Anchor tags and deep links
Point your one tracking link per program at a specific page, like a product or a collection. The ?ref= attribution stays attached, so the sale is still credited to you.
Sending people straight to a product page does not break your tracking. A deep link points your tracking link at a specific page, like one product or a collection, and your ?ref= attribution stays attached to that page.
You earn the commission the brand sets, in full. The 20% platform fee is billed to the brand, so it is never taken out of your payout.
What an anchor tag does
You get one tracking link per program: a single link for each brand you work with. By default it opens the brand's store. A destination tag, sometimes called an anchor tag or a deep link, tells that same link to open a specific page instead.
Use a deep link when what you are posting about is one page, not the whole store:
- A single product. Point straight at the protein you actually drink, not the full catalog.
- A collection. Send people to a category, like a brand's running shoes, when that is what your post is about.
- A seasonal or landing page. Match the page to what you said, so the click and the page line up.
When the page matches what you told people, they land on the product instead of hunting for it in the store, which keeps more of your clicks moving toward a purchase.
Your attribution is preserved
This is the part people worry about, so here it is plainly: the ?ref= tag that credits the sale to you travels with the link to whatever page you point it at.
First-party, server-side attribution runs through the brand's Shopify store. When someone clicks your tracking link and buys, the order is credited automatically, with no discount code for them to enter and nothing for them to remember. Credit holds for the program's attribution window even if they come back and buy a few days later.
A deep link only changes the landing page. It does not change any of that.
| Plain tracking link | Tracking link with a deep link | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it opens | The brand's store | The specific page you choose |
Attribution (?ref=) | Preserved | Preserved |
| Discount code needed | None | None |
| Links per program | One | Still one |
One link per program, many destinations
You do not need a separate link for every product. It is the same per-program link with a destination tag added, so all the credit still rolls up under that one program.
How to add a deep link
You set the destination when you create or edit a link in the athlete portal:
- Open the program you want to share from.
- Add the destination path of the page, like
/products/whey-proteinor/collections/running. You can copy this from the brand's store URL. - Save and copy your link. It now opens that page with your
?ref=attribution attached.
For the full walkthrough of generating and sharing links, see creating and sharing tracking links.
Test it before you post
Open your finished link yourself first. Check that it lands on the right page and that the ?ref= tag is still on the address. If the ?ref= tag is there, the sale will be matched to you server-side.
QR codes work the same way. A QR code built from a deep link opens the same specific page and keeps the same ?ref= attribution, so you can use one in print, on a slide, or on a screen without losing credit.
FAQ
Can I send people to a specific product page?
Yes. Add a destination tag to your tracking link so it opens the exact page you want, like a single product or a collection, instead of the brand's homepage. You still share one link per program. The destination tag just changes where it lands, not how you get credit.
Does the link still track?
Yes. The ?ref= attribution rides along no matter which page you point the link at. When someone clicks your link and buys, the order is credited to you automatically, with no discount code for them to enter. Pointing the link deeper into the store does not change that.