Promo-code attribution explained

The two models side by side

• Credit trigger

  Click-based

  Tracked click, then purchase inside the window

  Code-based

  Code entered at checkout

• Typical window

  Click-based

  Hours to 30 days depending on program; TikTok Shop attribution runs on last-click with short windows

  Code-based

  As long as the code is active

• Device switching

  Click-based

  Usually breaks credit

  Code-based

  Survives it

• Competing creators

  Click-based

  Last click wins

  Code-based

  Whoever's code is used wins

• Failure mode

  Click-based

  Expired window, blocked cookies, lost parameters

  Code-based

  Coupon-site leakage, shared codes, typos

Leakage, the honest downside of codes

A code is credit anyone can spend. When an aggregator site republishes it, redemptions arrive that your content never caused, and programs handle this differently: some pay you anyway, some strip aggregator-path redemptions, some kill the code. Ask the rule before it matters. Affiliate networks issue unique per-partner codes precisely so the right partner gets credit; uniqueness is also your protection.

What this means for reading your own numbers

• Your copy counts approximate intended redemptions from your audience; the brand's redemption count includes leakage. A widening gap between the two is your early leak detector.
• Under last-click link attribution, your best content can lose credit to a coupon browser extension firing at checkout; commissionable codes are immune to that particular theft.
• Never present either model's numbers as the other: clicks are not codes, copies are not sales, and your brand reports should keep the columns separate.