How Do Postbacks Work?

by Zack Cilia

Last updated: 17-Aug-2026

What Are Postbacks?

The Postback feature provides an alternative method of reporting selected conversion events directly to affiliates using server-to-server (S2S) communication.

Unlike standard reporting, postbacks notify an affiliate's system whenever a configured event occurs, allowing affiliates to process conversions automatically within their own tracking platforms.

Postbacks can be configured individually for each affiliate and can be enabled for one or more supported events, such as:

• Sign Up
• First Deposit (FTD)
• Deposit (CPA)

A guide on how to enable postbacks for affiliates can be found here.

How Postbacks Work

Reporting is performed by MyAffiliates sending an HTTP GET request to a URL provided by the affiliate.

Postback calls are triggered whenever MyAffiliates receives and processes the corresponding event from the operator.

For example:

• If registration data is processed hourly, registration postbacks are sent as registrations are processed by MyAffiliates.
• If FTD data is processed once per day, FTD postbacks are also sent once per day.

As a result, postbacks are not necessarily real-time and are dependent on how frequently the operator supplies and processes event data.

Configuring Postbacks

Each affiliate has a Postbacks section available from their profile.

A manager can:

• Enable the events the affiliate is allowed to receive. Steps here. 
• Configure the affiliate's Postback URL on their behalf. Steps here.

Alternatively, affiliates can configure their own Postback URL from the Affiliate Front End. Steps here.

A postback will only be sent when:

• The relevant event has been enabled.
• A valid Postback URL has been configured.

Postback Placeholders

Postback URLs support dynamic placeholders that are replaced with information relating to the tracked customer before the request is sent.

The affiliate's receiving server must be configured to interpret these values correctly once the request is received.

Many affiliate networks require additional values, such as a Click ID or Publisher ID, to reconcile conversions.

MyAffiliates supports passing these values through three optional tracking parameters:

Example

Standard tracking link:
https://record.example.com/_systemGeneratedToken/1/

Tracking link including a Click ID:
https://record.example.com/_systemGeneratedToken/1/?s2s.req_id=123

When the conversion is processed, MyAffiliates replaces the placeholder in the affiliate's Postback URL:
http://www.affiliateserver.com/conversion?c=350&clickid={s2s.req_id}

with:

http://www.affiliateserver.com/conversion?c=350&clickid=123

If the Click ID changes dynamically, the affiliate must generate it before redirecting visitors through the MyAffiliates tracking link. If these parameters are not passed during click tracking, they cannot be included in the postback request.

Important Notes

• Postbacks are sent using the HTTP GET method.
• MyAffiliates records the HTTP response status returned by the affiliate's server.
• Redirect responses such as 301 and 302 are not followed.
• Failed requests (for example 404 or 500 responses) are not automatically retried.
• The frequency of postback calls depends on how often the operator supplies the event data to MyAffiliates.