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Testing click and conversion tracking

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Testing your tracking means replaying a visitor’s journey yourself, one click on a tracked link then an order, to check that both reach your program. It is the last check to run after installing your tracking, before you open your program to affiliates.

Requirements: your tracking must already be installed on your website (program menu, Configuration, Tracking tab) and your program must have at least one active Partnership. Without a partnership, the link builder shows « You don’t have any partnerships yet. »

Step 1: generate your test tracked link

A test link is a perfectly normal tracked link, generated for the partnership of your choice. You will find it in the Link builder, which is its own menu in the left bar, Tools section.

In the left bar, Tools section, open Link builder.
Check at the top right that the correct program is selected.
In Global settings, pick the Partnership you want to test with. Prefer a partnership dedicated to testing over a real affiliate.
In the URL field, enter the landing page you want (home page, category or product page).
Your Tracked link appears automatically, with no button to click. While it is being built, the message « Generating tracking link… » is displayed. Then copy the link with the copy icon.

The shape of the link depends on the URL format set in your program configuration:

Parameter, for example https://www.example.com/?ae=1
Redirect, for example lb.affilae.com/r/?xxxxxx
Server-to-Server (S2S), for server side integrations

Step 2: click the link, then check the click

Turn off your ad blocker and your privacy extensions. They block the Affilae script, so the click would never be recorded.
Open a regular browser window (avoid private browsing for this first test) and paste the tracked link.
On your website, accept cookies in your consent banner, then let the page load completely.
Keep that tab open and do not switch browsers: the rest of the test must happen in the same session.

Then go to your program menu and open Clicks.

MANAGE MY PROGRAMS

Program list

Baby & Cie

Configuration

My affiliates

Medias

Clicks

Conversions

Payments

The program menu, opened on « Clicks ».

The list refreshes on its own, so your click shows up within seconds. Find the most recent row and check three things: the Date and time, the Partnership used, and the landing page in the Referrer / Landing page column.

The program click list, with the test click on the first row (sample data).

The icon at the end of the row opens the Click details: identifier, IP address, SubID, full Landing page:, Referrer:, Device: and Traffic Source. This is where you confirm that a SubID carried by your link was captured. If the list shows « No clicks », the click was not measured: see the common errors below.

Step 3: trigger a test conversion, then check it

In the same browser and without clearing your cookies, place an order or fill in the lead form on your website.
Go all the way to the order confirmation page (or lead confirmation page): that page fires the conversion script, an order abandoned before it will not be recorded.
Write down the order number, you will use it to find the conversion.

Then open Conversions in your program menu. The default period covers the last 30 days. Paste your order number into the ID search field to go straight to it.

The program conversion list, with the test conversion set to « Pending » (sample data).

The chip in the Status column only takes three values: Pending, Accepted and Refused. Your test conversion arrives as Pending when your commission rule is set to « pending » in the Status of new conversions field, and directly as Accepted when it is set to « accepted ».

Below the chip, the wording Will be locked on followed by a date tells you when the conversion will be frozen. That date is the conversion date plus the Delay before payment demand (in days) set in your rule. This delay is 0 days by default, so locking is immediate unless you changed it.

The icon at the end of the row opens the Conversion funnel. It shows the whole journey, from click to order, with the Amount, the Time to conversion, the Tracking method, the Customer ID and the IP address. This is the most useful screen to prove that the click and the conversion were tied together.

Step 4: refuse the test conversion

A test conversion is still a real conversion: it creates a commission payable to the affiliate involved. Neutralise it as soon as your check is done.

Tick the checkbox at the start of your test conversion row. An action banner appears at the bottom of the screen.
Click Refuse. The banner then shows « __count__ pending conversions will be refused. Once you confirm your choice, the conversions will be locked. »
Fill in the Reason field, it is mandatory. Write something like « test conversion ».
Validate with Confirm. The message « Conversion has been refused » is displayed.

Warning: a Locked conversion can no longer be selected, so it can no longer be refused from the interface. If your rule accepts new conversions automatically and the delay before payment demand is 0, the test conversion is locked as soon as it arrives: contact support to neutralise it. Conversions cannot be deleted, refusing is the only available action.

What this test gives you

You confirm that your scripts sit in the right place, in particular the conversion script on the confirmation page.
You avoid the worst launch scenario: affiliates sending traffic without being paid, because conversions never arrive.
You check that useful data arrives complete (partnership, amount, commission, SubID) before you promote your program.
You get concrete proof, the conversion funnel, to show your agency or your developer if anyone doubts the setup.

Getting your test right the first time

One test at a time. Chaining several clicks and several orders makes the rows impossible to tell apart.
Stay in the same session. Click and order must happen in the same browser, without switching device and without clearing cookies in between.
Refusing cookies breaks the test. If your consent banner blocks the Affilae script, the click or the conversion will not be measured. Also test the « I refuse » case so you know what you lose.
Do not test with a real affiliate’s link. You would create a commission to pay them. Use a partnership dedicated to testing.
Check your tracking duration. If you place the order after the number of days set in your rule’s tracking duration, the conversion will not be attributed.
Write everything down. Click time, partnership used, order number: those three details are all support needs to find your test.

Tip: add a recognisable SubID to your test link, for example test-of-the-day. You will spot your click instantly in the click details, even among hundreds of rows.

When to run the test again

Before launching the program. You have just installed the tracking and you want to validate the full chain before accepting your first affiliates.
After a change on your website. Redesign, new CMS, new checkout funnel, new consent banner: each of those projects can break tracking without warning.
When an affiliate reports missing sales. A test on your side settles right away whether it is a tracking issue or an attribution issue.

Frequently asked
questions

A few seconds. The click list updates automatically, you do not need to reload the page.

If nothing shows up after several minutes, check your ad blocker first, then the list filters, especially the period and the selected partnership.

That message means no click matches the active filters. Reset the filters with the dedicated icon, then check that you are on the right program.

If the list stays empty, the click script is not active on your website, or a browser extension blocked it. Run the test again without an ad blocker.

In most cases the conversion script is missing from the order confirmation page, or it does not fire there. That page is the only one that counts for the conversion.

Other common causes are cookies refused in your consent banner, a change of browser or device between click and order, and a delay longer than the tracking duration set in your rule.

A conversion cannot be deleted. You neutralise it by refusing it, while it is still Pending: tick the row, click Refuse, enter a Reason (mandatory), then Confirm.

A conversion that is already locked can no longer be selected. In that case, contact Affilae support with the order ID.

For measuring a click, yes. For going all the way to the conversion, it is not recommended: depending on the browser, private window cookies can be cleared or isolated, and the conversion will not be tied to the click.

Run your first test in a regular window with cookies accepted. Private browsing is useful later, to check edge cases.

Because your commission rule is set to « accepted » in the Status of new conversions field, and the Delay before payment demand (in days) is 0, its default value. The conversion is therefore frozen as soon as it arrives.

To keep control over your tests, set the status of new conversions to « pending », or set a delay greater than 0 in the rule configuration.