TradeDoubler Integration Guide: OAuth API, Deep Links and the Claims API

TradeDoubler was the first affiliate network to operate across Europe, and a quarter century later it is still one of the larger European players, now folded into French media group Reworld Media. A tradedoubler integration runs on OAuth2, generates deep links through an unusual parenthetical parameter format that trips up developers used to standard query strings, and gives publishers something few networks offer directly: a proactive Claims API for chasing down missing conversions rather than waiting on support.

What Is TradeDoubler Integration? #

A tradedoubler integration connects your publisher account to TradeDoubler‘s network, authenticated through OAuth2 with a Client ID and Secret retrieved from the Publisher UI. Founded in Stockholm in 1999 by Felix Hagnö and Martin Lorentzon (who went on to co-found Spotify), TradeDoubler now runs over 3,000 advertiser programs and 180,000 active publishers, and operates as part of what it calls the Performance Group alongside sibling businesses including the influencer network Metapic. Full technical documentation lives at dev.tradedoubler.com.

How Does the TradeDoubler API Handle Authentication? #

The tradedoubler api uses OAuth2, requiring a Client ID and Secret retrieved through the Publisher UI under Tools then API Info. A separate Product Token, used specifically for the Products API rather than general account access, is generated under Settings then Tokens. TradeDoubler is one of the networks we cover in our roundup of European affiliate networks for cashback businesses, worth reading for how it compares against Awin and Webgains specifically.

Two Separate API Surfaces #

• Publisher API, general account management: websites, programme membership, compensation and earnings data, claim management.
• Products and Vouchers APIs, catalogue and coupon-code distribution, each authenticated with its own token separate from the main OAuth credentials.

How Do TradeDoubler Deep Links Work? #

The tradedoubler deep link format is genuinely unusual compared to every other network in this series: parameters are wrapped in parentheses directly against the base URL rather than passed as standard query-string key-value pairs, for example p(PROGRAM_ID)a(AFFILIATE_ID)g(AD_ID)deviceid(DEVICE_ID)url(DEEPLINK_URL). If your deep link builder assumes every network uses ?param=value&param2=value2 syntax, TradeDoubler will break that assumption immediately, so handle it as a distinct case rather than trying to reuse a generic query-string builder.

What Is the TradeDoubler Claims API and Why Does It Matter? #

This is the feature that sets TradeDoubler apart from most networks in this series, and it is directly relevant to a cashback platform’s missing-transaction workflow, the same problem our piece on handling disabled or removed campaign programs from affiliate networks addresses from a different angle.

THE FEATURE THAT MATTERS MOST FOR A CASHBACK PLATFORMThe tradedoubler claims api lets a publisher create, query, update, and delete claims programmatically, rather than filing a manual support ticket every time a conversion goes missing. TradeDoubler validates each claim in real time against three checks: whether the site ID has a valid connection to the programme, whether the order reference was already tracked by you or another publisher, and whether the order reference is still pending elsewhere in the system. That validation happening automatically, before a human ever looks at it, is what makes a high-volume cashback platform’s missing-cashback workflow actually scale.

How Does TradeDoubler Data Map to a Cashback Wallet? #

TradeDoubler concept	Wallet state	What triggers the move
Click tracked via deep link	No transaction yet	Deep link format must be correct or tracking fails silently
Conversion reported	Pending	Sale or lead registers through Conversions API notification
Claim submitted (if missing)	Pending, under review	Publisher-initiated via Claims API, validated automatically
Advertiser approves	Confirmed / withdrawable	Standard approval flow
Claim denied or transaction reversed	Reversed	Includes pre-validation failures and attribution disputes

What Does TradeDoubler Publisher Approval Require? #

TradeDoubler publisher approval follows the standard two-layer pattern: network-level signup, then individual advertiser program approval.

• Register through the Publisher UI with your site or app details.
• Apply to individual advertiser programmes separately, each reviewed on its own terms.
• Because TradeDoubler runs a genuinely large European publisher base, over 180,000 active accounts, expect the review process to be relatively standardized rather than boutique.
• TradeDoubler publisher approval rarely involves lengthy manual review beyond the standard programme-level checks most networks apply.
• A missing conversion on TradeDoubler follows the same underlying pattern as referral fraud investigations elsewhere: verify the click actually happened before assuming the network’s tracking failed.

MISSING CONVERSIONS PILING UP?Our TradeDoubler integration services cover the OAuth setup, the unusual deep link format, and Claims API automation for chasing missing transactions at scale.→  Talk to our integration team

How Do You Connect TradeDoubler to Cashback Website Deep Links? #

Getting the parenthetical deep link syntax right is the single highest-leverage thing to test before you connect TradeDoubler to cashback website store pages at scale. Build a dedicated deep link constructor for TradeDoubler specifically rather than trying to reuse the query-string logic you wrote for Awin, CJ, or Rakuten, since a link built with the wrong syntax will often still resolve visually while failing to track correctly. If tracking gaps do show up, our note on cashback tracking and notification delays covers how to tell a delay apart from an actual formatting bug.

How Do You Test a TradeDoubler Integration Before Going Live? #

• Build a deep link using the parenthetical parameter format, click through, and confirm the click registers before testing any conversion logic.
• Submit a test claim through the Claims API for a deliberately mismatched order reference, and confirm TradeDoubler’s real-time validation correctly rejects it.
• Confirm your Product Token and your main OAuth Client Secret are stored separately, since they authenticate different API surfaces.
• Verify Conversions API notifications are landing correctly before relying on them as your primary sync mechanism rather than polling.
• If you take one thing from this section: always connect TradeDoubler to cashback website links through a dedicated constructor, never a shared one.

Common TradeDoubler Integration Mistakes #

• Reusing a standard query-string deep link builder and assuming TradeDoubler will accept the same format as every other network.
• Never using the Claims API and relying on manual support tickets for every missing conversion, at scale this does not hold up.
• Confusing the Product Token with the main OAuth Client Secret, they authenticate entirely different API surfaces.
• Assuming any generic deep link builder is safe to connect TradeDoubler to cashback website pages without testing the parenthetical format first.
• Connect TradeDoubler to cashback website links only through a tested, dedicated builder.
• Treating a denied claim the same as a routine reversal, when a validation failure often points to a deep link formatting bug worth fixing at the source.
• Skipping a real comparison against alternatives before defaulting to TradeDoubler. Our review of Tune alternatives covers a different segment of the same evaluation.

FAQ #

EnactSoft EngineeringWe’ve built and maintained affiliate network integrations across cashback and coupon platforms since 2013.

Conclusion #

TradeDoubler rewards a publisher willing to build for its specific quirks, the parenthetical deep link format chief among them, and pays that effort back with the Claims API, a genuinely useful tool most networks in this series do not offer. Get the deep link syntax right early, automate claims rather than filing tickets, and keep the Product Token separate from your main OAuth credentials. If you would rather not build this yourself, talk to our integration team. Our TradeDoubler integration services exist for exactly this, and we can take it from here.