"How do I track my affiliate links?" has at least five common answers, and most articles hand you one without telling you what it can't do. The honest way to choose isn't by popularity — it's by how far up the analytics stack each method reaches. Some methods only ever count clicks; others get you all the way to what each link earns. Here's every option compared through that lens.
If you've read our affiliate analytics guide, that stack — traffic, then clicks, then revenue — is the key. Tracking clicks is easy; the reason people stay stuck is that most methods stop there, and money lives one layer up.
The five ways to track affiliate links
1. GA4 outbound-click events
Google Analytics can record clicks on your affiliate links as outbound-link events, and UTM parameters can add campaign detail. It's free and you probably already have it.
Reaches: the clicks layer. Good for: counting clicks and seeing rough patterns. Stops at: revenue — GA4 never sees your commissions, so it can't tell you which link earned. Analysing clicks by placement is also fiddly in practice.
2. WordPress link-management plugins
On WordPress, plugins like ThirstyAffiliates or Pretty Links cloak your links (turning long affiliate URLs into tidy /go/ redirects) and count clicks on each one.
Reaches: the clicks layer, cleanly, with per-link counts. Good for: organising links, bulk-updating them, and easy click counts. Stops at: revenue — most link plugins don't import your earnings, so you see clicks per link but not what each earned.
3. Network tracking IDs (and SubIDs)
Use the network's own tags — structured Amazon tracking IDs, for instance — so earnings are reported by site and content type.
Reaches: the revenue layer, but only at tag granularity — per site and content type, not per page or link (SubIDs promise more, but most networks don't report them for ordinary affiliates). Good for: free, network-native revenue breakdowns. Stops at: the page — the tag is as fine as it goes.
4. Manual spreadsheet reconciliation
Export your outbound clicks (from GA4 or a plugin) and your earnings (from the network), then join them by hand to estimate revenue per page.
Reaches: the revenue layer — you can get all the way to per-page estimates. Good for: understanding the method deeply and one-off analysis. Stops at: your patience — doing this accurately every month is a real chore, and it's easy to make mistakes.
5. Dedicated affiliate analytics
Purpose-built tools track outbound clicks by page and placement, import your earnings, and reconcile the two automatically — the spreadsheet method, done for you and kept current.
Reaches: the revenue layer, down to the page. Good for: knowing what actually earns without manual work. Consider: it's another tool in your stack, though a cookieless one like Clickolytics also replaces your traffic analytics.
The comparison, side by side
| Method | Reaches | Setup | Ongoing effort | Cost | Best for | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | GA4 + UTM events | Clicks | Medium | Low | Free | Counting clicks | | WordPress plugin | Clicks | Easy | Low | Free–paid | Organising & counting links | | Network tracking IDs | Revenue (tag-level) | Low | Low | Free | Native revenue by site/type | | Manual spreadsheet | Revenue (per-page) | High | High | Free | One-off deep dives | | Dedicated analytics | Revenue (per-page) | Medium | None | Paid | Ongoing "what earns" |
So which should you use?
Match the method to the question you're actually asking:
- "Are people clicking my links?" GA4 events or a WordPress plugin. Cheap, quick, done.
- "Which of my sites and content types earn?" Structured network tracking IDs. Free and native.
- "Which page and which link actually earn?" You need clicks joined to earnings — a dedicated tool, or the spreadsheet method if you enjoy the grind.
There's no shame in stopping at clicks if clicks are all you need. The trap is believing you're tracking revenue when your method physically can't see it. Know which layer you're on, and choose deliberately.
Want the revenue layer without the spreadsheet? Clickolytics tracks outbound clicks by page, imports your earnings, and shows what each page and link earns — cookielessly. See how it works →
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to track affiliate links? It depends how far you need to go — GA4 or a plugin to count clicks; a tool that joins clicks to earnings to know what actually earns.
Can Google Analytics track affiliate links? Yes, as outbound-click events with optional UTMs — but it stops at clicks and can't see your commissions.
Do I need a plugin? No, but on WordPress a link plugin makes cloaking and click counting easy. Most don't reach revenue-level tracking.
How do I track which link earned a commission? Networks report by tracking ID, not per link, so you track clicks per link and attribute earnings by click share.
Related reading
- Affiliate Analytics: The Complete Guide — the traffic/clicks/revenue stack this ranks methods against.
- Affiliate Revenue Attribution Explained — how click-share turns tag earnings into per-page revenue.
- Amazon Associates Tracking IDs — the network-tag method in depth.
- What Is EPC? — the metric good tracking lets you measure.