Affiliate Link Tracking

Technical reference for how CreatorCommerce preserves affiliate platform tracking while adding its own attribution layer.

CreatorCommerce manages affiliate link redirects to preserve tracking integrity across all connected platforms. The result is bulletproof attribution that bundles CreatorCommerce’s tracking alongside your affiliate partner’s tracking — without modifying their parameters.

How It Works

1. Affiliate Link Click

   A shopper clicks an affiliate link generated by your affiliate platform (Social Snowball, Refersion, GRIN, etc.). CreatorCommerce intercepts this click via the redirect endpoint (/apps/cc-storefront/redirect).

2. Parameter Preservation

   CreatorCommerce reads all existing tracking parameters from the affiliate platform URL. None are modified or removed.

3. CC Parameter Appended

   CreatorCommerce appends its own tracking parameter: cc={tracking-handle}

4. Redirect to Destination

   The shopper is redirected to the final destination URL with all parameters intact.

URL Example

Original affiliate link:

https://your-brand.com?affid=abc123&source=affiliate

After CreatorCommerce redirect:

https://your-brand.com?affid=abc123&source=affiliate&cc=creatorcommerce-handle

Both platforms receive full attribution:

• Affiliate platform sees affid=abc123 and source=affiliate
• CreatorCommerce SDK reads the cc parameter and sets cart attributes

What Gets Tracked

Layer	Mechanism	What It Captures
Affiliate platform	Original URL parameters	Click, conversion, commission
CreatorCommerce SDK	cc URL parameter → cart attributes	Creator context, campaign, funnel events
CreatorCommerce Web Pixel	Checkout events	Revenue, AOV, conversion rate
Shopify tags	Order & customer tags	Creator attribution, campaign attribution

Requirements

Requirement	Details
SDK enabled	The CreatorCommerce Theme App Embed must be active on your Shopify theme
Active affiliate link	Your affiliate platform must generate valid links with tracking parameters
Redirect endpoint	Affiliate links must route through /apps/cc-storefront/redirect for CC tracking to work
URL parameter support	Your site must support parameterized URLs (standard for all Shopify stores)

Important Details

CreatorCommerce Does Not Manage Third-Party Scripts

CreatorCommerce preserves and passes along affiliate tracking parameters, but it does not install, maintain, or interact with your affiliate partner’s tracking scripts. Those scripts must be installed separately per your affiliate platform’s instructions.

Parameter Chaining

If the affiliate link already contains multiple parameters, CreatorCommerce chains its parameter with &:

https://brand.com?affid=abc&source=aff&campaign=summer  →
https://brand.com?affid=abc&source=aff&campaign=summer&cc=creator-handle

No Parameter Conflicts

CreatorCommerce uses the cc parameter namespace, which doesn’t conflict with any known affiliate platform parameters. If you observe unexpected URL behavior, check your affiliate platform’s documentation for automatic parameter rewriting rules.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Likely Cause	Fix
CC attributes not set after click	SDK not enabled	Enable the Theme App Embed in Shopify
Affiliate platform not tracking	Script not installed	Install the affiliate platform’s tracking script separately
Parameters missing after redirect	Affiliate platform rewriting URLs	Check platform settings for URL normalization rules
cc parameter not appearing	Link not routing through CC redirect	Ensure destination URL uses /apps/cc-storefront/redirect

Verification

After clicking a test affiliate link:

1. Check the browser URL bar — you should see both the affiliate parameters and &cc=...
2. Open browser console and run:

fetch('/cart.js').then(r => r.json()).then(c => console.log(c.attributes));

3. Verify cc-creator-handle and other cc- attributes are present
4. Check your CreatorCommerce dashboard for the click event
5. Check your affiliate platform dashboard for its click event

Related

• Order & Customer Tags
• Enable Tracking
• SDK Getting Started