Definition
A postback is a server-to-server HTTP request that one system sends to another to report that an event happened. In affiliate tracking, it is the message the advertiser's server sends to the affiliate's tracker when a conversion occurs, carrying the click ID that identifies which click is converting plus details such as event type (registration, deposit), status, and often a payout or value amount.
The tracker receives the postback, matches the click ID to the stored click, and credits the conversion to the right source, campaign and SubID.
Because the postback travels between servers and is keyed on an identifier planted in the click URL, it does not depend on cookies or on any script running in the user's browser, which is why postback tracking survives cookie restrictions, ad blockers and cross-device journeys that break pixel tracking.
In context
In iGaming, the postback is the conversion record that governs affiliate payment, so its correctness is a commercial matter, not just a technical one. A typical flow: the affiliate's tracker generates a click ID and passes it into the operator's link; the operator stores it against the registration; on a qualifying deposit the operator fires a postback to the tracker's endpoint with the click ID, the event and the amount; the tracker attributes the FTD and the affiliate later reconciles against the operator's statement.
Postbacks can carry status transitions, not just a single fire — a lead reported as pending, then approved or rejected after validation, then possibly charged back — and the tracker has to handle each update. Common failure modes are worth knowing: a missing or misspelled click-ID macro so postbacks arrive unmatched; an intermediate redirect stripping the parameter; the operator firing on raw registrations instead of qualified deposits; duplicate postbacks inflating counts; and postbacks not sent at all for a segment.
Every integration is tested end to end before launch — real test click, real test conversion, confirm the postback arrives with correct parameters and matches — and postback logs are retained because they are the evidence in any payment dispute.
Worked example
An affiliate's tracker shows 12% fewer FTDs than the operator's monthly statement. Postback logs reveal the operator sends two postbacks for some conversions — one on registration, one on deposit — and the tracker was counting only the first status.
Fixing the tracker's status handling reconciles the numbers, and future disputes are settled by comparing postback logs directly.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
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