Discovery + Tracking

Affiliate tracking to use with Publisher Discovery

Publisher Discovery helps you find high-value affiliate publishers across major networks. But once you've identified the right partners, you need a system to track their referrals, attribute sales, and handle commissions. Trackli picks up exactly where Publisher Discovery leaves off.

What Publisher Discovery does (and doesn't do)

What Publisher Discovery does
  • Searches across affiliate networks to find publishers promoting products in your niche
  • Reveals competitor affiliate programs and the publishers driving their traffic
  • Provides publisher-level data including traffic estimates, promotional methods, and network affiliations
  • Filters results by geography, vertical, and publisher type to narrow your recruitment list
  • Exports publisher lists for outreach and recruitment campaigns
What Publisher Discovery doesn't do
  • Does not track clicks or referral traffic from recruited affiliates
  • Does not attribute conversions or sales to specific affiliate partners
  • Does not calculate or manage commission payments for affiliates
  • Does not provide an affiliate portal where partners can view their performance
  • Does not integrate with payment processors to automate payouts

The gap: why you still need tracking

Publisher Discovery excels at helping you discover and recruit affiliates, but once a partner says “yes,” you need infrastructure to generate unique referral links, track clicks and conversions, calculate commissions, and manage payouts. That's exactly what Trackli provides.

Attribution

Server-side click and conversion tracking

Analytics

Real-time dashboards for brands and affiliates

Commissions

Automatic calculation on every sale

Multi-processor

Works with Stripe, Paddle, LemonSqueezy, and more

How Publisher Discovery + Trackli work together

Publisher Discovery and Trackli serve complementary roles in your affiliate workflow. Publisher Discovery operates as an upstream research tool — you use it to identify and vet potential affiliates across networks. Once you've recruited those affiliates, Trackli handles all downstream operations: generating referral links, tracking clicks, attributing conversions through your payment processor, calculating commissions, and managing payouts. There is no direct API integration between the two tools; instead, you export your publisher shortlist from Publisher Discovery and onboard those affiliates into Trackli manually or via CSV import.

Step-by-step workflow

1

Search for publishers

Use Publisher Discovery to identify affiliates promoting products in your vertical across multiple networks.

2

Build your recruitment list

Export a shortlist of high-potential publishers filtered by traffic quality, geography, and promotional methods.

3

Set up Trackli

Create your Trackli account and connect your payment processor (Stripe, Paddle, or others) in under five minutes.

4

Onboard recruited affiliates

Invite publishers from your list into Trackli where they receive unique referral links and access to a branded portal.

5

Configure commission structures

Set up percentage-based, flat-rate, or tiered commissions in Trackli tailored to each publisher segment.

6

Monitor performance

Use Trackli's real-time dashboard to track clicks, conversions, and revenue generated by each publisher.

7

Automate payouts

Let Trackli calculate commissions and process payouts automatically so publishers get paid on schedule.

Why Trackli complements Publisher Discovery

  • Once you recruit publishers via Publisher Discovery, Trackli generates unique referral links for each partner
  • Trackli tracks every click, conversion, and sale so you know which publishers are actually performing
  • Automated commission calculations and payout management eliminate spreadsheet-based tracking
  • A branded affiliate portal gives recruited publishers a professional dashboard to monitor their own stats
  • Real-time analytics let you compare publisher performance and optimize your program continuously

Visual workflow

Publisher Discovery + Trackli WorkflowDiscovery → Recruitment → Tracking → Attribution → PayoutsPublisher Discoveryfinds affiliatesOutreachrecruit partnersTrackli Linkunique ref URLConversioncustomer paysCommissionauto-calculatedPublisher Discovery (discovery)Trackli (tracking + payouts)

Discovery vs tracking: who does what

Publisher Discovery and Trackli are complementary tools. Here's how responsibilities split.

Capability
Publisher Discovery
Trackli
Find affiliates
Yes — across major networks
Outreach/recruitment
Export lists for outreach
Affiliate invite system
Click tracking
Yes — real-time
Conversion attribution
Yes — first-click and last-click
Commission calculation
Yes — automatic
Payout management
Yes — automated payouts
Real-time analytics
Multi-processor support
Yes — Stripe, Paddle, and more
Affiliate portal
Yes — fully branded
Fraud detection
Yes — built-in

Best for

Affiliate managers looking to expand their publisher base across networks like CJ, ShareASale, and Awin
Brands running competitive intelligence to discover which publishers drive revenue for competitors
Ecommerce and SaaS companies entering affiliate marketing who need to identify relevant publishers quickly

Frequently asked questions

Can Publisher Discovery track the affiliates I recruit?
No. Publisher Discovery is a research and discovery tool — it helps you find affiliates, not track them. Once you've recruited publishers, you need a tracking platform like Trackli to monitor their clicks, attribute conversions, and manage commissions.
How do I move affiliates from Publisher Discovery into Trackli?
Export your shortlisted publishers from Publisher Discovery, then invite them into Trackli using email invitations or CSV import. Each affiliate receives a unique referral link and portal access automatically.
Does Publisher Discovery replace the need for Trackli?
Not at all. Publisher Discovery and Trackli solve different problems. Publisher Discovery finds potential affiliates; Trackli tracks their performance, calculates commissions, and handles payouts. You need both to run a complete affiliate program.
What networks does Publisher Discovery search that Trackli doesn't?
Publisher Discovery searches across CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, Awin, Rakuten, and other major networks to find publishers. Trackli doesn't search networks — it provides the tracking infrastructure for affiliates you've already recruited, regardless of where you found them.
Is there a direct integration between Publisher Discovery and Trackli?
There is no direct API integration. Publisher Discovery is used as a research step before onboarding. You export publisher data from Publisher Discovery and then set up those affiliates in Trackli to begin tracking.
Can I use Publisher Discovery's competitive insights with Trackli?
Yes. Use Publisher Discovery to see which affiliates drive traffic for your competitors, then recruit those high-performing publishers and onboard them into Trackli where you can track their results for your own products.

Related pages

Ready to track your affiliates?

Use Publisher Discovery to find partners. Use Trackli to track every click, conversion, and commission. Start free.