In this article, we will cover:
Overview
When you migrate from another affiliate platform to Tapfiliate, one of the biggest friction points is that your existing affiliates already use links (in emails, blogs, social channels). Asking them to change all their links imposes heavy friction.
With Custom Links in Tapfiliate, you can recreate the old link structure (for example, https://oldplatform.com/affiliate/johndoe) and internally map it to Tapfiliate’s tracking parameters. This lets affiliates keep using their existing URLs, with zero disruption.
This article explains how to set up this capability in Tapfiliate.
What are Custom Links (vs Referral Codes)?
Our system supports referral codes, which affiliates can customize (for instance:
https://your-site.com/?ref=johndoe).Custom links is a more advanced feature: you (the merchant) enforce a link format (e.g.
https://your-site.com/partner/johndoe) that affiliates cannot change, and you strip out the standard?ref=tracking parameters from the URL.When using custom link mode, Tapfiliate removes tracking parameters from the URL (no
?ref=) and you must reconstruct/resolve the affiliate back-end using your own logic.
Because custom links require more control and customization, they are deemed an “advanced feature” and typically require a developer’s involvement.
How to Enable & Configure Custom Links
Here’s a high-level checklist of what to do when enabling custom links in a migrating setup:
Generate a short code for each affiliate
Use a trigger or during affiliate creation to assign a “short code” (for example “johndoe”) that matches the affiliate identity. Save this short code (e.g. in your own database).
Save the short code as affiliate metadata
Use Tapfiliate’s metadata fields (for example, a key namedshort_code) to store this mapping.
Update your landing/partner link structure
Make your site’s link format include this short code, e.g.https://your-site.com/partner/${affiliate.meta_data[short_code]}So if the affiliate’s short code is
johndoe, their URL becomeshttps://your-site.com/partner/johndoe.
Switch the tracking method to “custom” in your Tapfiliate program settings
In your Tapfiliate dashboard: go to Programs → (gear icon) Advanced and set tracking to Custom. This ensures Tapfiliate does not append or parse tracking URL parameters itself.
On your website, resolve the short code and map to Tapfiliate tracking
In your site’s code (or backend), detect the short code from URL, lookup corresponding affiliate tracking parameters (e.g. referral code, click ID, metadata), and then invoke Tapfiliate’s tracking as a click event.
Call Tapfiliate’s click tracking
Use Tapfiliate’s JavaScript tracking snippet or API call to complete the setup.
That’s the core of the setup. Once in place, when someone visits https://your-site.com/partner/johndoe, your system figures out which Tapfiliate affiliate it maps to, calls tap('click', …), and then affiliate tracking proceeds normally.
Testing & Validation
Before going live, you should test thoroughly:
Visit a custom link (e.g.
https://your-site.com/partner/johndoe) in a fresh browser/incognito window. Confirm that the Tapfiliate click is tracked (you can check in your Tapfiliate dashboard).After a test click, simulate a conversion (e.g. signup or purchase) and check that the conversion is attributed to the correct affiliate.
Monitor URL behavior: ensure no stray
?ref=or extra parameters leak into affiliate-shared URLs.Use browser dev tools / network logs to validate the
tap('click', …)call contains the correct parameters.
Because Tapfiliate no longer appends tracking parameters in the URL in custom link mode, your backend must reliably carry over the mapping from click to conversion.
Caveats, Tips & Best Practices
Developer involvement is required. This is not a plug-and-play feature; your site must look up and map short codes to tracking metadata.
For any other queries or concerns, you can directly reach to our support team at support@tapfiliate.com