiser Events but is not being processed, check the Event status column. Common causes:
Retained — the event matched a retention rule configured on the Offer or Advertiser. See Offer – Retention options.
Withheld — the postback was received after the Offer's CAP was reached.
Still having issues?
If after following all these steps the problem persists, contact Aftrad support. Please provide the following information to speed up the investigation:
The Aftrad
click_id(Event ID) involved.The exact Postback URL the Advertiser called, including all parameter values.
A screenshot of the Advertiser Events report showing the event status (or confirming the event is missing).