> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.metricanic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Choose a tracking mode

> Decide whether the tracker or your page should receive the visitor first, and understand what that changes.

A tracking mode determines how a visitor enters your campaign. In **302 Redirect Mode**, the visitor reaches Metricanic before the landing or offer. In **Direct Script Mode**, the visitor opens your page first and a script reports the visit to Metricanic.

Choose based on two things: whether you need the tracker to choose the first page, and whether you can install code on that page. The mode does not create conversions by itself. Both methods need an [incoming event](/conversions/incoming-events) when a lead, sale, or other result occurs.

## Choose for your campaign

| Your situation                                                            | Choose                                       | Why                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| You want one advertising URL to distribute visitors between landing pages | **302 Redirect Mode**                        | Metricanic chooses the landing before the visitor opens it.                   |
| You promote an affiliate offer and cannot edit its page                   | **302 Redirect Mode**, with **Offers only**  | The tracker records the visit before sending the visitor to the offer.        |
| Your ad needs to open a specific landing page directly                    | **Direct Script Mode**                       | The ad points to your page, where the tracking script records the visit.      |
| You control the offer page and do not use a landing                       | **Direct Script Mode**, with **Offers only** | Install the script on that offer page. The first page is fixed by the ad URL. |

Check the traffic source's current destination and tracking requirements before launching. Selecting a mode in Metricanic does not guarantee an advertising platform will accept your campaign.

## How redirect tracking works

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    A[Ad] --> B[Metricanic records visit<br/>and selects destination]
    B --> C[Landing page]
    C -->|CTA click| D[Selected offer]
```

The advertising URL is the campaign's **Tracking link**. On a new visit, Metricanic reads the source parameters, records available request information, and evaluates the rotator. It selects a path and its landing and offer, then returns an HTTP 302 redirect to the first page. An **Offers only** path skips the landing.

This gives you control before the first page loads. For example, you can put two landings in a path with equal weights and compare their results while keeping the same advertising URL. [Rotator rules and weights](/tracking/rotators) determine the selection.

When a visitor clicks the landing's tracked CTA, the click belongs to the existing visit and leads to its selected offer. The ordinary click does not draw a new offer from the weights. Removing that offer from the active path while visitors are still on the landing can interrupt their clicks.

### Benefits and limits

* Change eligible destinations in the rotator while keeping the campaign Tracking link.
* Record the first visit without installing JavaScript on the destination.
* Use a redirect to reach an affiliate offer you cannot edit.
* Allow for an additional browser request before the first page opens.
* Preserve visit context between the landing and its CTA. A bare `/click` URL cannot identify a visitor on its own.

A landing script can bind CTA buttons to the visit and reuse valid context from the redirect. This is useful when browser cookies are unavailable. See [landing setup](/tracking/landings) for the script and the conditions for visit reuse.

## How direct tracking works

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    A[Ad] --> B[Your arrival page]
    B --> C[Script registers the visit<br/>with Metricanic]
    C --> D[Script connects CTA<br/>to the selected offer]
```

The advertising URL is the **Traffic URL** from **Finish**. It points to the selected arrival page with the campaign parameter and source parameters. The script sends those details to the tracking domain, receives the visit context and offer link, and prepares the landing's CTA buttons.

The landing's buttons can use the generated **CTA click link** or an `<a>` element marked with `data-dtp-link`. The attribute lets the script replace the link's destination with the selected offer without requiring `/click` in its original `href`. See [the attribute example](/tracking/landings#mark-a-link-with-data-dtp-link).

The browser has already opened the arrival page, so Metricanic cannot rotate that first page during this visit. Rules still matter. The arrival page must be eligible in a matching path. On a landing, Metricanic can select an offer from that path's eligible offers when it registers the visit.

For example, an ad can always open your product comparison page while the campaign distributes new visits between two offers. If the ad opens an offer directly, that offer is already fixed too.

### Benefits and limits

* Open the advertised page without an initial tracker redirect.
* Use your own page URL as the advertising destination.
* Install and maintain the script on every arrival page you use.
* Expect missing visits if the script cannot load or its request is blocked, even when the page itself opens.
* Test rules against the actual arrival page. Sending a visitor to an excluded page does not make it eligible.

## Set up and verify your choice

1. Open the campaign and choose **Integration mode** in **Campaign**.
2. Configure **Events** and **Rotator**, attach an active tracking domain, and save.
3. For redirect tracking, use **Tracking link** from **Finish** in the traffic source. Configure the landing CTA if your path has a landing.
4. For direct tracking, select the arrival page in **Finish**. Install its generated script, use **Traffic URL** in the traffic source, and connect the landing buttons with **CTA click link** or `data-dtp-link`.
5. Follow [Your first campaign](/start/first-campaign) to check a new visit and conversion. For a landing flow, also check the tracked offer click.

After changing modes, update both the advertising URL and page setup. Use a fresh visitor session for the test so an existing visit does not hide a setup mistake.