Traffic control helps you automatically ignore unwanted traffic and conversions by applying simple, readable rules. You can set rules globally or override them for specific advertisers and offers. When a rule matches, the related click or conversion is blocked.
This feature is designed to keep your reporting and payouts clean by excluding traffic you don't want to process. Common use cases include blocking specific sub-source IDs that an affiliate is sending, test or QA traffic, and conversions from sandbox environments.
You can also view this feature hands-on in our interactive demo.
⚠️ Important: Take extra care when setting up blocking rules to prevent any accidental traffic loss.
Where it applies
Clicks: rules can block clicks based on affiliate parameters.
Conversions: rules can block conversions based on advertiser parameters, customer and external identifiers, and (when available) the original click's affiliate parameters.
If a click was blocked, any conversion tied to that click is automatically blocked.
Conversions created via API and conversions created via the JavaScript pixel are evaluated against the same rules; there is no separate ruleset per integration.
How rules work
Each rule is a set of conditions that must all be true to block an event (logical AND within one rule).
You can create multiple rules; if any rule matches, the event is blocked (logical OR across rules).
Rule order does not matter for evaluation; any matching rule blocks the event.
Order of conditions inside a rule does not matter either; all conditions in a rule must match, regardless of order.
Example:
Rule 1: block if Aff S1 equals any of
58125,92301.Rule 2: block if Aff S3 contains
test.Outcome: a click is blocked if it matches Rule 1 OR Rule 2.
Available fields and conditions
For clicks: Aff S1, Aff S2, Aff S3, Aff S4, Aff S5
For conversions: Adv S1, Adv S2, Adv S3, Adv S4, Adv S5, External ID, Customer ID, plus Aff S1 to Aff S5 from the original click (when the conversion is linked to a click).
Condition types:
Is empty: blocks when the field has no value.
Equals one of: blocks when the field exactly matches any value in your list.
Does not equal one of: blocks when the field does not match any value in your list (inverse of Equals one of).
Contains: blocks when the field contains a text snippet you enter.
Does not contain: blocks when the field does not contain the text snippet (inverse of Contains).
Tip: use Equals one of / Does not equal one of for exact lists, and Contains / Does not contain for substring matches.
String comparisons are case-sensitive: ABC and abc are treated as different values. Leading and trailing spaces are also significant: test and test (with a trailing space) will not match. Trim and normalize values before adding them to a rule.
Scope and precedence
You can set rules at three levels, with the following precedence:
Offer-level rules (highest)
Advertiser-level rules
Global rules (fallback)
If a more specific level is enabled, it overrides the less specific one. For example, if an offer override is on, it takes precedence over both advertiser and global rules.
Overrides are all-or-nothing: when an offer override is on, it replaces the advertiser and global rules for that offer; the rule sets are not merged. The same applies at the advertiser level: when it's on, it replaces global rules for offers under that advertiser that don't have their own override.
Non-Network clients have a single revenue origin acting as the "advertiser-level" scope. Network clients have one revenue origin per advertiser, so advertiser-level rules can differ per advertiser.
Where to manage:
Global: Tools → Traffic control
Advertiser: Advertiser detail → Traffic control
Offer: Offer detail → Settings → Traffic control
You can toggle an override on or off for advertisers and offers. Turning it off restores inheritance from the next broader level.
What happens when an event is blocked
Blocked click: the click is marked as blocked and does not progress to attribution.
Blocked conversion: the conversion is marked as blocked. Conversions from blocked clicks are also blocked automatically.
Downstream effects: blocked events are prevented from normal processing and are intended to be excluded from optimization and payout workflows.
Limits and behaviors
Maximum rules: up to 10 click rules and 10 conversion rules per scope.
At least one condition: each rule must contain at least one condition. Empty rules are not allowed.
Per-list values: up to 100 values per Equals one of / Does not equal one of list, and up to 100 characters per value.
Per-snippet length: up to 100 characters per Contains / Does not contain snippet.
Affiliate parameters on conversions: Aff S1 to Aff S5 in conversion rules are checked only when the conversion is linked to a tracked click. If there is no click link, these affiliate conditions are ignored for that conversion.
No names or toggles on rules: rules don't have names or labels (they're identified by their conditions in the list), and there is no per-rule enable/disable toggle. To stop a rule from evaluating, delete it.
Access: only users with the right permissions can edit tracking blocking settings.
Effective time: changes apply to new events after you save them; past events are not re-evaluated.
Every change to traffic-control rules (global, advertiser, or offer level) is recorded in the Activity log, including a before/after snapshot of all rules at that scope, so you can audit who changed what and when (subject to your activity-log permissions).
Practical examples
Block known bad sub-sources: clicks where Aff S1 equals any of
58125,92301.Block empty sub-sources: clicks where Aff S1 is empty.
Block sandbox conversions: conversions where External ID contains
sandbox.Block internal traffic: conversions where Adv S1 equals any of
internal,dev.Block based on click context: conversions linked to clicks where Aff S3 contains
bot.
FAQs
Can I use multiple conditions in one rule?
Yes. All conditions in a single rule must be met to block the event.
What if I need different rules for a specific offer?
Turn on the offer override. Those rules will take precedence over advertiser and global rules.
Do affiliate conditions work for direct (no-click) conversions?
They only apply when the conversion is linked to a tracked click.