Buzzbassador can attribute a sale to a member in five different ways, depending on how the program is set up and how the customer arrives at checkout. Understanding the differences matters for choosing the right setup for each program and for troubleshooting why an order was or wasn't credited.
The five methods
Referral code only
The member shares just their referral code (e.g., SARAH15). The customer types it into the discount field at checkout. Attribution depends entirely on the code being applied to the order at checkout.
Referral code link
A clean URL that auto-applies the member's referral code, in the format yourstore.com/discount/SARAH15. When clicked, the customer is taken to your store with the code already in their cart. Attribution depends on the code staying applied at checkout. There is no cookie fallback.
UTM-only link
A URL with UTM and buzz_ref parameters, but no discount in the path. The format is yourstore.com?utm_source=buzzbassador&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=[program]&buzz_ref=[unique-token]. No discount is applied to the customer. Attribution is tracked via a tracking cookie set on click and persists even if the customer enters a different (non-Buzzbassador) code at checkout.
UTM link with auto-applied code.
Combines the previous two methods: the URL includes both the discount path and the UTM parameters, in the format yourstore.com/discount/SARAH15?utm_source=buzzbassador&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=[program]&buzz_ref=[unique-token]. The code is auto-applied to the cart AND a tracking cookie is set. Attribution survives even if the customer removes the code at checkout, because the cookie still credits the member.
BuzzLinks
A URL that looks like a UTM-only link, but on click, a popup offers the customer a unique, one-time discount code. The tracking cookie is set on click. Attribution happens via cookie regardless of whether the customer accepts the code from the popup, dismisses the popup, or removes the code at checkout.
Which method wins when more than one is in play
Customers don't always take a single clean path to checkout. Three rules decide who gets credit:
1. A manually entered referral code at checkout always wins.
If the customer types a referral code into the discount field at checkout, that member gets the sale, regardless of which link was clicked or which cookie is set.
2. The most recent affiliate link click sets the cookie.
If a customer clicks Member A's link, then clicks Member B's link, only Member B's cookie is active. Member B gets the sale (unless a manual code overrides it per rule 1).
3. For the Referral code only and Referral code link methods, the code must remain applied at checkout for any attribution to happen.
If the customer removes the auto-applied code or never enters it, no member is credited. There is no cookie fallback for these two methods.
Limitations of cookie-based tracking
Three of the five methods (UTM-only link, UTM link with auto-applied code, and BuzzLinks) rely on cookies for attribution. Cookie-based tracking is reliable for the standard customer journey, but every UTM-based affiliate system on the web has the same trade-offs:
Cookies disabled or blocked.
If the customer's browser blocks third-party cookies (or all cookies), no cookie attribution will be recorded.
Different browser
If the customer clicks the link in Chrome but checks out in Safari (or in incognito mode, or in any other browser), the cookie won't follow.
Different device
If the customer clicks the link on their phone but checks out on their laptop, the cookie won't follow.
Cookie expiration
If the customer waits longer than the cookie duration set on the program (default: 30 days), the cookie expires and tracking is dropped.
In any of these scenarios, the sale will go through at full price (or with whatever code the customer enters at checkout) but won't be attributed to the original member. The Referral code only and Referral code link methods don't rely on cookies and aren't affected by these limitations, but they do require the customer to actually use the code at checkout for attribution to work.
Notes:
Each program tier can be configured to use a different attribution method, so you can run multiple methods at once across your programs.
Once a sale is attributed, whether a reward is generated depends separately on the program's Rewards setting.
If a customer's browser, device, or timing prevents a cookie from carrying through, no attribution will happen for the cookie-based methods, but the order itself still goes through normally.