Discovery + Tracking

Affiliate tracking to use with SparkToro

SparkToro reveals where your target audience spends time online — which podcasts they listen to, which blogs they read, which social accounts they follow. This audience intelligence is gold for identifying potential affiliates. Trackli then tracks the referrals those affiliates generate and handles their commissions.

What SparkToro does (and doesn't do)

What SparkToro does
  • Analyzes audience behavior to reveal which websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, and social accounts your target market engages with
  • Identifies hidden influencers and niche publishers that traditional search tools miss
  • Provides audience overlap data showing where your potential customers already pay attention
  • Surfaces content creators and media properties ranked by relevance to your specific audience segment
  • Offers demographic and behavioral insights about the followers of any social account or website
What SparkToro doesn't do
  • Does not provide outreach tools or manage communication with potential affiliates
  • Does not generate affiliate referral links or tracking codes
  • Does not monitor clicks, conversions, or sales attributed to affiliate partners
  • Does not handle commission structures, calculations, or payment processing

The gap: why you still need tracking

SparkToro 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 SparkToro + Trackli work together

SparkToro and Trackli serve adjacent but non-overlapping functions. SparkToro is an audience research tool that helps you understand where your potential customers spend their attention — this is invaluable for identifying which creators and publishers would make effective affiliates. Trackli is the operational platform that manages your affiliate relationships after recruitment: generating referral links, tracking conversions through your payment processor, calculating commissions, and processing payouts. Together, they create a data-informed affiliate program where partner selection is based on audience intelligence rather than guesswork.

Step-by-step workflow

1

Research your audience

Enter your target audience or competitor into SparkToro to discover which creators, publications, and platforms they engage with.

2

Identify affiliate candidates

Review SparkToro's ranked list of influencers, podcasters, bloggers, and publishers with the highest audience overlap.

3

Reach out to prospects

Contact the most relevant creators and pitch your affiliate program, using SparkToro's audience data to personalize your approach.

4

Configure Trackli

Set up your affiliate program in Trackli with commission rules and your payment processor connection.

5

Onboard partners

Invite accepted affiliates into Trackli where they get referral links and a dashboard to track their performance.

6

Validate with data

Compare SparkToro's audience overlap predictions with actual conversion data in Trackli to see which affiliates deliver results.

7

Optimize your program

Use Trackli's analytics to double down on high-converting affiliate segments and refine your SparkToro research criteria.

Why Trackli complements SparkToro

  • SparkToro identifies who has your audience's attention; Trackli turns those people into commission-earning affiliates
  • Each affiliate discovered through SparkToro's insights gets a unique Trackli referral link and branded portal
  • Trackli's conversion tracking validates whether SparkToro's audience overlap data translates into actual sales
  • Commission flexibility lets you reward high-performing niche affiliates differently from broad-reach partners
  • Real-time analytics show which audience segments (identified by SparkToro) drive the most revenue through affiliates

Visual workflow

SparkToro + Trackli WorkflowDiscovery → Recruitment → Tracking → Attribution → PayoutsSparkTorofinds affiliatesOutreachrecruit partnersTrackli Linkunique ref URLConversioncustomer paysCommissionauto-calculatedSparkToro (discovery)Trackli (tracking + payouts)

Discovery vs tracking: who does what

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

Capability
SparkToro
Trackli
Find affiliates
Yes — via audience intelligence
Outreach/recruitment
No — research only
Affiliate invite system
Click tracking
Yes — real-time
Conversion attribution
Yes — automatic
Commission calculation
Yes — flexible rules
Payout management
Yes — automated
Real-time analytics
Audience behavior data
Yes — conversion and revenue
Multi-processor support
Yes — Stripe, Paddle, and more
Affiliate portal
Yes — fully branded
Fraud detection
Yes — built-in

Best for

Marketing teams that want to recruit affiliates based on actual audience data rather than follower counts
SaaS and content-driven businesses looking for niche publishers whose audiences overlap with their ideal customer
Brands that want to identify podcast hosts, newsletter writers, and niche bloggers for referral partnerships
Companies taking a data-driven approach to affiliate recruitment instead of guessing which partners to target

Frequently asked questions

How does SparkToro help me find better affiliates?
SparkToro shows you which creators, publications, and platforms your target audience actually engages with. Instead of guessing which affiliates might work, you recruit partners who already have your ideal customer's attention. Trackli then tracks whether those partnerships convert into revenue.
Can SparkToro track my affiliate program's performance?
No. SparkToro is an audience research tool, not a tracking platform. It helps you identify potential affiliates based on audience data. Trackli handles all performance tracking: clicks, conversions, revenue attribution, and commission calculations.
Is SparkToro useful for B2B affiliate recruitment?
Very much so. SparkToro's audience analysis works for B2B audiences — you can discover which industry blogs, podcasts, and thought leaders your target buyers follow. Recruit those creators as affiliates and track their B2B referrals through Trackli.
How do I use SparkToro's data to personalize my affiliate pitch?
SparkToro provides audience overlap percentages and engagement data for each creator. Reference this data in your pitch — for example, 'Your audience overlaps significantly with our ideal customer profile.' Once they join, Trackli validates this with actual conversion data.
Does SparkToro offer outreach tools to contact potential affiliates?
No. SparkToro is purely a research tool. You'll need to reach out to potential affiliates using email or another outreach tool. Once they agree to join, Trackli handles onboarding, tracking, and commissions.
Can I measure the ROI of using SparkToro for affiliate discovery?
Yes, indirectly. Tag affiliates in Trackli based on how you discovered them (SparkToro research vs. other methods). Over time, Trackli's analytics will show whether SparkToro-sourced affiliates convert better than partners recruited through other channels.
What makes SparkToro different from searching for affiliates on Google?
Google shows you who ranks for keywords. SparkToro shows you who your specific audience trusts, follows, and engages with. This behavioral data leads to affiliate partnerships with higher conversion potential because the audience alignment is validated by data, not assumed.

Related pages

Ready to track your affiliates?

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