Smart links

A smart link is one URL a partner can promote everywhere. For each click it chooses an offer by rules (country, device, operating system) and a routing mode, then treats the click exactly like an affiliate link to that offer. Manage smart links under Offers → Smart links (https://app.trackcrown.com/app/smart-links).

https://trackcrown.com/s/SMARTCODE?aff=PARTNERCODE&sub1=campaign-a&source_id=site-42

Create a smart link#

1. Click New smart link.
2. Basics:
   • Name (required, up to 120 characters), e.g. "Global finance rotator".
   • Active / Paused switch.
   • Fallback URL (optional): where visitors go when no rule has an eligible offer or the link is paused. Macros such as {click_id} and {sub1} are expanded. Empty = workspace default fallback.
3. Rules — click Add rule for each rule (up to 50). Per rule:
   • a name;
   • Countries, Devices, Operating systems (empty = any);
   • Offers & weights: click Add offer (up to 20 per rule) and give each a weight from 1 to 10,000. The share bar shows each offer's part of the rule's traffic. Normalise to 100 rescales the weights.
4. Drag rules (or use Move up / Move down) to set their order.
5. Click Create smart link. Later edits are saved with Save changes; Discard drops unsaved edits.

How an offer is chosen#

1. If the link is paused (or the workspace inactive), the click goes to the fallback chain (reason paused).
2. If aff= carries a code that matches no partner of the workspace, no rule is evaluated: the click goes to the smart link's fallback with the reason not_approved and is recorded without an offer or partner.
3. Rules are checked top to bottom. A rule matches when the click's country, device and OS satisfy its conditions.
4. In the matching rule, eligible offers are those with a weight above 0 that are active, whose advertiser is not Paused or Inactive, and that the partner may run:
   • with a valid aff=: the partner is active and approved for the offer (public offers need no approval, but a blocked or rejected partner is never eligible);
   • without aff=: only public offers.
5. If the rule has no eligible offer, the next matching rule is tried.
6. The routing mode picks an eligible offer (below).
7. The click then continues exactly like an affiliate link to that offer: forwarding rules, targeting, schedule, terms, traffic controls, caps, landing pages, redirect mode. The partner's forced traffic-source template is not checked on smart links.
8. If no rule yields an offer, the click goes to the smart link's fallback (reason no_match).

If the chosen offer then refuses the click (for example its cap is reached or its own targeting fails), the click goes to that offer's fail route or fallback, then the smart link's fallback, then the workspace default fallback.

Routing modes#

Set the mode in the Routing mode card on the smart link's page and click Save routing.

Priority waterfall#

In Priority waterfall an offer is passed over, and the next one tried, when it would not take the click: the click is outside its targeting (countries, devices, OS, extended targeting) or its schedule, required offer terms are not accepted, a traffic control refuses the click, a click cap is reached, or the partner is not approved. Caps are only read for this test — a passed-over offer does not count the click.

• When no offer of the rule qualifies, the next matching rule is tried.
• When nothing qualifies, the click goes to the smart link's fallback with the reason of the first offer tried (for example cap) and no offer.
• Weighted split and Optimise by KPI do not pass over offers: the picked offer runs its own checks, and a refused click goes to that offer's fail route or fallback.

Optimise by KPI settings#

Offers with enough clicks get weights proportional to their KPI, scaled to (100 − exploration) %; offers below the minimum share the exploration percentage equally. Current weights shows the computed split and when it was last updated; until the first run, configured weights are used.

Member tags#

Member tags: active offers carrying one of these tags join the smart link automatically, as a catch-all rule placed after your own rules (weight 100 each). The card lists the offers currently included.

Kick-out#

Kick out after (clicks): offers with at least this many clicks and no revenue in the look-back window are skipped (0 = never). Kicked out lists them; tick Bring them back and save to reset. A rule never kicks out all its offers.

Rule simulator#

The Rule simulator beside the editor answers "where would this visitor go?" with your current, unsaved rules. Pick Country (or "Unknown (no geo match)"), Device, OS and optionally an affiliate ("No affiliate — only public offers are eligible"), or Unknown partner code to see what happens to an aff= code that matches no partner. It shows the matching rule and each offer's chance, why an offer is skipped (for example "advertiser paused or inactive" or "not public (no affiliate on the link)"), or explains why the visitor goes to the fallback.

In Priority waterfall mode the simulator follows the waterfall: offers outside their targeting (countries, devices, OS) or their schedule are shown as Passed over and the next one wins. Click caps, traffic controls, offer terms and extended targeting are not visible to the simulator — the tracking server checks them too, so a live click can still be passed over for those.

Get the partner link#

The Tracking link card builds the link for a partner: choose the tracking domain, the affiliate (or "No affiliate (network traffic)"), sub IDs and source ID, and copy it.

Transparent mode#

A smart link with url= is a transparent link: it redirects exactly to url= and does not route. The allowlist is the union of the workspace allowlist and the allowlists of every offer the smart link references.

Statistics, duplicate and delete#

• The header shows Clicks today, Clicks · 30 days and Approved conversions · 30 days, and a table shows the split per offer.
• Duplicate (in More actions) creates a copy.
• Delete removes a never-used link. A link with conversions or with clicks in the last 400 days is archived instead (hidden from the list); its url= clicks keep redirecting so live Google Ads templates do not break.