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RichAds Push traffic source template RichAds is a self-serve ad network. Its push side, RichPush, sells classic push notification traffic, bought per click. This guide sets up RichAds push campaigns as a traffic source in ClickFlare. It covers passing RichAds’ click data into your reports and sending conversions, with payout, back to RichAds so its optimization tools and your stats agree. You do everything from the campaign editor. The RichAds traffic source is created inline, without leaving the campaign.
ClickFlare has two RichAds templates. Pick RichAds push for push notification campaigns, which this page covers. Pick RichAds pops for popunder campaigns. The two use different cost macros. See RichAds as a Traffic Source for the pops setup.

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At a glance

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How it works

1

RichAds sends the click

A subscriber clicks your push notification. RichAds opens your ClickFlare campaign URL and fills in its macros: the click ID in click_id, the winning price in bid_price, plus the publisher, site, subscriber list, country, OS and other details.
2

ClickFlare stores the RichAds 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 RichAds

ClickFlare fires the RichAds postback, replacing {external_id} with the stored RichAds click ID and {payout} with the revenue. RichAds matches it to the original click.
The mirror to keep straight: in the campaign URL you write ClickFlare’s parameter (click_id) and RichAds’ macro ([CLICK_ID]). The template does this for you. In the postback URL you write RichAds’ parameter (key) and ClickFlare’s token ({external_id}).

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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.
  • Plan to set up the postback before launch. RichAds’ optimization tools, such as automated rules, micro bidding, Target CPA and SmartCPC, run on the conversions RichAds receives. Without the postback they have nothing to work with.
  • Decide which conversion RichAds should receive. RichAds optimizes on what you send it. If your funnel has several steps (lead, then sale), choose the one that matters most.

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Step 1 – Create the campaign and the RichAds Push traffic source

  1. Go to Campaigns and click New.
  2. In Traffic Source, open the dropdown and click + New Traffic Source.
  3. Type richads in the search box and select the RichAds push template. Don’t pick RichAds pops.
  4. Enter a Name, for example RichAds Push.
  5. Leave Cost currency on USD unless your RichAds account is billed in another currency.
The template fills in the Parameters table for you: The RichAds Push template's Parameters table in ClickFlare, with RichAds' macros pre-filled Each tracking field becomes a column you can group reports by. publisher_id, site_id and sub_list_id are the ones you will use most: they tell you which sources convert, so you can blacklist them or raise bids on them in RichAds. The Subscriber list ID row ships switched off. Turn it on if you want subscriber list reports. [SUB_LIST_ID] is a push-only macro, and subscriber lists are a common unit for push optimization.
Don’t change or remove the externalId row. Without click_id=[CLICK_ID] in the campaign URL, ClickFlare has no RichAds click ID to send back, and RichAds cannot match your conversions.
To pass more RichAds data, click Add Parameter, give it a name and parameter, and enter the RichAds macro as the TS Token. ClickFlare assigns the next free tracking field. RichAds’ macro list also includes [COUNTRY_CODE], [REGION], [CITY], [OS_ONLY], [OS_VER] and [USERAGENT]. Check the macros your RichAds campaign setup lists before adding them.

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Step 2 – Set up the postback

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

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Add it to the traffic source in ClickFlare

  1. 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 RichAds Push template's postback It already sends the click ID ({external_id}) in key and the payout ({payout}) in price, both as ClickFlare tokens. There is no account placeholder to replace. RichAds identifies your account from the click ID.
  1. Optionally, change http:// to https://. RichAds’ postback as other trackers publish it starts with https://xml.auxml.com. Both point at the same endpoint.
  2. 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.
  3. Click Save. You are back in the campaign editor with the RichAds traffic source selected.

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Check it against RichAds

When you create a campaign in RichAds, the Tracking block below the creatives shows a postback URL for the tracker you select. Compare it with the template’s. Apart from the click ID token, which is ClickFlare’s {external_id} here, the domain and the action, key and price parameters should match.
Keep key={external_id} exactly as it is. key is RichAds’ parameter for its click ID. If you replace {external_id} with RichAds’ [CLICK_ID] macro, ClickFlare sends the brackets as literal text and RichAds rejects the conversion.
price is the conversion’s revenue. RichAds uses it for its CPA-based tools and shows it in your RichAds stats. Send it in the same currency your RichAds account uses. See Multicurrency in ClickFlare. 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 RichAds passes. See Cost.
  3. Choose Redirect or Direct tracking. Redirect is the usual choice for push 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 RichAds macro from the template, for example click_id=[CLICK_ID] and site_id=[SITE_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 RichAds. See Creating a Campaign in ClickFlare.

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Step 4 – Create the campaign in RichAds

  1. In RichAds, go to Campaigns and create a new push campaign.
  2. Choose targeting, creatives and bid as usual.
  3. Paste the ClickFlare campaign URL into the campaign’s Destination URL field.
  4. Submit the campaign for moderation.
Paste the URL exactly as ClickFlare gives it. RichAds replaces each [...] macro when the notification is clicked.

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Step 5 – Test the integration

Run a small test before you scale.
  1. Launch the campaign with a low budget, or wait for the first clicks.
  2. In ClickFlare, open the campaign report and group by a RichAds column, for example Site ID. Real values, not [SITE_ID], mean the macros are being replaced.
  3. Complete the offer the way a real visitor would, or wait for the first real conversion.
  4. In ClickFlare, go to Logs → Postback Status and filter by the campaign. A successful request to xml.auxml.com confirms ClickFlare sent the postback.
  5. In RichAds, check the campaign statistics. The conversion should appear there too.
If the postback status is fine but RichAds shows nothing, check that the click came from a real RichAds click, with a real [CLICK_ID] value. A conversion from a hand-typed test URL has no RichAds click ID for RichAds to match.

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Sending only one event

RichAds’ public documentation describes one postback with one payout, and no event parameter. Send RichAds the conversion you want it to optimize on.
Map the postback to your final conversion, for example a purchase custom conversion. Earlier steps (leads, add to carts) still show in ClickFlare. They just don’t reach RichAds.If RichAds only receives your final sale, Target CPA and SmartCPC aim at the cost of that sale.
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 click. The cost row sends RichAds’ [BID_PRICE] macro in bid_price. RichAds describes it as the winning price of the click. 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.
[BID_PRICE] reflects the click price on CPC campaigns. If you buy RichAds push traffic another way, compare the Cost column with your RichAds spend after launch. If it doesn’t match, switch the Cost Model to CPC and enter your price per click. On CPM, enter your CPM bid divided by 1,000 as the cost value.
[BID_PRICE] is push-only. The pops template uses [CPV_PRICE] instead, which is one reason to pick the right template. The template has no cost integration attached. When the recorded spend differs from your RichAds spend, correct it with a manual cost upload. See Cost Models.

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Delayed revenue

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

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Troubleshooting

  • Traffic source postback URL is off on the RichAds 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.
  • The conversion’s visit has no External ID, so key went out empty. Check that click_id=[CLICK_ID] is in the URL in RichAds.
  • Check Logs → Postback Status: a failed request shows the status code RichAds returned.
The template sends price={payout}, so it was removed or edited. Restore &price={payout} at the end of the postback.Also check that the offer sends a payout to ClickFlare. If ClickFlare records the conversion with a payout of 0, RichAds receives 0.
  • The campaign’s Cost Model is not Not Tracked, so ClickFlare ignores bid_price.
  • The traffic source was created from the RichAds pops template, which reads [CPV_PRICE]. RichPush fills [BID_PRICE]. Create the traffic source again from RichAds push.
The macros were not replaced, usually because the URL was pasted somewhere RichAds doesn’t process macros, or was edited. Paste the campaign URL from ClickFlare unchanged. See Traffic Source Tokens Arriving Empty.
For the general checklist, see Conversions not showing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1: Can I use one RichAds traffic source for both push and pops campaigns?
A1: No. The two templates pass cost with different macros: [BID_PRICE] for push, [CPV_PRICE] for pops. Create one traffic source from each template and pick the one that matches the campaign’s format.
Q2: Can I use the same RichAds Push traffic source for all my push campaigns?
A2: Yes. The postback is set once on the traffic source and every campaign using it sends conversions the same way. Create a second traffic source only if a campaign needs a different postback, for example a different event.
Q3: Why is it called click_id in the campaign URL and key in the postback?
A3: They are two halves of the same value. ClickFlare reads RichAds’ click ID from its own click_id parameter. RichAds expects it back in its own key parameter. Both names are fixed. Change neither.
Q4: Do I need to add my RichAds account ID to the postback?
A4: No. The postback has no account placeholder. RichAds matches the conversion through the click ID in key.
Q5: Should I use Redirect or Direct tracking with RichAds?
A5: Redirect is the usual choice for push traffic. Use Direct only if RichAds must see your lander’s domain as the destination. See Direct Campaign Tracking.

RichAds pops

The setup for RichAds popunder campaigns.

Traffic source postbacks

Every token you can use in a postback.

Cost models

How CPC, CPA and RevShare costs are calculated.

Conversions not showing

The general checklist when postbacks don’t arrive.