Awin Postback Setup: Transaction Notifications by clickref

Awin's version of a postback is called a transaction notification. You add a callback URL under Toolbox, then Transaction Notifications, and Awin calls it every time a transaction is recorded, filling in placeholders such as !!!clickRef!!!, !!!transactionId!!! and !!!commission!!!. Put a unique click ID in the clickref parameter of your Awin links and each sale comes back tied to the click, and the video, that drove it.

How Awin click references work

A click reference is a label you add to an Awin tracking link so you can see which placement sent a click. Awin's documentation uses the example of a link tagged banner1 behind one banner. On a standard Awin link it looks like this:

https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=1234&awinaffid=567890&clickref=storm-video

Awin allows up to six click references per link (clickref, clickref2 up to clickref6), letters and numbers, up to 50 characters each. Awin's Click References report shows only the first clickref value and only its first 50 characters, so put the value you care about most in clickref.

The value comes back with any transaction from that click. That is the hook a transaction notification uses.

The Awin placeholders you need

Awin's placeholders are wrapped in three exclamation marks: !!!name!!!. They are not curly braces, and a URL using another network's macro style won't be filled in.

Awin also offers !!!trackedAmount!!! and !!!trackedCurrency!!! for the shopper's original currency when it differs from the program's. Use the transaction values above so the amount and the currency code match each other.

Step 1: Add click IDs to your Awin links

You can set click references by hand, one per video, or let a redirect add a unique one on every click.

• By hand: build a separate link per video with clickref=video-name. It works, but you only learn which video sold, not which place (YouTube description or TikTok bio) the buyer came from.
• With a redirect: a link tool appends clickref= with its own click ID each time someone taps. If you use one, paste your Awin link into it without any clickref.

Step 2: Turn on transaction notifications

1. Log in to Awin and go to Toolbox, then Transaction Notifications.
2. If you don't see that option, Awin's developer docs say to raise a support ticket and ask for access.
3. Enter your callback URL.
4. Choose GET as the callback method. With GET, Awin sends the values as URL parameters, which is what a postback URL with placeholders expects. POST sends JSON instead.
5. Leave the optional Product Data and Click Source Data boxes unticked unless your tool asks for them.
6. Click Submit.

Awin's documentation is at Transaction notifications.

What the URL looks like

If you use Vyrl, connect Awin under Networks to get your postback URL. Swap each Vyrl placeholder for the Awin placeholder from the table, and remove the status part. With your own secret, it ends up like this:

https://vyrl.at/postback/awin/YOUR-SECRET?click_id=!!!clickRef!!!&order_id=!!!transactionId!!!&sale_amount=!!!transactionAmount!!!&commission=!!!commission!!!&currency=!!!transactionCurrency!!!

Check that no { or } is left in the URL before you submit. Any curly-brace value means a placeholder wasn't swapped.

Status and reversals

Vyrl's status field accepts pending, approved or reversed, or it can be left out. Awin doesn't document a status placeholder, so leave it out. Every Awin notification then counts as an approved sale.

Awin's documentation says a notification is sent each time a transaction is recorded. It doesn't say whether Awin sends another one when an advertiser later declines a transaction. Assume it doesn't. Your commission figures may therefore run slightly ahead of what Awin finally pays, and Awin's own reports stay the record for payouts. If Awin does send a later notification for the same transaction ID, Vyrl updates that sale rather than counting it twice.

Step 3: Test the setup

1. Tap one of your own tracked Awin links so a click exists.
2. Make a small purchase through it, or ask Awin support how to trigger a test notification for your account.
3. In Vyrl, the sale shows in revenue within a minute of the notification arriving, credited to that click.

Remember that the notification is sent when Awin records the transaction, and some advertisers report their sales to Awin later than others. A sale that hasn't reached Awin yet won't reach you either.

Common problems

• The sale arrives without a click. The buyer used a raw Awin link, so there was no click reference. Share your tracked link everywhere instead.
• Nothing arrives. Check the callback method is GET and the URL has no leftover curly braces.
• Amounts look off. Make sure you used !!!transactionAmount!!! with !!!transactionCurrency!!!, not a mix of tracked and transaction values.
• Click references are cut short. Awin's report only shows 50 characters. Keep IDs short.

Using Vyrl with Awin

Add your Awin links in Vyrl under Links with Affiliate network set to Awin. Vyrl then adds clickref= with its own click ID on every click. When Awin's notification comes back, the sale is credited to the link, the video address and the place the visitor came from. That is how you answer which video made the sale for Awin programs. Postbacks are part of the Creator plan; see pricing.