Affiliate marketing glossary
Sub-ID
In one sentence
A sub-ID is a custom parameter appended to an affiliate link that lets a partner segment their reporting by campaign, platform, post or placement.
Sub-IDs are how a creator learns that their Instagram Stories convert three times better than their link-in-bio page. Without them, all traffic to a program arrives as one undifferentiated number.
Most networks support between one and five sub-ID parameters per link. Using them consistently from the start is the difference between having usable performance data in six months and having none.
Worked example
A naming scheme that survives contact with reality
Use one parameter per axis and keep the order fixed: platform, format, then a short post identifier. So ig / story / aug-jacket and tiktok / reel / aug-jacket. Six months later you can answer both 'which platform earns' and 'which post earned' from the same data, without having to remember what you meant.
Common questions
Sub-ID, answered
What should I put in a sub-ID?
Something you will still understand in six months, and nothing personal. Platform, content format and a short post identifier cover almost every question worth asking. Avoid dates alone, because they tell you when rather than what.
Can I add sub-IDs to links I already published?
You can edit a link going forward, but the traffic that already flowed through it arrives as one undifferentiated number and cannot be split retroactively. That is why the advice is to tag from the first link rather than from the first time you need a report.
Do sub-IDs affect tracking or commission?
No. They are reporting metadata passed through to your own dashboard. They do not change attribution, the cookie window, or what the advertiser pays.
Keep reading
More from the glossary
Every term here is written to answer one question completely, then point at the next one worth asking.
Sub-affiliate network
A sub-affiliate network is a company that holds approved relationships with affiliate programs on major networks and lets smaller publishers and creators promote those programs under its account, sharing the commission it receives.
Affiliate network
An affiliate network is a platform that connects advertisers running affiliate programs with publishers who promote them, handling tracking, reporting and payment between the two.
Cookie window
The cookie window is the length of time after a click during which a resulting purchase is still credited to the affiliate, commonly ranging from 24 hours to 90 days.
Last-click attribution
Last-click attribution credits the entire commission to the final affiliate link clicked before a purchase, which is the default model across almost all affiliate networks.
Attribution
Attribution is the process of determining which marketing touchpoint receives credit for a conversion, and therefore which affiliate is paid.
Cross-device tracking
Cross-device tracking links a click on one device to a purchase on another, so an affiliate is credited when a customer discovers a product on mobile and buys on desktop.
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