Glossary
Tracking Link
A special link that identifies who sent a visitor, so clicks and sales can be attributed to the right person.
A tracking link is a web link that carries an identifier telling the destination who sent the visitor. It looks like a normal link with some extra code attached. When someone clicks it, the merchant's system records the click and the identifier, which is how they know to credit you if a sale happens.
Normal link: merchant.com/product
Tracking link: merchant.com/product?ref=your-id
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identifies you as the source
Tracking links are the backbone of affiliate marketing. Without one, the merchant would have no way to know that a buyer came from you, and you would not get paid. The same idea powers campaign tracking more broadly: adding tags to a link lets you see which email, ad, or post actually drove clicks.
A tracking link works together with a cookie. The link identifies you at the moment of the click, and the cookie remembers that credit for a set window so you still get paid if the purchase happens later.
One practical note: tracking links can look long and cluttered, and some people are wary of clicking them. Many affiliates use a clean redirect or a simple branded link to make them look tidier, which is fine as long as the destination is honest and not disguised.
To see how this fits the payout model, read how affiliate marketing makes money. For campaign tags specifically, read what UTM parameters are.