Core resources

Tracking Links

Issue the go.linkapprove.com redirect that turns a click into an attributed conversion.

The tracking link object

A tracking link is the bridge between a program you are approved on and a channel you own. Clicks are counted per link.

Fields

idinteger

LinkApprove's identifier for the link. It is not part of the URL.

programIdinteger

The program the link promotes.

channelIdinteger

The channel the link was minted for. Clicks attach to it.

subIdstring | null

Your own attribution tag, stored on the link. Group the performance report by subId to see its clicks.

subId2string | null

A second, independent tag stored the same way. Useful for placement within a page.

urlstring

The link you place, https://go.linkapprove.com/{slug} where the slug is nine random letters and digits. This is the only URL a visitor should ever see.

destinationUrlstring | null

Where the redirect lands. Null when the link points at the merchant's default landing page.

statusenum

active or paused. A paused link stops redirecting.

clicksinteger

Total clicks recorded. Updated in batches every ten minutes.

lastClickAtstring | null

ISO 8601 timestamp of the most recent click, or null if never clicked.

createdAtstring

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the link was minted.

Conversions are not per link

Networks report conversions against your application for a program on a channel, not against an individual link, so the link object carries no conversions or commission. Read them from the performance report grouped by program or channel.

Tracking link

{
  "id": 90124,
  "programId": 4821,
  "channelId": 12,
  "subId": "spring-guide",
  "subId2": "hero-banner",
  "url": "https://go.linkapprove.com/k3Rm8Qw2Z",
  "destinationUrl": "https://northpeak.com/collections/shells",
  "status": "active",
  "clicks": 4180,
  "lastClickAt": "2026-08-18T11:07:35Z",
  "createdAt": "2026-08-18T09:41:02Z"
}

Create a tracking link

POSThttps://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-linkslinks:write

Links are cheap and permanent. Mint one per placement rather than reusing a single link everywhere, so your click reporting can tell them apart.

Body parameters

programIdintegerrequired

A program you are approved on for this channel.

channelIdintegerrequired

The verified channel the traffic will come from. Clicks attach to it.

subIdstring

1–64 letters, digits, dashes and underscores (^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{1,64}$).

subId2string

A second tag with the same rules, tracked independently.

destinationUrlstring

An http(s) URL of at most 255 characters on the program's merchantDomain or a subdomain of it. Only for programs with supportsDeepLinks: true.

Idempotent by content

A new link returns 201. If a link with the same programId, channelId, destinationUrl, subId and subId2 already exists, you get that link back with 200 instead, so retrying a create never mints a duplicate.

When it fails

404 program_not_found: no such program.
404 channel_not_found: the channel does not exist or is not yours.
403 channel_not_verified: the channel is not approved, or has a verification step it has not completed.
422 destination_not_allowed: the program does not support deep links, or destinationUrl is off the merchant's domain. See Deep links below.

Approval is enforced here

Minting against a program with no approved application on that channel returns 403 with program_not_approved. Check status on the program with that channelId first, or apply and wait for the decision.

curl -X POST "https://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LINKAPPROVE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "programId": 4821,
    "channelId": 12,
    "subId": "spring-guide"
  }'

Try it

POSThttps://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links

API keyNot set

Get one

Held in this tab's session storage only, and reused by every runner on the site.

programId*

channelId*

subId

subId2

destinationUrl

This panel replays the documented sample response and does not call the API. Copy a code sample to send a real request with your key.

Sub IDs and attribution

subId and subId2 are yours. We store them on the link and never interpret them. They are not sent to the network and are not attached to conversions; they exist so your click reporting can answer "which newsletter sent this traffic?" without guessing from link IDs.

Pick a scheme and keep it: 2026-08-newsletter, post-4471, sidebar-a.
Sub IDs are set at mint time and immutable afterwards. Mint a new link rather than rewriting one.
Group the performance report by subId to see clicks sliced your way rather than ours.
Do not put anything personal in a sub ID. It shows up in reports.

Sub IDs count clicks, not conversions

Sub IDs never reach the network, so conversions cannot be tied to them. A groupBy=subId row carries clicks only. conversions and conversionRate are null and earnings is empty.

Grouped by subId

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Report fetched",
  "data": {
    "data": [
      {
        "subId": "spring-guide",
        "clicks": 2840,
        "conversions": null,
        "conversionRate": null,
        "earnings": []
      },
      {
        "subId": "post-4471",
        "clicks": 1102,
        "conversions": null,
        "conversionRate": null,
        "earnings": []
      },
      {
        "subId": "sidebar-a",
        "clicks": 238,
        "conversions": null,
        "conversionRate": null,
        "earnings": []
      }
    ],
    "count": 3,
    "pages": 1
  }
}

Deep links

By default a link lands on the merchant's campaign landing page. Passing destinationUrl sends the visitor to a specific product or collection instead, which converts materially better when you are reviewing one item.

What the redirect does

The redirect at go.linkapprove.com is deliberately thin. It records the click asynchronously and issues a 302 immediately. There is no interstitial and no blocking work in the path.

The URL must be http(s) and on the program's merchantDomain or a subdomain of it. Anything else returns 422 with destination_not_allowed and the merchantDomain it expected.
Existing query parameters are preserved; we append our tracking parameters rather than replacing the query string.
Not every program supports deep links. Check supportsDeepLinks first. Passing a destinationUrl for a program that does not returns 422 destination_not_allowed. Omit it to land on the merchant's default page.

Redirect

GET /k3Rm8Qw2Z HTTP/1.1
Host: go.linkapprove.com

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://network.example/c/4821?pub=12&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnorthpeak.com%2Fcollections%2Fshells

422 Unprocessable

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "destinationUrl must be an http(s) URL on northpeak.com",
  "error": {
    "code": "destination_not_allowed",
    "merchantDomain": "northpeak.com"
  }
}

List tracking links

GEThttps://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-linkslinks:read

Returns the tracking links issued to you, newest first, including the ones minted in the dashboard, not only through the API.

Query parameters

programIdinteger

Only links for this program.

channelIdinteger

Only links for this channel.

subIdstring

Only links minted with exactly this sub ID.

statusenum

active or paused.

pageinteger

1-based page number. Defaults to 1.

sizeinteger

Results per page, 1–100. Defaults to 10.

Click counts lag a little

clicks and lastClickAt are written in batches, so a click shows up within about ten minutes.

curl "https://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links?page=1&size=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LINKAPPROVE_API_KEY"

Try it

GEThttps://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links?page=1&size=10

API keyNot set

Get one

Held in this tab's session storage only, and reused by every runner on the site.

programId

channelId

subId

status

page

size

This panel replays the documented sample response and does not call the API. Copy a code sample to send a real request with your key.

Retrieve a tracking link

GEThttps://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links/{id}links:read

Returns one tracking link. A link that does not exist or is not yours returns 404 tracking_link_not_found.

curl "https://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links/90124" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LINKAPPROVE_API_KEY"

Try it

GEThttps://api.linkapprove.com/v1/tracking-links/90124

API keyNot set

Get one

Held in this tab's session storage only, and reused by every runner on the site.

id*

This panel replays the documented sample response and does not call the API. Copy a code sample to send a real request with your key.

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