Tracking & Conversions in CAKE

Jeff Olliver

Modified on: Sat, 20 Jun, 2026 at 6:50 PM

This article will cover the following:

How Click Tracking Works
Postback URLs vs. Pixel Tracking
Setting Up a Postback URL
Adding a Conversion Pixel
Conversion Statuses
API: Tracking & Conversion Endpoints

How Click Tracking Works

Every time a visitor clicks your tracking link, CAKE records the event before redirecting to the destination. This happens in milliseconds and gives affiliates and advertisers a shared, reliable record of all traffic.

The visitor clicks the tracking link. CAKE logs the click and captures timestamp, device type, browser, IP address, and any custom sub-IDs.
CAKE checks the click against campaign traffic filters — geography, device, duplicate-click rules.
A unique click ID (also called transaction ID or tid) is generated and stored. This ties any later conversion back to this specific click.
The visitor is redirected to the offer page. From their perspective the process is seamless.

Tip:
Affiliates can append sub-ID parameters (s1–s5) to tracking links to track which placements or creatives are driving results.

Postback URLs vs. Pixel Tracking

Method	How it works	Best for	Requires JavaScript?
Postback URL (S2S)	Your server sends an HTTP request directly to CAKE when a conversion occurs.	Mobile apps, server-side confirmation pages, high-volume campaigns.	No
Conversion Pixel	A tiny image or JS snippet on your thank-you page fires in the visitor's browser.	Standard web pages with an accessible confirmation page.	Image pixel: No. JS pixel: Yes

Note:
Postback URLs are generally more reliable — not affected by ad blockers, browser privacy settings, or visitors who close the page early.

Setting Up a Postback URL

Log in and navigate to Offers. Open the offer you want to configure.
Click the Tracking tab within the offer settings.
Copy the Postback URL shown on screen.
Replace the REPLACE placeholder with the dynamic click ID your system stored at click time.
Optionally append &amount=SALE_AMOUNT if your offer pays a percentage of sale.
Configure your server to make an HTTP GET request to this completed postback URL on each qualifying conversion.
Test it: complete a test conversion, then check Reports → Conversions to confirm it was recorded.

Tip:
The click ID is typically passed in the original tracking link as a URL parameter — e.g. ?s1={'{'}clickid{'}'}. Check with your network for the exact parameter name.

Adding a Conversion Pixel

Open the offer in CAKE and go to the Tracking tab.
Copy the conversion pixel code snippet — available as an image tag or JavaScript.
Paste the pixel into the HTML of your confirmation or thank-you page, before the closing </body> tag.
Make sure the pixel fires only on genuine conversions — not on every page load.
Test by completing a test conversion and confirming it appears in your CAKE conversion report.

Conversion Statuses

Status	What it means	Who can change it
Approved	Valid; included in payouts.	Advertiser or network admin
Pending	Recorded but not yet reviewed or confirmed.	Advertiser or network admin
Rejected	Reviewed and deemed invalid. Not paid out.	Advertiser or network admin
Scrubbed	Removed automatically by fraud filters or campaign rules.	System or network admin

Caution:
A high Rejected or Scrubbed rate signals a traffic quality issue. Reach out to your network account manager to investigate before continuing to run traffic.

API: Tracking & Conversion Endpoints

Record a Conversion

GET /api/2/conversion.json

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
click_id	string	Yes	The unique click ID generated at click time.
offer_id	integer	Yes	The CAKE offer ID associated with the conversion.
payout	decimal	No	Override the affiliate payout for this conversion.
revenue	decimal	No	Override the advertiser revenue for this conversion.
unique_id	string	No	Your system's unique transaction reference for deduplication.
order_id	string	No	Order ID from the advertiser system.
adv1–adv5	string	No	Custom sub ID fields 1–5.

Sample request

GET https://yourdomain.cakemarketing.com/api/2/conversion.json
  ?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
  &click_id=abc123xyz789
  &offer_id=12345
  &payout=5.00
  &revenue=12.00
  &order_id=ORD-98765
  &unique_id=TXN-00112233

Sample response

{
  "request_status": "Success",
  "conversion_id": 4456789,
  "click_id": "abc123xyz789",
  "offer_id": 12345,
  "payout": 5.00,
  "revenue": 12.00,
  "conversion_status": "approved"
}

Query Conversion History

GET /api/2/conversions.json

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
start_date	date	Yes	Start of date range (YYYY-MM-DD).
end_date	date	Yes	End of date range (YYYY-MM-DD).
offer_id	integer	No	Filter to a specific offer.
affiliate_id	integer	No	Filter to a specific affiliate.
conversion_status	string	No	Filter by status: approved, pending, or rejected.
start_at_row	integer	No	Row offset for pagination. Default: 1.
row_limit	integer	No	Max rows to return. Default: 100; max: 500.