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FAQ: How does referral tracking and affiliate attribution work in Simple Affiliate, and what are the limitations?

Milos · March 18, 2026

Understanding Referral Tracking and Affiliate Attribution

This guide explains how Simple Affiliate tracks customer referrals and attributes sales to your affiliates. Understanding this process, including the "most recent click" rule and the system limitations, is key to managing your affiliate program effectively.

The Referral Tracking Process

Simple Affiliate uses unique referral links to connect sales on your store back to the correct affiliate. The tracking relies on browser cookies, Shopify’s checkout pixel, and discount codes to capture referral data.

  1. Affiliate Shares Link: Your affiliate shares their unique referral link with potential customers.

  2. Customer Clicks Link: When a customer clicks the link, they are redirected to your store, and a tracking cookie is placed in their browser.

  3. Purchase is Made: If the customer makes a purchase within the conversion window of the affiliate's group (30 days by default, set in Groups > Commission), the sale is automatically associated with the affiliate who made the referral.

  4. Commission is Logged: The commission is then attributed to the affiliate. You can see this connection in the Shopify order, where the affiliate's code is visible as the "Affiliate code".

The "Most Recent Click" Attribution Rule

When a customer clicks referral links of more than one affiliate, Simple Affiliate gives the credit for the sale to the affiliate whose link the customer clicked last:

  • Each new click on a referral link replaces the earlier one.

  • A new click on the same link starts the conversion window again.

Example: If a customer clicks Affiliate A's link on Monday, then clicks Affiliate B's link on Tuesday before finally making a purchase, Affiliate B receives the commission because their link was clicked last.

A discount code, a permanent customer connection, and product attribution do not depend on clicks. See How does referral tracking work? for the order in which Simple Affiliate checks the methods.

Troubleshooting Common Attribution Questions

If a sale doesn't appear to be attributed correctly, it's typically due to how browser cookies are handled. Here are a few common scenarios:

  • Different Devices or Browsers: A customer may have clicked the affiliate link on their phone but completed the purchase later on their desktop computer. The tracking cookie would only exist on the original device.

  • Cleared Browser Cookies: The customer may have cleared their browser cookies after clicking the affiliate's link and before making the purchase, which would remove the tracking information.

  • Private or Incognito Browsing: If a customer uses a private or incognito browser window, tracking cookies may not be saved correctly, preventing attribution.

  • Incorrect or Malformed Link Structure: If the tracking parameter (e.g., sacode) is removed or embedded incorrectly, referrals may not be attributed, and click counters may not increment.

  • Third-Party Tools: Tools like chatbots or link shorteners can rewrite URLs, add extra parameters, or change the order/placement of parameters, potentially overwriting Simple Affiliate’s UTM parameters.

  • Shopify Draft Orders: Draft orders do not create link referrals. A discount code, a permanent customer connection, or product attribution can still attribute a draft order.

  • Minimum Purchase Threshold: If the order subtotal after discounts does not meet the affiliate group’s minimum order amount, no referral is created. Shipping does not count, and tax counts only when your Commission on tax setting includes it.

Testing Tip: To verify that a referral link is working correctly, always test it in a new private or incognito browser session. This ensures you are simulating a new customer visit without interference from previous cookies. To resolve tracking issues, follow these steps:

  1. Test the Affiliate’s Link:

    • Use a fresh browser session (both normal and incognito modes) to test the affiliate’s link.

    • Confirm that the click counter increments and a cookie is stored.

  2. Verify the Link’s Structure:

    • Ensure the affiliate is using the original link generated by Simple Affiliate.

    • Avoid regenerating or modifying the link using third-party tools.

  3. Alternative Sharing Methods:

    • If issues persist, have the affiliate share the store URL and direct followers to use the discount code at checkout.

System Limitations

Please keep the following system limitations in mind:

  • Sales Tracking Only: Referral links are designed to track sales commissions. They do not track new affiliate signups to your program.

  • Plan-Dependent Features: Advanced features like custom code tracking are not available on all plans (such as the free plan).

Manual Attribution of Missed Sales

If a sale is not attributed correctly, you can manually add the referral in Simple Affiliate:

  1. Go to Referrals and click Add referral.

  2. Enter the order number, choose the affiliate, and click Save. The affiliate then receives credit for the sale, even if tracking issues occurred.

An order can have only one referral. See How to manually assign a referral.

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