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How does LinkJolt decide which affiliate gets credit for a sale?

LinkJolt checks the tracking reference stored from the affiliate link first, then falls back to a registered coupon code. Whichever it finds maps the sale to that affiliate, as long as they are not rejected or suspended on the campaign.

1 min read
Updated Sep 5, 2026

Attribution runs in a fixed order when a payment webhook arrives.

Step 1: the tracking reference

When an affiliate link is clicked, LinkJolt stores a reference and passes it to your checkout as a client reference id. It looks like this:

tc_TRACKINGCODE_aff_AFFILIATEID_cid_CLICKID

If that reference is present on the order, the sale is attributed to the affiliate it names.

Affiliate tracking link
https://yoursite.com/?tc=ABC123&aff=XYZ789
tc: tracking code (the campaign)
aff: affiliate ID (who to credit)

Step 2: coupon fallback

If there is no tracking reference, LinkJolt looks at the discount applied to the order and tries to match it to a coupon registered in LinkJolt. It checks the processor coupon id, then the promotion code, then the code text.

Step 3: validity check

Either way, LinkJolt checks the affiliate's standing on that campaign before recording the commission. The sale earns nothing if the affiliate is rejected or suspended there. Rejection is terminal. Suspension is a reversible pause the merchant applies from the Affiliates page, and Reactivate lifts it, so later sales earn again.

The tracking window is 30 days. A click today can still earn commission on a purchase up to 30 days later.

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