Partner Federation — last updated September 2026

Tracking & Attribution: How Postback URLs, Sub-IDs, and Cookie Windows Actually Work

Every commission on this site — CPA, revenue share, lot rebate, spread share — depends on one thing happening correctly first: the broker’s system has to actually attribute the client to you. This is the plumbing underneath every payment model, and it’s exactly the kind of technical mechanics partners search for constantly while most “independent” content either skips it or gets it wrong. Here’s how it actually works.

• How partner tracking actually works
• Postback (S2S) tracking in plain terms
• Sub-IDs: tracking your own traffic sources
• Cookie windows: how long you have, and why it varies
• When there’s no trackable click: manual association methods
• FAQ

How partner tracking actually works

Brokers generally use two mechanisms to credit a client to a partner, often side by side: cookie-based tracking and server-to-server (postback) tracking.

Cookie-based tracking is the more familiar one. When a prospective client clicks your tracking link, the broker’s system drops a cookie in their browser recording your partner ID. If that person later completes a qualifying action — registration, deposit, first trade — within the cookie’s cookie duration, the system checks for that cookie and attributes the conversion to you.

The limitation is that a cookie lives in the browser, so it can be cleared, blocked, or simply lost if the client switches devices between clicking your link and signing up — taps your link on their phone, for instance, but registers later from a laptop. That gap is exactly what postback tracking is built to close.

Postback (S2S) tracking in plain terms

Postback (S2S) tracking is a server-to-server HTTP callback that confirms a conversion event — a registration, a first-time deposit, a qualifying trade — directly between the broker’s server and the tracking platform, bypassing the client’s browser entirely. Because nothing needs to survive in the browser, it’s unaffected by cookie blocking, ad blockers, or the increasingly aggressive tracking-prevention built into mobile browsers like Safari.

The mechanics: your tracking link carries a unique click ID. The broker’s system stores that click ID at the moment of the click. When the client later registers or deposits, the broker’s server fires an HTTP request to a postback URL carrying the click ID plus the event details — something like https://tracking.example/postback?click_id=abc123&event=ftd&amount=500. A real postback URL typically carries five to ten parameters in total: click ID, conversion amount, event type, a transaction ID, and often one or more custom sub-IDs.

Where a broker’s platform supports it, postback tracking is generally the more reliable half of the pairing — it doesn’t depend on anything surviving in the client’s browser between the click and the conversion.

Sub-IDs: tracking your own traffic sources

A sub-ID is different from a click ID — it’s a custom parameter you add to your own tracking link, not something the broker assigns. It lets you tag which specific campaign, landing page, ad, or traffic source a given click came from.

Without sub-IDs, all your traffic looks identical in the broker’s reporting: you can see your total conversions, but not which channel actually produced them. With sub-IDs, you can compare a paid social campaign against an SEO landing page against a YouTube video, and put more effort behind whichever one is actually converting instead of guessing.

Sub-ID support and the exact parameter format both vary by broker and tracking platform — confirm what’s supported before building a multi-channel campaign that assumes a specific format.

Cookie windows: how long you have, and why it varies

The attribution window — how long after a client clicks your link the broker will still credit you if they convert — is one of the most consequential numbers in a partner program, and one of the least consistently disclosed.

In forex specifically, a 60–90 day cookie window is a common industry pattern, noticeably longer than faster-converting verticals like iGaming (typically 30–60 days). The reasoning holds up: opening and funding a live trading account is a bigger decision than most online purchases, and a prospective client may spend weeks comparing brokers, checking spreads, and testing a demo account before ever funding a live one. A short window risks losing attribution on a prospect who was genuinely yours, simply because they took their time.

That range is a general industry pattern, not a rule. Cookie windows are set individually by each broker’s program and can run considerably shorter or longer than the 60–90 day norm. Before promoting a specific broker’s program, confirm their actual cookie window directly rather than assuming it matches the industry average — it’s a two-minute question to their partnerships team that can materially change how patient you can afford to be with a piece of content or an ad campaign.

When there’s no trackable click: manual association methods

Cookies and postbacks both depend on a client clicking a trackable link in the first place. A lot of real partner traffic doesn’t work that way. You might run a website that gets found organically through search rather than a tracked link, run a Facebook page or ad where the click doesn’t survive to registration, or simply refer someone by word of mouth. In these situations there may be no cookie and no click ID for the broker’s system to match against at all — and this is exactly where partners lose commission on clients they genuinely referred, simply because the plumbing above never had anything to attach to.

Brokers handle this “no clean click” scenario very differently from one another, so this is genuinely worth checking broker by broker rather than assuming one program’s rules apply to the next:

Manual referral code or partner ID entry. Some brokers let the client type in your partner ID, username, or a referral code directly during account registration — or add it in account settings shortly after. This creates the association without any cookie or postback involved at all, and it’s the cleanest fallback where it’s offered.

Post-registration request via support. Some brokers will link an already-registered client to a partner if the client contacts support, or the partnerships/IB team directly, and asks to be associated with you. This generally only works if the account hasn’t already generated commission-relevant activity, and it’s entirely at the broker’s discretion — there’s no guarantee it’ll be granted.

A brand-new account may be required. Some brokers will only associate a partner with a client on a newly opened account or profile. If the client already has an existing trading account with that broker, it typically cannot be retroactively reassigned to you, no matter how the referral actually happened.

Before committing real marketing time or spend to promoting a specific broker’s IB or affiliate program, get a straight answer on how that broker handles attribution when there’s no clean trackable click: what manual options exist, whether an existing account can ever be linked, and exactly what the client needs to do on their end. It’s also worth confirming this alongside the broader legitimacy check described in how to verify a broker’s IB program is legitimate — a broker vague about attribution mechanics is often vague about payment mechanics too.

FAQ

What’s the difference between cookie tracking and postback tracking?
Cookie tracking stores your partner ID in the client’s browser after they click your link, and checks for that cookie when they convert. Postback tracking is a direct server-to-server callback triggered by a click ID rather than anything stored in the browser, so the client’s device doesn’t need to keep or send anything back for it to work.

How long do affiliate cookies typically last in forex?
60–90 days is a common range, reflecting the longer research and decision period typical of opening a live trading account. The actual window is set by each individual broker’s program, so confirm it directly rather than assuming it matches the industry norm.

What is a sub-ID and why does it matter?
A sub-ID is a custom tag you add to your own tracking link to identify which campaign, page, or channel a click came from, letting you see which of your marketing efforts are actually converting instead of just one combined total.

Can a client be attributed to me without clicking my tracking link?
Sometimes. Many brokers let a client manually enter your partner ID or referral code at signup, and some allow a post-registration request via support — though usually only before the account has generated commission-relevant activity. This varies significantly by broker.

Can an existing client account be linked to me after the fact?
Often not. Many brokers only allow attribution on a new account — an existing profile the client already opened generally can’t be reassigned to a partner retroactively. Confirm this specifically with any broker before assuming it’s possible.

Does clearing cookies or using an ad blocker break attribution?
It can break cookie-based attribution, since the cookie itself may be deleted or blocked before it’s checked. Postback (server-to-server) tracking is unaffected by this, which is one reason brokers with stronger tracking infrastructure use postbacks alongside, or instead of, cookies.

Related terms

Postback (S2S) Tracking · Cookie Duration · Attribution Window · Deep Link · Getting Paid · Verify a Broker’s IB Program Is Legitimate · Metrics That Matter