Tracking pixel

Pixel tracking is a method where a small code snippet (usually an image tag or JavaScript) is placed on the advertiser’s confirmation or thank-you page. When the page loads, the pixel fires and sends conversion data back to PalDock through the user’s browser. It is simple to implement and works well for basic setups, but relies on cookies and the user’s browser, which can make it less reliable than server-to-server postbacks in cookie-restricted environments.

Tracking processing

As mentioned in Tracking processing, when a tracking request is received, it must be processed. The main parameters are:

• PalDock Conversion ID – pcid – identifies the PalDock click (clickID) or lead (leadID). Generated by each click or lead.
• PalDock Advertiser ID – advertiser_id – the unique advertiser ID available in the admin.
• Advertiser External ID – external_id – e.g., the external lead ID on the advertiser’s side, sent together with the conversion. It is used for deduplication (ensuring only one conversion is created), so we always recommend sending it.
• Commission ID (optional) – commission_id – the commission ID in PalDock. Required if multiple commissions exist for the same conversion type. If not provided, the default (first in order for that conversion type) will be used.

Required fields depend on the chosen pairing method:

1. Via PalDock Conversion ID – only this parameter is required, since it is always unique in the system.
2. Via Advertiser External ID – the External ID and Advertiser ID are required. On its own, the External ID may not be unique, but uniqueness is ensured in combination with the PalDock Advertiser ID.

For affiliate links, the external ID is not known in advance, so only the PalDock conversion ID can be used.

For iframe and API integrations, both methods are supported. If you are using links together with iframes or APIs, you may find it easier to implement the same tracking method across all of them, although this is not required.

Conversion type

Each conversion type (including custom ones) can be used in two ways:

• To create a conversion
• To update a conversion

This is done by using the parameter action, which defines whether the conversion should be created (create) or updated (update).

And they can be applied from two perspectives:

• Advertisers – to report (create or update) conversions
  • Requires: Advertiser ID and Offer ID
• Affiliate partners – to enhance (update only) their conversions with data from URL or cookies
  • Requires: Affiliate partner ID

You can configure this in Workspace Settings → Tracking → Conversion types and pixels.
Select the conversion type, then choose whether to view pixels for Advertisers or Affiliates. You can also add custom conversion types.

Pixels

Initiation pixel

On every page load on every URL, this pixel reads the pcid (click ID) from the URL, stores it for the duration of your attribution window, and then reuses it when a conversion occurs. When the Conversion pixel fires, it includes the stored pcid, which allows to match the conversion to the original click and credit the correct affiliate. In short, it captures the click once, remembers it, and ensures the commission goes to the right partner.

⚠️ Beware: Initiation scripts are versioned. If we release an update, you’ll usually only need to change the version number in the script, not the whole implementation. (Updates are infrequent, but stay tuned for future upgrades.)

 <script async src="https://paldock.fra1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/scripts/paldock-pixel-1.0.3.js?t=YOUR_TENANT&cookie=1&expiration=43200&pcidParam=pdcid"></script>

• t=YOUR_TENANT: your PalDock account identifier (slug).
• cookie – enables persistent cookie storage (recommended if cookies are allowed). Use cookie=0 for session-only storage or cookie=2 for local storage when cookies are restricted (e.g., GDPR compliance), and cookie=1 when cookie is enabled.
• expiration (optional) – sets the expiration time (cookie window) for affiliate tracking in minutes.
  If a click occurs after the cookie window expires, it will not be tracked.
  If no expiration is set, the default of 30 days will be used.
  • expiration=1440 → 1 day
  • expiration=43200 → 30 days
• pcidParam=YOUR_PCID_CUSTOM_PARAM (optional): the name of the query parameter in the URL where the PalDock Click ID (pcid) is passed.
  • If not provided, the pixel automatically looks for pcid in the URL (?pcid=…).
  • If provided, the pixel will instead read the click ID from your chosen parameter (e.g. ?pdcId=…).

Conversion pixel (create)

This pixel is placed only on the conversion page (e.g., thank-you/confirmation page). Its job is to update (see page Update pixel) or create a conversion event in PalDock and attach all the context needed for correct attribution and reporting. If a click/cookie pixel stored a click ID earlier (e.g., pcid), PalDock uses it to attribute the conversion to the correct affiliate within your cookie window.

 <script>
 window.paldock=window.paldock||{q:[],conversion:function(){window.paldock.q.push(["conversion"].concat([].slice.call(arguments)))}};

  // Create a new conversion of type "lead"
  paldock.conversion({
    action: 'create', 
    type: 'sale',
    advertiser: 'advertiser_id',
    offer: 'offer_id',
    external_id: 'external_id',
    result: 'approved',
    value: 100.55,
    commission: 100.55,
    commission_id: 'commission_id',
    affs1: 'affs1',
    advs10: 'advs10',
    queryParam: {
      paldockKey1: 'utm_content',
      paldockKey2: 'utm_medium',
      paldockKey3: 'utm_source'
    },
    cookieParam: {
      paldockKey1: '_ga',
      paldockKey2: 'fbp',
      paldockKey3: 'fbc'
    }
  });
 </script>

Only bold parameters are required.

Parameters

You can find all available parameters, along with their descriptions, on the Tracking Parameters page. Below are the most common ones:

• action – defines whether the conversion should be created (create) or updated (update).
• type – what type of conversion you want to create (lead, sale or custom)
• advertiser – the advertiser ID from PalDock
• offer – the offer ID from PalDock
• external_id – your external event ID (Advertiser Conversion ID or Affiliate Conversion ID)
• result – result of the conversion (approved or rejected). If not provided, then pending is used by default.