Affiliate Marketing

Linkzly's Affiliate feature lets you run your own affiliate program — recruit partners, give them trackable links, automatically attribute conversions to the right affiliate, and pay them out. Everything lives inside your Linkzly dashboard, including a branded self-service portal your affiliates log into to track their own performance.

Overview

Setting up an affiliate program in Linkzly involves four main steps:

Create a program — Define your commission structure, attribution rules, and approval settings.
Set up a tracking domain — Add a CNAME record so your affiliate links use your own domain.
Invite affiliates — Bring in partners who receive unique tracking links.
Track and pay — Approve conversions and send payouts to affiliates.

Navigation

In the left sidebar, the Affiliate section (Handshake icon) contains two pages:

Programs — Create and manage your affiliate programs.
Reports — View aggregated analytics across all programs.

Note: The Affiliate section is gated by the affiliateEnabled feature flag. If you do not see it in your sidebar, contact your account administrator to enable it.

7.1 Creating an Affiliate Program

In the left sidebar, click Affiliate, then Programs.
Click Create Program in the top-right corner.
Fill in the form and click Save.

Program Fields

Field	Description	Required
Program Name	The display name for your program. Shown to affiliates in the portal.	Required
Description	A short description of your program. Shown on the affiliate portal join page.	Optional
Commission Type	How you calculate commissions. Choose Percentage (a percentage of the conversion value, e.g., `15%`) or Fixed (a flat fee per conversion, e.g., `$25.00 USD`).	Required
Commission Value	The commission amount — either a percentage (e.g., `15`) or a fixed amount in your currency (e.g., `25`). For percentage type, maximum is 100.	Required
Commission Currency	The 3-letter ISO currency code for fixed commissions and payouts (e.g., `USD`, `EUR`). Defaults to `USD`.	Optional
Attribution Window	How many days after a click a conversion is still credited to the affiliate. Enter a number between 1 and 365. Default is `30`. For example, a value of `30` means a purchase made within 30 days of clicking the affiliate's link counts as their conversion.	Optional
Approval Mode	Automatic — conversions are approved immediately. Manual — conversions sit in a pending state until you review and approve them. Default is Manual.	Optional
Minimum Order Value	The minimum conversion value required for a commission to be earned. Conversions below this amount are not attributed. Leave blank or set to `0` for no minimum.	Optional

Note on Cookie Duration: Affiliate tracking cookies are set for a fixed 30-day window. This is separate from the Attribution Window — the cookie determines how long a click is remembered in the browser, while the Attribution Window determines how long after a click a conversion can still be credited.

After saving, Linkzly generates:

Program Slug — A short identifier used in your affiliate portal URL (e.g., acme-rewards).
Join URL — The public URL affiliates use to sign up: {your-portal-domain}/portal/{program_slug}/join.

Tip: Share the Join URL in your marketing materials so new affiliates can self-register and start promoting immediately.

Programs List

The Programs page shows a searchable, filterable table of all your programs.

Filters:

Search: "Search programs..."
Status: All Status | Active | Inactive | Archived

Table columns:

Column	Description
Program	Program name and slug.
Commission	Commission type and value (e.g., `15%` or `$25.00 USD`).
Status	Current program status: Active, Inactive, or Archived.
Approval	Approval mode: Automatic or Manual.
Attribution	Attribution window in days.
Created	Date the program was created.
Actions	Per-row action menu.

Per-program actions (⋮ menu):

Action	Description
View Details	Open the full program detail page.
Analytics	Jump directly to the program's Overview tab analytics.
Rotate Secret	Generate a new API secret for S2S postback authentication.
Delete Program	Permanently delete the program and all associated data. Destructive.

7.2 Setting Up a Tracking Domain

A tracking domain is the domain used in your affiliate links. Instead of links using a generic Linkzly domain, your affiliates' links can use a domain you control (e.g., go.yourcompany.com).

Step 1 — Add a CNAME Record

In your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Route 53, Namecheap, etc.), add the following record:

Field	Value
Name	The subdomain you want to use (e.g., `go` for `go.yourcompany.com`)
Type	`CNAME`
Value	Shown in your Linkzly Tracking tab settings

DNS propagation typically takes a few minutes to a few hours.

Step 2 — Verify the Domain

Go to your program's Tracking tab.
Enter your domain in the Tracking Domain field (e.g., go.yourcompany.com).
Click Verify Domain.

Linkzly checks that the CNAME record is in place and confirms ownership. Once verified, the status changes to Active and your affiliate links will use that domain.

Note: You must complete domain verification before affiliate links can be generated on your custom domain.

7.3 Managing Affiliates

Inviting Affiliates

Open your program and click the Affiliates tab.
Click Invite Affiliates.
In the Email Addresses field, enter one or more email addresses (one per line or comma-separated).
Optionally add a Personal Message that will be included in the invitation email.
Click Send Invitations.

Each invited affiliate receives an email with a link to join your program. They click the link, complete registration on your affiliate portal, and are added to your program.

Affiliate Status

Status	Meaning
Pending	Affiliate has been invited or registered but has not been approved yet (applies when your program uses Manual approval mode).
Active	Affiliate is approved and can generate conversions.
Rejected	The affiliate's application was reviewed and declined.
Blocked	The affiliate has been temporarily blocked. Their links are disabled.
Suspended	The affiliate's account is suspended. Links are disabled.

Affiliate Table

The Affiliates tab shows all affiliates in your program. Use the search and status filter to narrow the list.

Filters:

Search: "Search by name or email..."
Status: All Status | Active | Pending | Rejected | Blocked

Table columns:

Column	Description
Name & Email	The affiliate's display name and registered email address.
Status	Current status badge.
Verification	Whether the affiliate has verified their email address.
Source	How the affiliate joined (invited, self-registered, etc.).
Joined	The date they joined your program.
Actions	Per-row action menu.

Per-Affiliate Actions

Click the ⋮ menu on any affiliate row. Available actions depend on the affiliate's current status:

Action	When Available	Description
Resend Invite	Invite token exists and not yet verified	Re-send the invitation email.
Approve	Pending and verified	Approve the affiliate's application (Manual approval mode).
Reject	Pending and verified	Decline the affiliate's application. Destructive.
Block Access	Active	Temporarily block the affiliate. Their links stop working. Destructive.
Unblock Access	Blocked	Re-activate a blocked affiliate.

7.4 Affiliate Tracking Links

Each affiliate gets unique tracking links that record clicks and attribute conversions back to them.

Link Format

Affiliate links follow the format: {tracking-domain}/{slug}

The slug is an auto-generated 6–8 character short identifier (e.g., go.yourcompany.com/ab12cd).

Creating a Tracking Link

Open your program and click the Links tab.
Click Create Link.
Fill in the form and click Save.

Field	Description	Required
Destination URL	The page the affiliate link redirects to (e.g., your product page or homepage).	Required
Campaign Name	A label for this link (e.g., `Summer Sale`, `Instagram Bio`). Visible in your dashboard for reporting.	Optional
Affiliate	The affiliate this link belongs to. If left blank, the link is unassigned.	Optional
UTM Source	The UTM source tag to append to the destination URL (e.g., `affiliate`).	Optional
UTM Medium	The UTM medium tag (e.g., `referral`).	Optional
UTM Campaign	The UTM campaign tag (e.g., `summer_sale`).	Optional

Link Table

Column	Description
Link	The full tracking URL ready to share.
Total Clicks	Total times the link has been clicked.
Conversions	Conversions attributed to this link.
Status	Whether the link is active or inactive.
Actions	Per-row action menu.

Per-Link Actions

Click the ⋮ menu on any link row:

Action	Description
View Analytics	Open detailed analytics for this link.
Edit	Edit the link's destination URL, campaign name, or UTM parameters.
Toggle Active/Inactive	Enable or disable the link. Inactive links do not track clicks.
Delete	Permanently delete the link. Destructive.

7.5 Conversion Tracking

A conversion is an action (usually a purchase) that gets attributed to an affiliate. Linkzly supports two methods for recording conversions.

Method 1 — Server-to-Server (S2S) Postback

S2S postbacks are the most reliable method. When a customer completes a purchase on your platform, your server sends a POST request to Linkzly's postback endpoint with the conversion details. Linkzly matches the click and credits the affiliate automatically.

Your postback endpoint URL and required parameters are shown in your program's Integration tab under Conversion Tracking. Requests must be authenticated with your program's API secret using HMAC-SHA256 signing.

Required parameters:

Parameter	Description
`order_id`	Your unique order identifier. Used as an idempotency key to prevent duplicate conversions.
`order_value`	The total order amount as a decimal number.
`order_currency`	3-letter ISO currency code (e.g., `USD`).

Optional parameters:

Parameter	Description
`external_customer_id`	Your internal customer ID.
`coupon_code`	Coupon code used on the order, for coupon-based attribution.
`line_items`	JSON array of individual line items for detailed reporting.

Method 2 — Pixel / JavaScript

For simpler integrations, you can fire a JavaScript pixel on your order confirmation page. This method works for web-based conversions where you can add a script to your page. Integration details are available in the Integration tab.

Viewing Conversions

Open your program and click the Conversions tab.
Use the status filter to narrow the list:

Status	What It Shows
All	Every recorded conversion regardless of status.
Pending	Conversions waiting for manual review (Manual approval mode only).
Approved	Conversions confirmed and included in affiliate commissions.
Rejected	Conversions reviewed and declined.
Refunded	Conversions that were reversed due to a refund.

Table columns:

Column	Description
Order ID	Your unique order identifier submitted with the conversion.
Affiliate	The affiliate credited for this conversion.
Amount	The order value.
Commission	The commission amount earned by the affiliate.
Status	Current conversion status.
Actions	Per-row action menu.

Approving and Rejecting Conversions

If your program uses Manual approval mode, conversions arrive in Pending status. Click the ⋮ menu on any pending conversion:

Action	Description
View Details	Open the full conversion detail view.
Approve	Confirm the conversion and add the commission to the affiliate's balance.
Reject	Decline the conversion. The commission is not applied. Destructive.

Note: Conversions can only be approved or rejected while in Pending status. Approved conversions that need to be reversed (e.g., due to a refund) can be reversed via the API, resulting in a Refunded status.

7.6 Portal Customization & Branding

Your affiliates log into a branded self-service portal that looks like your own product. You control every visual element.

Open your program's Branding tab to configure the affiliate portal:

Setting	What You Configure
Portal Enable	Toggle the portal on or off.
Organization Name	Your company name displayed in the portal header and emails.
Tagline	A short tagline shown below your organization name.
Website	Your company website URL.
Banner Image	A banner image shown at the top of the portal and on the join page.
Logo	Your company logo shown in the portal navigation.
Primary Color	Primary brand color used for buttons and key highlights.
Secondary Color	Secondary brand color for accents.
Accent Color	Accent color for interactive elements.
Font Family	The typeface used throughout the portal.
Layout Template	The overall layout style for the portal.
Hero Title	The main headline shown on the affiliate join/login page.
Hero Subtitle	Supporting text shown below the hero title.
Hero Image	Image displayed in the hero section of the portal.
Custom CSS	Advanced: inject custom CSS for fine-grained style control.
Welcome Message	Message shown to affiliates after they log in for the first time.
Registration Fields	Configure which fields appear on the affiliate registration form.
Support Email	Your support email address shown in the portal footer.
Social Links	Links to your social media profiles shown in the portal.
Terms of Service URL	Link to your Terms of Service, shown during registration and in the portal footer.
Privacy Policy URL	Link to your Privacy Policy, shown during registration and in the portal footer.

After making changes, click Save. Changes take effect immediately.

7.7 Payout Management

Open your program's Payouts tab to access three sub-views:

Pending Payouts — Affiliates with balances eligible for payout.
Batch History — History of all payout batches.
Payout Settings — Payment configuration for your program.

Payout Settings

Click Payout Settings to configure:

Setting	Description
Payout Methods	JSON configuration for the payment methods your affiliates can use (e.g., PayPal, bank transfer, Wise, crypto).
Payout Schedule	How often you process payouts (e.g., monthly, bi-weekly, on-demand).
Payout Threshold	The minimum balance an affiliate must accumulate before they are eligible for a payout.
Payout Hold Days	The number of days after a conversion is approved before its commission becomes eligible for payout (0–365 days). This gives you time to process refunds before paying affiliates.
Tax Rate	The tax rate to apply to commission invoices.
Tax Label	The label to display for tax on invoices (e.g., `VAT`, `GST`).
Tax Inclusive	Toggle whether the commission amount already includes tax (inclusive) or whether tax is added on top (exclusive).
Company Name	Your company name as it appears on affiliate invoices.
Company Address	Your company address for invoice records.
Company Tax ID	Your company tax identification number shown on invoices.
Company Tax ID Label	The label for your tax ID (e.g., `VAT Number`, `EIN`).
Company Country	Your company's country for tax compliance purposes.

Processing Payouts

Click Pending Payouts to see the total pending balance and all affiliates who have reached your payout threshold.
Review the list of eligible affiliates.
Click Create Payout Batch to group them into a single payout run.

Linkzly creates a payout batch — a grouped payment run — and automatically generates a formal invoice for each affiliate in the batch (formatted as INV-{program-slug}-{sequence-number}).

Batch History

The Batch History sub-view shows all previous payout batches. You can filter by date range and export to CSV.

Table columns:

Column	Description
Batch ID	Unique identifier for this payout run.
Date	When the batch was created.
Affiliates	Number of affiliates included.
Total Amount	Total payout value of the batch.
Status	Current batch status.

Batch statuses:

Status	Meaning
Pending	Batch has been created but processing has not started.
Processing	Batch is currently being processed.
Completed	All payouts in the batch have been sent successfully.
Failed	One or more payouts in the batch failed.
Cancelled	The batch was cancelled before processing.

7.8 Webhooks

Linkzly can send webhook events to your server when key things happen in your affiliate program. This lets you automate downstream actions such as updating your CRM, triggering email sequences, or syncing data with your own database.

Configuring a Webhook

Open your program's Webhooks tab.
Click Add Webhook.
Enter your server's Endpoint URL (must be HTTPS).
Select the Events you want to receive.
Save the webhook.

Each webhook is secured with an HMAC secret. Linkzly signs each outgoing request so you can verify that the payload came from Linkzly and has not been tampered with.

Supported Webhook Events

Event	When It Fires
`conversion`	A new conversion is recorded.
`conversion.approved`	A conversion is approved.
`conversion.rejected`	A conversion is rejected.
`conversion.reversed`	A conversion is reversed (e.g., due to a refund).
`affiliate.approved`	An affiliate's application is approved.
`affiliate.rejected`	An affiliate's application is rejected.
`affiliate.blocked`	An affiliate is blocked.
`payout.created`	A new payout batch is created.
`payout.sent`	A payout is sent to an affiliate.
`payout.failed`	A payout fails.

Testing and Delivery Log

Use the Test Webhook button to send a sample payload to your endpoint and verify your server is responding correctly. Linkzly tracks consecutive failures per webhook endpoint and can disable a webhook automatically if your server repeatedly returns errors.

7.9 Affiliate Analytics

Program Overview (Overview Tab)

Open your program and click the Overview tab to see the program's core performance metrics:

Metric	Description
Total Clicks	Total clicks across all affiliate tracking links for this program.
Conversions	Total conversions attributed to affiliates in this program.
Total Commission	Total commission amount earned by affiliates.
EPC	Earnings Per Click — average commission earned per click.
CR	Conversion Rate — percentage of clicks that resulted in a conversion.
RPC	Revenue Per Click — average order value generated per click.

Reports Page

Navigate to Affiliate → Reports in the sidebar to access cross-program analytics. Use the program selector and date range filters (Date From / Date To) to scope the data, then click Refresh.

The Reports page contains five sub-sections:

Overview

Summary cards for the selected program and date range:

Metric	Description
Total Clicks	Total clicks across all affiliate links in the selected period.
Conversions	Total conversions in the selected period.
Revenue	Total order value attributed to affiliates.
Commission	Total commission earned by affiliates.

Affiliates

A table ranking affiliates by performance:

Column	Description
Name	Affiliate display name.
Clicks	Total clicks from this affiliate's links.
Conversions	Conversions attributed to this affiliate.
Revenue	Total order value from this affiliate's conversions.
Commission	Total commission earned by this affiliate.
CR	Conversion rate for this affiliate.

Links

A table of all tracking links and their performance:

Column	Description
Link	The tracking URL.
Clicks	Total clicks on this link.
Conversions	Conversions attributed to this link.
Status	Whether the link is active or inactive.

Geo

A breakdown of clicks by country:

Column	Description
Country	Country name.
Clicks	Number of clicks from this country.
Percentage	Share of total clicks from this country.

Devices

A breakdown of clicks by device type:

Column	Description
Device	Device type (e.g., Desktop, Mobile, Tablet).
Clicks	Number of clicks from this device type.
Percentage	Share of total clicks from this device type.

7.10 The Affiliate Self-Service Portal

Your affiliates do not log into your Linkzly dashboard. They get their own branded portal at {your-portal-domain}/portal/{program_slug}.

Affiliate Portal Pages

Page	What Affiliates See
Dashboard	A summary of their performance: total clicks, conversions, earnings, and a time-series chart.
Links	All their tracking links with click and conversion counts. They can create new links by entering a destination URL.
Conversions	A list of all conversions attributed to them, with status (Pending / Approved / Rejected / Refunded), order value, and commission earned.
Payouts	Their payout history and current pending balance. They can see when payouts were processed and the amounts paid.
Profile	Their account settings including name, email, and their preferred payout method.

Affiliate Registration

New affiliates register at {your-portal-domain}/portal/{program_slug}/join. If your program uses Manual approval mode, they see a message that their application is under review. If Automatic, they are immediately approved and can start generating links.

Affiliate Payout Setup

On their Profile page, affiliates select their preferred payout method and enter the relevant details (PayPal email, bank account number, wallet address, etc.). This information is stored securely and used when you process payout batches.

Tips and Best Practices

Start with Manual approval mode. When launching your program, using Manual approval lets you review each applicant before they start promoting your brand. You can always switch to Automatic once you have your vetting process established.
Set a payout hold period. A hold of 15–30 days gives you time to process returns and cancellations before paying out commissions on orders that might be refunded.
Use campaign names on links. Ask affiliates to create separate links for each campaign (Instagram, newsletter, YouTube). This makes it easy to see which channels are driving the most conversions in the Links report.
Customize the portal branding before inviting affiliates. First impressions matter. Set up your logo, colors, and hero text in the Branding tab before sharing your Join URL so affiliates see a polished experience from day one.
Use UTM parameters on affiliate links. Add UTM tags when creating links so affiliate traffic is clearly labeled in your analytics tools and in Linkzly's own Reports page.
Monitor your webhook delivery log. If your server goes down during a conversion event, check the Webhooks tab delivery log to see which events failed. Use the Test Webhook button to verify your endpoint is healthy after any outage.
Set a Minimum Order Value if you sell products at varying price points. This prevents very small orders from generating commissions and keeps your program economics predictable.
Use the Attribution Window strategically. A longer attribution window (e.g., 60–90 days) benefits affiliates promoting considered purchases, while a shorter window (e.g., 7–14 days) is appropriate for impulse purchases. Remember that the browser cookie is fixed at 30 days regardless of this setting.