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A traffic source defines the parameters Metricanic reads from incoming traffic. Each campaign uses one source. Campaigns can share a source when they use the same parameters.

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Create a source

  1. Open Traffic sources. Click Create.
  2. Select your source from the catalog, or choose Manual.
  3. Enter Name.
  4. In Parameters, configure Click ID with a distinct Param, such as extid, and the source’s click ID Macro.
  5. Configure Cost if the source sends a price per visit.
  6. Add tokens for values you want to compare, such as creatives or placements.
  7. Save the source. Select it in your campaign.
To use the captured cost, set the campaign’s Visit cost to From traffic source (Auto). See Traffic costs. Templates are editable starting points. Zeropark, PropellerAds, Advertizer, and TikTok Ads fix required Param and Macro values. You can edit their aliases, other tokens, Click ID, Cost, Name, and Postback URL.

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Choose the parameters to track

Fill both Param and Macro to include a parameter in generated campaign links. For example:
Use your source’s actual macros. The names above are examples. Click ID and Cost have dedicated rows. Use the 15 token slots for other values. Naming Token 1 Creative does not change its outgoing macro, {token1}. Give each parameter a distinct name.

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Connect TikTok Ads

The steps below apply when Connect account is available for the TikTok Ads template. Choose the TikTok Ads template and click Connect account. Click Continue with TikTok, authorize access in the TikTok window, then choose your USD advertising account and click Connect account. Your traffic source draft stays open during authorization. Save the source and select it in your tracker campaign. Use Manage links in the source or Configure TikTok Ads in Integrations to link your TikTok campaigns. Regular campaigns and Smart+ campaigns are supported. Enable Sync cost on each link whose spending you want to import. Spending updates every four hours. Imported spending is available by campaign, ad group and ad. Group reports by Ad group ID, then Creative ID for regular or legacy Smart+ campaigns. For upgraded Smart+ campaigns, use Smart Ad ID for ad spending. Use the available Status and Bid controls on campaign report rows. Bid editing is available for supported bidding strategies in campaigns with one ad group. To send conversions, click Generate postback in the traffic source. In Account, select a connected account and choose its Pixel. You can also choose No account (enter manually) and enter Pixel ID and Access Token from TikTok Events Manager without connecting an advertising account. Choose Event and enter the Event page URL where that conversion takes place. Enable Send payout (USD) to include the payout as the conversion value. It is off by default. Click Generate postback URL, then Copy. Paste the URL into Postback URL and save the traffic source, or use it directly in a campaign’s outgoing postback. To use the source URL in an existing campaign, open 2. Events, enable Outgoing postback for the matching event, and click Use source postback. Save the campaign. Changing the source URL does not update existing event actions automatically. Confirm that a real TikTok visit has an External ID, then test the affiliate network’s incoming conversion and check its outgoing postback result. See outgoing postbacks for this workflow.

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Verify with a real arrival

Copy the saved campaign’s tracking link. For a manual test, replace source placeholders with known values, such as extid=test-ad-001 and creative=banner-a. Open the link. Check External ID and the selected tokens in the campaign report. Literal braces mean the source did not replace its macro. For a blank value, compare the incoming parameter with Param, including letter case. A shared source change affects all campaigns that use it. After changing parameters or macros, copy the new campaign links into the ad platform and test them. Existing ad URLs do not update automatically.

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Preserve the source click ID

The Click ID row stores the source’s identifier as External ID. Use {external_id} to send it back to that source. Offer URLs use Metricanic’s {click_id}. See the incoming event example for the return journey.

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Send conversions back to the source

Enter the source’s receiving URL in Postback URL. In each campaign, check 2. Events → Outgoing postback to confirm the destination and enable sending. Use source postback copies the source URL into an event. Existing events need an update when that URL changes. Follow outgoing postbacks to configure and test delivery.

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Connect a traffic-source integration

Use a provider guide to connect its account and link campaigns:

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Archive an unused source

Reassign or archive campaigns that use the source, then archive it. See Archive and restore.