Clicks but no conversions: postback chain debugging

You know the symptom: clicks climb on Dashboard and reports, conversions stay at zero (or below expectations). Do not start with charts — walk the chain from click to inbound postback and a row in Logs → Conversions.

When to use this. After launching a funnel, when changing a network or postback URL, or migrating from another tracker. Works for manual test postbacks and live network S2S.

How the chain works (what to verify)

1. Click — the tracker issued a subid (Click ID) and sent the user to the offer with that id substituted.
2. Offer — URL contains {subid} / {clickid}; the network stored that id.
3. Conversion at the network — lead/sale in the partner cabinet.
4. Postback in — the network called the tracker URL; a row in Logs → Postbacks with direction in.
5. Conversion in the tracker — a row in Logs → Conversions with the same subid.

A break at any step yields “clicks without conversions”. Below is the top-down check order.

Step 1. Confirm the click and subid

1. Logs → Clicks. Use a wider period than “last hour” — Last 7 days often helps.
2. Find the click by campaign/time. Copy Click ID — that is the postback subid.
3. No clicks — the issue is before postback: domain, campaign URL, flow. Go back to first launch.

Step 2. Did subid reach the offer?

1. Open the offer under Offers — URL must use a tracker macro, not a hard-coded test id.
2. Repeat a click and inspect the final redirect URL (DevTools → Network) or the click log: subid in the offer query must match Click ID.

Step 3. Is the network postback URL correct?

1. Affiliate Networks — copy the template postback URL. The partner cabinet must use the same host/path and parameters subid (or your mapping), status, payout.
2. On the campaign, URL & Postback shows this campaign’s postback — useful for manual tests. Partner cabinets usually get the global network URL from Affiliate Networks.

Step 4. Did the postback arrive? (Logs → Postbacks)

1. Logs → Postbacks. Filter by subid from step 1.
2. Look for direction in, status lead/sale, and payout. Empty — the network is not hitting the tracker or the URL is wrong.
3. For a manual check, open the postback URL in a browser or curl with a real subid and status=lead.

Step 5. Did a conversion appear? (Logs → Conversions)

1. Logs → Conversions. Same subid and period.
2. Postback exists, no conversion — check postback status (rejected status), duplicate external_id, or campaign/offer filters (caps).

Common causes (quick reference)

Logs symptom	Likely cause	Action
No Postbacks in	URL not in partner cabinet, firewall, wrong domain	Match URL to Affiliate Networks; test GET with subid
Postback in, wrong subid	Network sends its click_id, not tracker subid	Offer URL macro; parameter mapping in network template
Postback 401 in log	Postback signing enabled on campaign	Disable Require valid signature for tests or configure HMAC at the network
Postback in, no Conversion	Wrong status, duplicate, cap	Check status=lead/sale; offer caps; retry with a new click
Conversion in Logs, empty Reports	Report period/filter	Widen period; group by Campaign; do not rely on Dashboard alone

Outbound postback to ads (S2S)

If the tracker shows a conversion but the ad platform does not — check S2S Postbacks in Logs and outbound postback settings under Sources (Postback URL on the source record). That is separate from inbound network postbacks.

Checklist before support escalation

• Click ID from Logs (Clicks)
• Screenshot or URL of the offer with the macro
• Postback URL from Affiliate Networks
• Postbacks in row (or absence) for the same period
• Result of a manual postback with the substituted subid

Reference for Logs and postback: documentation.