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PlugRush traffic source template PlugRush is a self-serve ad network selling pop, push, native and banner traffic on desktop and mobile, bought on a cost-per-visit (CPV) bid. This guide sets up PlugRush as a traffic source in ClickFlare. It covers passing PlugRush’s click data into your reports and sending conversions, with payout, back to PlugRush so its Detailed Stats and Automated Rules work from the same numbers as your reports. You do everything from the campaign editor. The PlugRush traffic source is created inline, without leaving the campaign.

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At a glance

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How it works

1

PlugRush sends the visit

A visitor clicks your ad or opens your pop. PlugRush opens your ClickFlare campaign URL and fills in its macros: the click ID in click_id, the cost of the visit in cpv, plus the subsource, domain, country, OS, browser and creative.
2

ClickFlare stores the PlugRush click ID

ClickFlare saves the value of click_id as the visit’s External ID, records the cost, and redirects the visitor to your lander or offer.
3

The conversion reaches ClickFlare

Your affiliate network or store posts the conversion back to ClickFlare, matched on the ClickFlare click ID.
4

ClickFlare posts it back to PlugRush

ClickFlare fires the PlugRush postback, replacing {external_id} with the stored PlugRush click ID, {payout} with the revenue and {payout_currency} with its currency. PlugRush matches it to the original visit.
The mirror to keep straight: in the campaign URL you write ClickFlare’s parameter (click_id) and PlugRush’s macro ({$click_id}). The template does this for you. In the postback URL you write PlugRush’s parameter (click_id) and ClickFlare’s token ({external_id}). The parameter name is the same on both sides. The value is not.

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Before you start

  • Set up your own tracking domain. Run the campaign and the postback on your own custom domain. Shared domains get flagged by networks and blocked by browsers. See Custom Domains.
  • Have an offer ready in ClickFlare, and its affiliate network set up to post conversions back to ClickFlare. See Creating an Offer and Adding an Affiliate Network.
  • Know your PlugRush user ID. It goes into the postback URL. It is shown in your PlugRush account profile, and in the postback URL PlugRush gives you under Account → API.
  • Decide what PlugRush should receive. PlugRush’s Detailed Stats and Automated Rules run on the conversions you send. Send the event you optimize on, usually the final sale.

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Step 1 – Create the campaign and the PlugRush traffic source

  1. Go to Campaigns and click New.
  2. In Traffic Source, open the dropdown and click + New Traffic Source.
  3. Type plugrush in the search box and select the PlugRush template.
  4. Enter a Name, for example PlugRush.
  5. Leave Cost currency on USD unless your PlugRush account is billed in another currency.
The template fills in the Parameters table for you: The PlugRush template's Parameters table in ClickFlare, with PlugRush's macros pre-filled Each tracking field becomes a column you can group reports by. Unique ID is the one you will use most. It carries the subsource ID, and PlugRush recommends tracking it above everything else, because it is the level you blacklist and whitelist on.
Don’t change or remove the externalId row. Without click_id={$click_id} in the campaign URL, ClickFlare has no PlugRush click ID to send back, and PlugRush cannot match conversions.
To pass more PlugRush data, click Add Parameter, give it a name and parameter, and enter the PlugRush macro as the TS Token. ClickFlare assigns the next free tracking field. The one worth adding is {$source_referrer}: the top-level source ID (starts with R). Each source groups several subsources, so it gives a coarser view than Unique ID.

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Step 2 – Set up the postback

The postback is what sends conversions to PlugRush. It lives on the traffic source, so every campaign that uses this PlugRush traffic source sends conversions the same way.

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Get your postback URL from PlugRush

  1. In PlugRush, click Account in the top right corner and choose API. The conversion tracking documentation and your postback URL are there.
  2. Or open your campaign overview, click the Actions icon (the blue gear in the far-right column) and select Conversion Tracking.
  3. Note your user ID. It is the user_id value in the URL. It is also shown in your account profile.
PlugRush’s postback follows this format:

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Add it to the traffic source in ClickFlare

  1. Back in the New Traffic Source form, scroll to Passing conversion info to traffic source.
  2. Turn on Traffic source postback URL. The template’s postback appears:
The Traffic source postback URL switched on, showing the PlugRush template's postback It already sends the click ID ({external_id}), the payout ({payout}) and the payout’s currency ({payout_currency}), all as ClickFlare tokens.
  1. Replace REPLACE with your PlugRush user ID. The result:
PlugRush documents the host both with and without www. Both work.
  1. In the dropdown on the left, choose the ClickFlare event that should fire the postback. Keep Conversions to send every conversion. If your final action is a custom conversion (for example purchase), choose that instead.
  2. Click Save. You are back in the campaign editor with the PlugRush traffic source selected.
Replace REPLACE with your PlugRush user ID. If REPLACE stays in the postback, PlugRush cannot tie the conversions to your account.
PlugRush’s own examples always send currency=USD. The template sends the offer’s payout currency instead. If your offers pay in USD, nothing changes. If they pay in another currency and PlugRush shows wrong revenue, see Multicurrency in ClickFlare.
If you’d rather not share real payouts with PlugRush, replace {payout} with a fixed number, for example payout=1. PlugRush allows this. Conversions are still counted, but PlugRush’s revenue and ROI figures become meaningless, and so do Automated Rules based on them.
To learn what each postback token does, see How to Configure a Traffic Source S2S Postback URL.

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Step 3 – Finish the campaign and copy its URL

  1. Name the campaign.
  2. Set the Cost Model to Not Tracked, so ClickFlare uses the cost PlugRush passes. See Cost.
  3. Choose Redirect or Direct tracking. Redirect is the usual choice for PlugRush’s pop, push and banner traffic.
  4. Click Next and, on Destination, add your lander (optional) and your offer.
  5. Save, open Tracking, select your own tracking domain and copy the campaign URL.
The campaign URL already contains every PlugRush macro from the template, for example click_id={$click_id} and source_id={$source_id}. If you use a lander, its call-to-action must link to the ClickFlare click URL, not to the offer directly. Otherwise the visit reaches the offer without a ClickFlare click ID, and the conversion cannot be traced back to PlugRush. See Creating a Campaign in ClickFlare.

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Step 4 – Create the campaign in PlugRush

  1. In PlugRush, create a new campaign and choose the campaign type: desktop or mobile pops, push ads, native ads or banners.
  2. Set targeting (countries, orientation, OS, browser, connection type), your CPV bid and your budget.
  3. Paste the ClickFlare campaign URL as the campaign URL. For push, native and banner campaigns, add your creatives from the creatives section and assign them to the campaign.
  4. Submit the campaign.
Paste the URL exactly as ClickFlare gives it. PlugRush replaces each {$...} macro before the visitor reaches your campaign.

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Step 5 – Test the integration

PlugRush has no test-conversion tool. Conversions show in your PlugRush campaign stats once the postback fires, so test with a small budget.
  1. Launch the campaign with a low daily budget.
  2. In ClickFlare, check that visits arrive with Cost and the Unique ID column filled. Empty values mean the macros were not replaced. See Troubleshooting.
  3. Complete the offer yourself through a PlugRush visit, or wait for the first real conversion.
  4. In ClickFlare, go to Logs → Postback Status and filter by the campaign. A successful request to prprocess.com confirms ClickFlare sent the postback. Check that user_id holds your user ID and click_id a real click ID.
  5. In PlugRush, open the campaign stats and check that the conversion appears.

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What conversion tracking unlocks in PlugRush

PlugRush treats the postback as the key to its optimization tools:
PlugRush’s Detailed Stats combine its traffic data with the conversions you send, so you can judge performance inside PlugRush without a spreadsheet. Without the postback, PlugRush only sees visits.
PlugRush’s Automated Rules optimize campaigns automatically, based on the conversion data you send. Without the postback they have nothing to act on. Rules based on revenue or ROI also need real payouts.
If you can’t send postbacks, group your ClickFlare reports by Unique ID (subsource) instead. Find the subsources that don’t convert and add them to a blacklist in PlugRush, in the list editor under Sources / Subsources / Websites. Use Import Entries to paste many IDs at once.To send a postback only for some conversions, for example only those above a certain payout, use Event filter under the postback to add conditions.

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Cost

The template passes cost per visit. The cost row sends PlugRush’s {$cpv} macro, the cost per visitor, and ClickFlare records it as the visit’s cost. On the campaign, set the Cost Model to Not Tracked so ClickFlare uses the cost passed in the URL.
PlugRush bids are CPV: you pay for each visit you receive. For pops, a visit is the pop itself. For push, native and banners, it is a click on the ad. Either way, one PlugRush visit is one ClickFlare visit, so {$cpv} maps straight onto ClickFlare’s cost.
After launch, compare the Cost column with your PlugRush spend. If they differ, correct it with a manual cost upload. If {$cpv} arrives empty, set the Cost Model to CPC and enter your CPV bid. See Cost Models.

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Delayed revenue

If you run search arbitrage (RSOC or AFD) behind PlugRush, the feed reports revenue hours or days after the click. To pass that revenue to PlugRush once it arrives, see Sending Delayed Revenue to Traffic Sources.

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Troubleshooting

  • REPLACE was never replaced with your PlugRush user ID.
  • The campaign URL in PlugRush is missing click_id={$click_id}, or the macro was edited. Copy the URL from ClickFlare again.
  • The externalId row was removed from the traffic source.
  • Traffic source postback URL is off on the PlugRush traffic source.
  • Disable sending postbacks to traffic source is on in the campaign.
  • The postback is mapped to a different event than the one the conversion logged. Check Logs → Event Logs to see which event was recorded.
  • Check Logs → Postback Status: a failed request shows the status code PlugRush returned.
  • {payout} was replaced with a fixed number, on purpose or by mistake.
  • The offer pays in a currency other than USD. Check what currency the postback sent in Logs → Postback Status.
Empty columns mean the macros were not replaced, usually because the URL was edited. Paste the campaign URL from ClickFlare unchanged. See Traffic Source Tokens Arriving Empty.Values that look like codes are expected. Unique ID holds subsource IDs, and Domain holds PlugRush’s domain ID, not a domain name.
For the general checklist, see Conversions not showing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1: Can I use the same PlugRush traffic source for all my PlugRush campaigns?
A1: Yes. The postback is set once on the traffic source and every campaign using it sends conversions the same way.
Q2: Why does the template call the subsource “Unique ID”?
A2: It is a naming quirk. The row carries {$source_id}, which PlugRush defines as the subsource ID. Rename the row to Subsource if that reads better in your reports. The TS Parameter and TS Token stay the same.
Q3: Why is it click_id in both the campaign URL and the postback?
A3: ClickFlare reads PlugRush’s click ID from its click_id parameter, and PlugRush expects it back in its own click_id parameter. The names match, but the values differ: PlugRush’s macro {$click_id} in the campaign URL, ClickFlare’s token {external_id} in the postback.
Q4: Should I use Redirect or Direct tracking with PlugRush?
A4: Redirect is the usual choice and works with every PlugRush format. Use Direct only if PlugRush must see your lander’s domain as the destination. See Direct Campaign Tracking.
Q5: Is PlugRush’s conversion data used against me in bidding?
A5: PlugRush says it has never used conversion data to raise what advertisers pay. It uses the data for Detailed Stats, Automated Rules and platform development. If you are still wary, send a fixed payout (see Step 2).

Traffic source postbacks

Every token you can use in a postback.

Custom conversions

Split leads and sales into separate events.

Cost models

How CPC, CPA and RevShare costs are calculated.

Conversions not showing

The general checklist when postbacks don’t arrive.