This article is the reference for setting up tracking between Swaarm and your publishers. It covers the parameters publishers add to their tracking link and the macros Swaarm uses to send postback notifications back to publishers when a conversion occurs.

ℹ️ Looking for step-by-step setup instructions? See Create and configure a publisher →

How S2S tracking works

Swaarm uses server-to-server (S2S) tracking - the standard method in performance marketing. Here's the flow at a high level:

A user clicks the publisher's ad and is redirected through Swaarm
Swaarm records the click and assigns a unique click ID
Swaarm forwards the user to the advertiser's offer (via their MMP or direct link)
The advertiser's platform / MMP stores the Swaarm click ID
When the user converts (installs, purchases, etc.), the advertiser platform / MMP fires a postback to Swaarm containing the click ID
Swaarm matches the postback to the original click and credits the publisher

The click ID / PEA chain is the thread that connects everything - without it, Swaarm cannot match the conversion back to the click.

Click parameters for the publisher tracking link

These are the parameters publishers add to their Swaarm tracking link.

⚠️ offer_id, pub_id, and pub_click_id are mandatory - without offer_id and pub_id the click cannot be redirected to the advertiser. Without pub_click_id Swaarm will send empty click id value, which will lead to the incorrect postback attribution at Publisher's side.

Core parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
`offer_id`	Swaarm offer ID - mandatory	`12345`
`pub_id`	Swaarm publisher ID - mandatory	`1234`
`pub_click_id`	Publisher's own click ID - used to match postbacks back to the publisher	`0a81ad386f991aef1c191dfd60cc`
`pub_sub_id`	Publisher sub ID	`abc123`
`pub_sub_sub_id`	Publisher sub sub ID	`abc123_def`
`rec_link_id`	Recommendation / Smart Link ID	`256`
`lp_id`	Swaarm Landing Page ID	`65432`
`pea_chain`	Non-unique token generated by Swaarm for privacy-enabled attribution	`e6UKM7lLUwlwAWXUyNO25TCY`

Traffic & placement parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
`placement`	Publisher placement name or ID	`abc_game123`
`app`	Publisher app name or ID	`coolgame_app`
`app_store_id`	App store ID of the ad placement	`343204456`
`site`	Publisher site ID	`abc_game123`
`creative`	Publisher creative name or ID	`coolgame_320x50`
`term`	Search term passed by the publisher	`Electric Vehicle`
`unique1`	Publisher custom value 1	`custom1`
`unique2`	Publisher custom value 2	`custom2`
`unique3`	Publisher custom value 3	`custom3`
`unique4`	Publisher custom value 4	`custom4`
`unique5`	Publisher custom value 5	`custom5`

Device parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
`idfa`	iOS Advertising ID	`4D6F-1226-9C60-0050E4C04654`
`gaid`	Android Advertising ID	`GR56-1886-9D60-005776FC0465`
`user_ip`	IP of the user device	`102.109.100.2`
`user_ua`	User agent of the user device	`Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 10_3_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/603.1.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.0 Mobile/14E304 Safari/602.1`
`user_language`	Language of the user device (ISO codes)	`EN`
`user_model`	Device model number	`GM-9621`
`user_make`	Device manufacturer name	`Samsung`
`user_os`	Operating system	`Android`
`user_os_version`	OS version	`9.2.2`

Privacy-enabled attribution parameters

Only required for offers running privacy-enabled attribution.

Parameter	Description	Example
`ext_offer_id`	Publisher's own offer ID	`12345`
`ext_pub_id` / `ext_publisher_id`	Publisher's source ID	`123`

ATT / iOS privacy parameters

Required for iOS campaigns where the advertiser's MMP requests ATT data.

Parameter	Description	Example
`idfv`	Identifier for Vendor	`3K0XXXXX-83XX-HEXX-KIXX-29KH83XXXXXX`
`traffic_type`	Traffic type	`in_app`, `mob_web`, `desktop_web`
`att`	ATT authorisation status	`0` = not authorised, `1` = authorised, unpopulated for mobile web
`att_time`	Unix timestamp of ATT authorisation	`1622163110`
`att_duration`	Time in seconds the user took to respond to the ATT prompt	`59175525`
`att_detail`	Detailed ATT authorisation status	`Authorization`, `Denied`, `Restricted`, `notDetermined`

🔗 Sample publisher tracking link

https://{yourdomain}.trckswrm.com/click?offer_id=9876&pub_id=1234&pub_sub_id=[Publisher Sub ID macro]&pub_click_id=[Publisher click ID macro]&idfa=[Publisher IDFA macro]&gaid=[Publisher GAID macro]

Postback macros supported by Swaarm for publishers

These are the macros Swaarm uses when firing postbacks to publishers. The "Privacy-enabled" column indicates whether the macro is available when the conversion uses privacy-enabled attribution.

Core macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{click.publisher.clickId}`	Publisher's own click ID	`ff49c078-3512-11e9`	No
`#{id}`	Swaarm unique postback ID	`Ne_tpNr2ZAAAAAF-spRETw`	Yes
`#{click.id}`	Network's own click ID	`ATALzPEAAAFpCxU2EAAA`	No
`#{click.publisher.id}`	Publisher ID	`1235`	Yes
`#{click.publisher.subId}`	Publisher sub ID	`10762_6eae4874d9c3`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{click.publisher.subSubId}`	Publisher sub sub ID	`10762_6eae4874d9c3_abc`	No
`#{click.publisher.originalSubId!=null ?click.publisher.originalSubId :click.publisher.subId }`	Publisher original sub ID (for publisher groups)	`10762_6eae4874d9c3`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{peaChain}`	Pea chain value passed by the publisher	`e6UKM7lLUwlwAWXUyNO25TCY`	Yes

Payout macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{payout.theyGetInDollars}`	Publisher payout in dollars	`1.7`	Yes
`#{payout.theyGetInDollarsExact}`	Publisher payout in dollars (up to 12 decimal places)	`1.701234`	Yes
`#{payout.theyGetInCents}`	Publisher payout in cents	`170`	Yes
`#{payout.theyGetInCentsExact}`	Publisher payout in cents (up to 12 decimal places)	`170.1234`	Yes
`#{payout.theyGetPoints}`	Points earned by the rewarded user	`123.45`	Yes

Offer & event macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{offer.offerId}`	Swaarm offer ID	`12345`	Yes
`#{offer.name}`	Swaarm offer name	`Cool Game`	Yes
`#{offer.eventTypeId}`	Swaarm event type ID	`1234`	Yes
`#{eventType.name}`	Swaarm event type name	`Registration` (empty for default event)	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{eventType.advertiserEventTypeId}`	Advertiser's event ID -use this if migrating from another tracking platform	`Purchase123`	Yes
`#{status.state}`	Postback status	`APPROVED` / `REJECTED`	Yes

Time macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{click.time}`	Click time recorded by Swaarm	`2019-06-04T21:00:56`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{click.unixTime}`	Click time in Unix timestamp	`1576857465`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{time}`	Postback event time	`2019-06-27 14:44:47`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{dateTime.conversionTimestamp}`	Postback time in timestamp format	`16456875856`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)

Device & user macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{click.device.idfa}`	IDFA	`4D6F-1226-9C60-0050E4C04654`	No
`#{click.device.gaid}`	GAID	`4R45-1226-D565-0050E4C04654`	No
`#{click.user.connection.ip}`	User IP	`102.192.135.251`	No
`#{click.user.device.ua}`	User device user agent	`Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 10_3_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/603.1.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.0 Mobile/14E304 Safari/602.1`	No
`#{click.user.device.language}`	User device language	`EN`	No
`#{click.user.device.os}`	User device OS	`iOS`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{click.user.geo.country}`	User country	`US`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{user.connection.isp}`	User ISP	`Verizon Internet`	No

Publisher placement macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{click.publisher.site}`	Publisher site ID	`abc_game123`	No
`#{click.publisher.app}`	Publisher app name or ID	`coolgame_app`	No
`#{click.publisher.appId}`	Publisher app ID	`343204456`	No
`#{click.publisher.creative}`	Publisher creative name or ID	`coolgame_320x50`	No
`#{click.publisher.unique1}`	Publisher custom value 1	`custom1`	No
`#{click.publisher.unique2}`	Publisher custom value 2	`custom2`	No
`#{click.publisher.unique3}`	Publisher custom value 3	`custom3`	No
`#{click.publisher.unique4}`	Publisher custom value 4	`custom4`	No
`#{click.publisher.unique5}`	Publisher custom value 5	`custom5`	No
`#{click.publisher.term}`	Search term passed by the publisher	`Electric Vehicle`	Not applicable

Advertiser rejection macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{attributionPartner.rejectionReason}`	Advertiser rejection reason	`ctit_anomalies`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{attributionPartner.rejectionReasonValue}`	Advertiser rejection reason value	`123434123`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{attributionPartner.rejectionReasonSubValue}`	Advertiser rejection sub-reason	`bot_traffic`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)
`#{attributionPartner.trackerName}`	Advertiser tracker name	`appsflyer`	Yes
`#{attributionPartner.aggregatedEventValue}`	Total revenue generated by the user for this event, as passed by the advertiser in `aggregated_event_value`	`49.99`	Yes (if passed by advertiser)

External ID macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{ext.offerId}`	Publisher's offer ID passed via click	`12345`	Yes
`#{ext.publisherId}`	Publisher's source ID passed via click	`432`	Yes

Rewarded user macros

Macro	Description	Example	Privacy-enabled
`#{rewardedUser.id}`	Rewarded user ID	`12345`	Yes
`#{rewardedUser.internalId}`	Rewarded user internal ID	`123`	Yes

🔗 Sample publisher tracking link

http://bestnetwork.publisher.com/postback?clickid=#{click.publisher.clickId}&payout=#{payout.theyGetInDollars}&event_id=#{offer.eventTypeId}&unique_id=#{click.publisher.unique1}

ℹ️ Passing a value for default events - if your publisher requires a value in their event parameter for default events, use: #{offer.eventTypeId?:'1'} This passes 1 for default event conversions and the Swaarm event ID for in-app event conversions.

See more details about the postback setting here→

Impression tracking

Impression tracking works the same way as click tracking - the same parameters are supported. The key difference is the URL path uses /impression instead of /click.