How referral tracking works

Links work on any page

Add ?ref=CODE to the address of any page on a store: the home page, a product, a collection or a search. If the address already has a ?, add &ref=CODE instead. Other parts of the address, such as a product variant, keep working.

https://example.com/products/deck?variant=123&ref=ALEX

Capital letters don’t matter: alex and ALEX are the same code. Affiliates can build these links on their dashboard: paste any store page and copy it back with their code added.

Moving between stores

A program can include several Shopify stores, on any domains. When a shopper who arrived through a referral link clicks a link from one of those stores to another, for example from the main shop to a singles shop, the referral goes with them. A purchase on either store credits the affiliate.

• It works for links on the stores’ own pages, including menus and links that open in a new tab.
• Typing the other store’s address, or arriving from a search engine, starts fresh: that visit has no referral.
• The second store starts its own referral window from the click.

How long a referral lasts

A referral counts for purchases within the store’s referral window, 30 days unless the merchant sets another length (1 to 90 days). The shopper can leave and come back. If they arrive later through a different affiliate’s link, the newer link replaces the older one.

Checkout codes

Each affiliate also has a code that credits them when a shopper uses it at checkout, even without a link. It works only where the store has a Shopify discount with that code; the affiliate’s dashboard shows, for each store, whether one is active and what it gives. If a checkout code and a link point to different affiliates, the code wins unless the merchant chose otherwise.

When a purchase isn’t credited

• No marketing consent. Afterburner tracks a referral only when the shopper allows marketing tracking on the store. Without it, nothing is stored.
• Outside the window, or a newer affiliate link or checkout code took over.
• A different browser or device. The referral is kept in the browser the shopper used.

Some quick checkouts, such as Shop Pay or Apple Pay buttons, can lose the referral. When that happens and the store saw the referral at checkout, the order goes to the merchant for review instead of being missed. The merchant can then credit the affiliate.

After the purchase

Commissions are on merchandise after discounts; tax, shipping and gift cards don’t count. They wait 30 days for returns and then approve automatically, or earlier when the merchant approves them. Refunds and cancellations reduce the commission. The merchant pays affiliates directly; Afterburner keeps the records.