Tracking Parameter Audit: UTM, Click IDs, and Source IDs Explained

Short answer: If your affiliate link survives the redirect chain but loses its tracking parameters, you don't get paid. This guide explains every parameter that matters and how to audit them.

The four parameter families

• UTM parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) — for your own analytics, not affiliate networks. Optional but useful.
• Affiliate IDs (tag, ref, aff, affid, linkCode) — the parameter your network uses to attribute the sale to you. Mandatory.
• Click IDs (gclid, fbclid, msclkid, network-specific click IDs) — set by ad platforms; usually harmless but can collide with affiliate IDs.
• Sub-IDs (subid, sid, s1, SID) — let you track which page or campaign generated the click. Optional but powerful.

What strips them — common causes

1. SEO plugin URL clean-up (Yoast, RankMath)
2. Cookie consent platforms that re-route outbound links
3. Long redirect chains (3+ hops)
4. AMP transformations
5. iOS Safari Intelligent Tracking Prevention
6. Mobile-app webviews (Instagram, TikTok, X)

How to audit

1. Test from each major channel. Open one of your links from desktop Chrome, mobile Safari, the Instagram webview, and an AMP cache. Compare destinations.
2. Inspect the final URL. Once redirects settle, check the URL bar. Is the affiliate ID still there?
3. Use a parameter-aware checker. A status-code-only checker will say "healthy" even if every tracking parameter has been stripped. Check the original and final URLs manually; PRG's live health verdict does not validate every network parameter.
4. Set required parameters per asset. In PRG, configure required_params on each asset (e.g. tag for Amazon links). PRG can alert after a scheduled check when a configured required parameter is absent from both the original and final URL.

Run a free scan — the scan can label supported merchant links that are missing their required affiliate tag.

Related: Missing UTM Parameters · Affiliate Link Expiration