NOTE: If you have an established integration not created through the Postback/Pixels feature, it WILL NOT be impacted by the release of this feature and will continue to operate and function as expected. However, users may experience positive benefits if they transition their existing integrations to S2S integrations.

Related: Transitioning to the Updated Postback/Pixel Technology

ClickBank’s S2S Postback/Pixels feature enables clients to send ClickBank order form impression and conversion events to third-party services, like ad tracking providers and traffic sources, through a modern server-to-server (S2S) integration method, providing the most reliable and accurate data to these external services.

This article contains the following sections:

The S2S Postback/Pixels integration is an optional, highly customizable feature intended for clients who need to leverage ClickBank data in one or more third-party service, including:

Setting up a new Postback/Pixels integration does not require development expertise, but some experience with tracking integration methods is beneficial. We also recommend consulting and understanding the integration documentation of each third-party source throughout the setup process.

NOTE: Because the S2S Postback/Pixels feature is an additional integration type, there is no requirement to immediately switch out any of your existing integrations. However, you may want to consider replacing an INS or ISR integration in some cases given that Postback/Pixels integrations improve and solve upon the current problems:

Postback tracking, also commonly called server-to-server (S2S) or “cookieless” tracking, is a method of tracking order and conversion data that uses server-side communication instead of a user's browser communicating to the third party’s server. Postback tracking is a reliable, modern way to track order and conversion data that does not rely on the client-side behavior or settings.

ClickBank has historically supported clients with ISR (Integrated Sales Reporting) tracking integrations, which use a browser-based pixel, alongside instant notification service (INS)/instant payment notifications (IPN), for transaction-level data. While these integration methods serve a purpose and work for many needs, postback tracking provides more reliable and accurate data to your external systems based on the server-to-server integration method.

Additionally, ClickBank’s Postback/Pixels tracking provides more robust functionality aligned with client needs, such as integration filters, event customization, and formatting options.

Consult the chart below for a full comparison of integration types:

There are a number of notable benefits to using the S2S Postback/Pixels tracking feature, including:

NOTE: You must be the owner of an account nickname or be granted account nickname access in order to create or manage a postback/pixel tracking integration.

​Related: How do I create additional users for my primary account?

To set up an integration with one of our traffic sources listed below, consult the specific traffic source integration guides. Otherwise, consult the 'Custom Postback Integration Guide' instructions outlined in the next section of this article.

To set up an integration using the custom type for the Custom Postback Integration Guide below.

Step 1: Log in to your ClickBank account.

Step 2: Select Integrations from the vertical navigation menu on the left side of the screen. Then, select Postback/Pixels.

Step 3: Click Add Integration.

Step 4: Either choose from one of the integration templates or select Custom Postback/Pixel.

NOTE: This is the first version of our S2S Postback/Pixels Tracking integration. Expect more pre-built, easy-to-use integration templates and additional feature enhancements in the near future!

Step 5: Name your integration so you can easily identify it. NOTE: This name is not exposed anywhere and is only for your purposes.

Step 6: Select which account nickname you wish to integrate from the Account dropdown.
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Step 7: Select the role (affiliate or seller) you are operating as in that account nickname.

Step 8: Select the integration level: “Global” applies tracking integration for all account activity. “Custom” allows you to apply filter criteria so that only events which meet the specified criteria will be delivered to the external source.

NOTE: If “Custom” is selected, select the integration filter field and input the filter value(s) for the integration to apply for. To provide a list of multiple values, utilize a comma-separated format as shown in the example below.​
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Example of Custom integration filter: In this scenario, the external source will only be notified of events where the Seller Nickname is either cb1test, cb2test, or cb3test.

Step 9: Select the event type(s) you want to trigger a postback to be sent to your integration.

Step 10: Add the postback URL provided by the third-party platform where the order form visit or conversion event will be sent. You will need to gather this URL from the desired third party.

Optionally, you can toggle on “Customize the postback URL per event type” so that you may define different postback URL formats for the various event types selected. Reference your third party’s documentation to understand if the postback format should differ for various event types.

Step 11: Customize your postback URL with ClickBank Macros: Macros, also known as tracking tokens, enable you to map the right data to be passed back to the third-party system. Macros work like placeholders for dynamic data. While they appear in the postback URL as placeholders, at runtime the placeholder is replaced with the value as tracked in ClickBank’s system. View the complete list of macros available here.

Step 12: Once the desired settings have been input, click to Save, and continue to test your integration.

To ensure the integration is properly configured and firing the right data to your third-party tool, utilize our test integration tool to trigger test events.

After saving the integration, you will automatically be redirected to the Integrations home page. A small modal will provide quick access to the Test Integration tool, as pictured below:

You can also access the Test Integration tool at any time by clicking on the Action menu within the Integrations table, as pictured below:

Note: Orders submitted with a ClickBank test credit card will not trigger the postback pixel configured.

Follow these steps to manage, edit, or delete an integration created through the Postback/Pixels feature.

Note that you can save time by using the “Duplicate” Integration Action. This feature provides an efficient way to create a new integration, copying the details of the integration into a new “Create Integration” form for you to adjust the desired settings and save the new integration.

To duplicate an integration:

Have you tried validating your integration with our Test Integration tool? If the integration test has failed, click to expand and view details of the error response returned from the third-party request.

The error message will commonly contain helpful information about why the request has failed, which may inform the adjustments required to successfully integrate.

We also recommend reviewing your third-party party integration documentation for guidance and best practices.

NOTE: Test sales made with ClickBank Test Credit Cards do not trigger Postback/Pixel events.

Macros, also known as tracking tokens, enable you to map the right data to be passed back to your third-party system. Macros work like placeholders for dynamic data. While they appear in the postback URL as placeholders, the placeholder is replaced with the value as tracked in ClickBank’s system at runtime.

Below is a list of the supported macros you can add to your Postback URL to ensure the right conversion data is passed back to the external system.

If you do not see a macro for a datapoint that you wish to pass back to a third party integration, please reach out to productfeedback@clickbank.com so we can explore creating a solution.

If you are currently using existing tracking integrations features (like Integrated Sales Reporting tracking pixels or Instant Notification Service) you may want to transition your integrations to the new Postback/Pixels feature to take advantage of the additional benefits of this particular technology.
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Before cutting over any services, please refer to the transition guide for important considerations. If you commonly encounter any of the issues listed in the “Key Features and Improvements” section of this article, you may want to replace an existing integration with Postback/Pixels.

​Related: Transitioning to the Updated Postback/Pixel Technology
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Q: Does this replace IPN/INS?
​A: The S2S Postback/Pixels integration is an additional, optional integration method. For some clients, the new Postback/Pixels Tracking feature may be a suitable option to replace their IPN/INS integration, but for others it may not. It depends which events are required for your 3rd party integration. INS provides event notifications beyond basic purchase events, such as abandon cart notifications, which are not available for Postback Pixel notifications.

Q: Will my existing integrations (ISR and IPN/INS) still work?
​A: Yes, both INS/IPN and ISR tracking integrations will continue to work. Eventually, this new Postback Pixels will replace the existing ISR feature. Advance notice will be provided well in-advance before we begin to deprecate the existing feature.

Q: What happens if the postback delivery to the external service fails?
​A: If we receive a 5xx error, we will attempt to retry the event up to 3 times, and if it is still unsuccessful we will log the postback failure. Undelivered / failed postback logs, and events delivered successfully will be accessible within the client interface in a future iteration of this feature.