Affilibee API

Affilibee provides an API for merchants who wish to implement affiliate tracking and commission functionality without relying on a pre-built plugin. This guide outlines our recommended approach to setting up your custom integration—though you're free to implement a workflow that best suits your needs. You can share this guide directly with your development team.

Overview of Recommended Workflow

1. Set a 30-Day First-Party Cookie (Last Touch)
   When a customer arrives at your site via an affiliate link (i.e., a URL containing an affiliate parameter/slug), you create a 30-day first-party cookie. The cookie follows a last-touch model, meaning that whichever affiliate slug appears last before purchase receives credit.
2. Store the Affiliate Slug in the Order Meta
   When the customer checks out and an order is created, capture the affiliate slug from the cookie and store it in the order's metadata. This ensures you can reference which affiliate was responsible for each specific order.
3. Trigger the API Call Upon Order Completion
   Once an order is confirmed or completed in your system, make a request to the Order Submission API.

First-Party Cookie Setup

1. Why 30 Days?
   Thirty days is a common timeframe to allow affiliates enough window to earn credit for conversions. However, you can customize this duration as desired. We recommend setting a single cookie that stores the affiliate slug, overwriting any existing slug if a new affiliate link is clicked (last-touch).

Saving the Affiliate Slug to Order Meta

1. When to Capture
   At the point of order creation, retrieve the affiliate slug from the cookie if it exists. Store this slug in your database or order system.
2. Implementation Suggestions
   If you're using a framework or custom cart, add a step in your checkout process that reads the cookie and attaches the slug to the order record. Consider logging any missing or invalid slugs to help with debugging.

Order Submission to Affilibee

1. When to Send the API Call
   Send the submission once the order is confirmed or completed (a status that indicates the order is valid and paid). Alternatively, you can send the submission at a different point in your order flow, but we recommend sending only for successfully completed orders to avoid reporting canceled or failed transactions.
2. Data Structure
   Order Submission Endpoint: Check our Order Submission API documentation for the correct URL, headers, and authentication details. Authentication: You'll need an API token from your Affilibee account. Refer to Settings -> API Tokens in your Affilibee dashboard to create and manage tokens.
3. Implementation Suggestions
   Upon receiving a status update in your system (e.g., Order Completed), perform an HTTP POST request to the Affilibee Order Submission endpoint. Verify the API response to ensure the request was successful. Log any errors for troubleshooting.

Testing Your Integration

1. Affiliate Link Visit
   Click a test affiliate URL, confirm the cookie is set (or session is updated) with the correct slug.
2. Checkout & Order Creation
   Place a test order. Check your order meta or database to confirm the affiliate slug was recorded.
3. API Submission
   Complete the order to trigger the API call. Verify the data posted to the Affilibee endpoint is correct. Check for a successful response from Affilibee.
4. Dashboard Confirmation
   Log in to Affilibee to see if the order was attributed to the correct affiliate.

Additional Tips & Best Practices

1. Error Logging
   Log any failed requests or unexpected responses for easier debugging. Include timestamps and the raw request/response content where possible.
2. Secure API Credentials
   Store your Affilibee API token securely, and rotate it if you suspect unauthorized access.
3. Privacy & Compliance
   Ensure you include any required disclosures about cookies and tracking, especially if operating in regions with strict privacy laws (e.g., GDPR).
4. Contact Support
   If you have questions about custom integrations or your requests aren't working as expected, reach out to our support team with logs or relevant code snippets.

Conclusion

By following this recommended approach, first-party cookie tracking, order meta storage, and order submission via the Affilibee API, you can build a robust and flexible affiliate tracking system. For complete details on the request format and fields, please see our Order Submission API documentation or contact our support. Happy coding!