Partner Tracking Parameters

How partners send data through their tracking URLs, and how Relo uses those parameters for attribution, reporting, and commission.

1. Three layers of parameters

Layer

Where it comes from

Example

AUTO

Set by the click wrapper server-side when a user visits t.relo.mx/c/CODE. Partner does not configure these.

partner_id, campaign_id, click_id

CAMPAIGN

Configured by Relo admin when creating the campaign or the short link (stored in CF KV).

Landing URL, optional UTM overrides, campaign slug

PARTNER

Partners append these to the short URL when running ads. We don't prescribe a schema — partners can track whatever they want.

utm_source, utm_campaign, sub1, asset_id, creative_id

CUSTOM

Per-event advertiser metadata sent via relo('lead', {...}) from the site itself (not the URL).

product, stage, lead_value, custom x_* fields

2. The tracking URL anatomy

A partner gets one short URL from Relo:

https://t.relo.mx/c/ab12CD

They can add whatever they want after it. Every param survives the redirect:

// Partner's actual ad URL:
https://t.relo.mx/c/ab12CD?utm_source=facebook
                          &utm_campaign=summer_auto
                          &utm_content=video_a
                          &sub1=adset_123
                          &creative_id=vid_042
                          &asset_id=SAM-MX-A1B2C3

When a user clicks, the click wrapper:

1. Looks up ab12CD in KV → gets {url, partner_id=30, client_id=5, campaign_id=8}.
2. Generates a click_id (ULID), stores all context in Redis (30-day TTL).
3. Sets cookie _relo_cid=<click_id> on .relo.mx.
4. 302 redirects to the landing URL, preserving every query param the partner added plus appending &relo_click_id=<click_id>.

Result URL after redirect:

https://demo.example/?utm_source=facebook
                     &utm_campaign=summer_auto
                     &utm_content=video_a
                     &sub1=adset_123
                     &creative_id=vid_042
                     &asset_id=SAM-MX-A1B2C3
                     &relo_click_id=01KPVT...

3. Params the pixel auto-captures

The pixel inspects the landing URL once and stores tracking params in a first-touch cookie (30 days) + last-touch cookie (session). These ride with every event going forward.

Param

Purpose

Where it lands

utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content, utm_term, utm_id

Standard UTM tagging

event_properties on purchase/lead_submit/form_submit

gclid, gbraid, wbraid

Google Ads click ID

Same

fbclid

Meta click ID (for CAPI dedup)

Same, plus used for Meta CAPI match

ttclid, twclid, msclkid, yclid

TikTok / Twitter / Bing / Yandex click IDs

Same

af_sub1–af_sub5

AppsFlyer sub-publishers (works for pixel sites too)

first_touch cookie, surfaced on conversions

af_ad, af_adset, af_channel

AppsFlyer creative / ad group / channel — also used for asset tracking

Same

pid, c

AppsFlyer partner ID + campaign shortcut

Same

mc_cid, mc_eid

Mailchimp campaign + email ID

Same

irclickid, cj_aid

Impact / CJ affiliate IDs

Same

partner, sub_id, click_id, relo_click_id

Generic partner IDs

Same

4. Params the pixel does NOT auto-capture

Anything not in the allowlist above is ignored by getUrlParams(). If partners want to track custom sub-publishers or IDs that aren't in the list, they have two options:

Option A — use an allowlisted param

Map whatever they want into an allowlisted slot. For a "studio ID" for example, use af_sub4=studio_abc. Then admin + partner both see it in event_properties['af_sub4'].

Option B — add it to the allowlist

If you need a brand-new canonical param (e.g. studio_id), add it to TRACKING_PARAMS in backbone/workers/pixel/src/pixel.ts and redeploy the pixel worker. This is a code change, not a config change — keep the allowlist small.

5. Partner-specific custom params via lead payload

When the lead finally converts, the advertiser site can pass advertiser-controlled metadata that doesn't rely on URL params:

relo('lead', {
  product:    'Auto Insurance Quote',
  form_id:    'quote-v2',
  stage:      'raw',
  lead_value: 50,
  currency:   'USD',
  // Anything under extra.* surfaces as x_* on the Relo side
  extra: {
    zip:             '33131',
    preferred_agent: 'maria',
    quote_id:        'Q-2026-0422-771',
    studio_id:       'miami-001'
  }
});

Relo stores these as:

• event_properties.product = "Auto Insurance Quote"
• event_properties.stage = "raw"
• event_properties.lead_value = "50"
• event_properties.x_zip = "33131"
• event_properties.x_preferred_agent = "maria"
• event_properties.x_quote_id = "Q-2026-0422-771"

6. Attribution: how parameters drive partner resolution

There are two attribution paths, and pixel clients use the first:

6.1 Click-wrapper attribution (pixel clients)

1. Partner sends user through t.relo.mx/c/CODE.
2. Click wrapper caches {partner_id, campaign_id} in Redis keyed by click_id.
3. Pixel reads _relo_cid cookie (or relo_click_id URL param as fallback) on every event.
4. Go backbone does Redis.GetClick(click_id) → populates partner_id + campaign_id columns.

6.2 Attribution-rules (MMP clients like Marca)

For mobile app installs where there's no click wrapper, partners get a CID pattern like mx_pd_affiliate_relo_none_always-on_sub1_banner_none_conversion. AppsFlyer passes the whole campaign string in the S2S postback. Relo matches against partner_clients.attribution_values using regex/contains/startswith/endswith to resolve the partner.

Attribution is configured per client — see the Attribution guide. This MMP campaign-string matching isn't what pixel clients use.

7. Where partners see their data

Location

What they see

Partner portal → Conversions tab

Per-conversion list with all event_properties surfaced. Filterable by date, stage, search.

Partner portal → Dashboard

Aggregated counts, top products, funnel, traffic sources (UTM breakdown), landing pages, geo.

Partner portal → Links

Short URL stats: clicks per code, conversions per code.

Partner portal → Assets

List of assets with af_ad tracking IDs. Performance per creative.

8. Where admins see / configure params

Location

What they configure

Config → Data Pipeline → Web Pixel

Allowed domains, consent defaults, replay sampling, HMAC secret for postbacks.

Partners → + Onboard partner

Create partner + campaign + short link in one form. Sets KV {pid, cid, aid}.

Partners → Manage → Lead rates

Per-event / per-stage / per-product commission rates (fixed or %). With optional monthly_cap.

Campaigns → Settings

Campaign metadata, product patterns, landing URL template, UTM defaults.

Admin → Conversions

All conversions across the client. Filter by event_types, partner, date. CSV export.

Admin → Audit → Live events

Real-time event stream with raw event_properties visible for debugging.

9. Examples — three partner workflows

9.1 Facebook ads partner

https://t.relo.mx/c/fbAgency
    ?utm_source=facebook
    &utm_campaign=jul2026_auto
    &utm_medium=cpc
    &fbclid=IwAR...          (Meta auto-adds this)
    &sub1=adset_cheap_auto
    &sub2=ad_video_v3

9.2 Creative / asset tracking

https://t.relo.mx/c/creativeA
    ?utm_source=google
    &utm_campaign=miami_quote_q2
    &gclid=EAIaIQ...         (Google auto-adds)
    &af_ad=SAM-MX-A1B2C3     (Relo asset tracking ID)

9.3 Affiliate network partner

https://t.relo.mx/c/cjAffiliate
    ?utm_source=cj
    &utm_campaign=autumn_push
    &cj_aid=123456           (CJ auto-adds)
    &irclickid=xyz           (Impact auto-adds)
    &sub1=publisher_foo

10. Query examples

Admin can slice conversions by any captured param. Examples:

-- Conversions by sub1
SELECT event_properties['sub1'] AS sub1, count() AS leads
FROM events
WHERE client_id = 5
  AND event_name = 'lead_submit'
  AND event_time >= today() - INTERVAL 30 DAY
GROUP BY sub1
ORDER BY leads DESC;

-- Conversions by creative (af_ad = asset tracking ID)
SELECT event_properties['af_ad'] AS asset,
       count() AS conversions,
       sum(toFloat64OrZero(event_properties['lead_value'])) AS value
FROM events
WHERE client_id = 5
  AND event_name = 'lead_submit'
  AND event_properties['af_ad'] != ''
GROUP BY asset
ORDER BY conversions DESC;

-- Traffic source breakdown
SELECT event_properties['utm_source'] AS source,
       countIf(event_name = 'page_view')   AS sessions,
       countIf(event_name = 'lead_submit') AS conversions
FROM events
WHERE client_id = 5
  AND event_time >= today() - INTERVAL 7 DAY
GROUP BY source;

11. Best practices for partners

• Always go through t.relo.mx/c/CODE. Don't link directly to the advertiser domain — attribution breaks.
• Use standard UTMs where possible. utm_source, utm_campaign, utm_medium, utm_content, utm_term — these are universal.
• Use sub1–sub5 for your own sub-publishers. We preserve these and partners can filter by them in the portal.
• Use af_ad for asset / creative IDs. Ask Relo for asset tracking IDs from the Link Generator.
• Short the params. URLs have a 2KB practical limit and some ad platforms truncate. We cap each param at 200 chars.
• Don't encode PII in params. Email, phone, name — never in URL params. The pixel auto-hashes these from form fields instead.

12. Best practices for Relo admins

• One short link per partner per campaign. Don't hand out the same CODE to two different partners.
• Use the onboarding form (+ Onboard partner) to create partner + campaign + short link atomically. Avoids inconsistent state.
• Configure commission rates via Partner → Manage → Lead rates with stage-specific rules when possible (raw → lower rate, qualified → higher).
• For new canonical params, update TRACKING_PARAMS in the pixel source and redeploy. Keep the list small (under 30 items) to avoid param pollution.
• Monitor conversions by source weekly. Low conversion rate from one UTM source = likely bot traffic or misconfigured.

13. See also

• Pixel Setup — full integration guide
• Pixel Event Reference
• Lead-gen Pixel — Case study
• Click wrapper (t.relo.mx) deep-dive
• Campaign configuration