Postback Conversion Status Mapping
Postback conversion status mapping is the foundation of any funnel that runs through a tracker and optimizes on a pixel. Affiliate networks, trackers, and ad platforms often name the same event differently, and if those statuses aren't reconciled into one consistent logic, the optimization algorithm ends up learning from the wrong signal. Here's how to properly map reg, dep, and qualified across all three layers.
Why separate reg, dep, and qualified
Reg marks a registration, dep marks a deposit, and qualified is the affiliate network's own confirmation that a lead or deposit passed its quality checks — not fraud, not self-deposited, above the minimum amount. Send all three to the pixel as one generic Purchase event, and the algorithm can't tell a valuable user from a random one, so it optimizes for volume instead of quality. Separating these statuses is really about what signal you feed the algorithm, not just a tidier tracker report.
What statuses affiliate networks actually send
Status naming almost never matches across networks: some use a simple reg/dep/qualified scheme, others use lead/sale/approved, and many add hold as an intermediate state before final confirmation. Some networks only fire qualified for deposits that clear their internal antifraud check, which makes it the smallest but most valuable status for optimization. Check each network's own documentation before wiring up mapping, rather than copying the logic from your last offer.
Mapping statuses inside the tracker
In the tracker (Keitaro, for instance), every incoming affiliate status gets its own internal conversion status and, ideally, its own payout value — the tracker becomes the single place where every network's different naming resolves into one clear reg/dep/qualified logic. Assign value based on actual event worth, not arbitrarily: a qualified deposit logically outweighs a plain dep if the offer specifically pays for confirmed quality. This mapping is set up once per affiliate program and doesn't need manual edits per conversion afterward.
Passing statuses through to the pixel
In FB CAPI and similar pixels, reg, dep, and qualified are worth sending as separate events — a Lead event for registration, say, and a custom valued event for a qualified deposit — rather than dumping everything into one undifferentiated Purchase. Value-based optimization on the qualified event is what actually tells the algorithm which users to look for, instead of just 'anyone who reached a deposit.' A delay between the real event and the network's confirmation (especially for qualified) is normal, but it's worth factoring into how fast a campaign is expected to learn.
Common mapping mistakes to avoid
The most common mistake is sending every status as one generic event with no value, which makes it physically impossible for the pixel to tell a cheap reg from an expensive qualified deposit. The second is ignoring hold: an event counts as a final conversion immediately, even though the network can still reject it, and the algorithm ends up retraining on deposits that never actually held. The third is reusing an old mapping for a new affiliate program without checking its actual statuses. APEX ships postbacks and S2S with ready Keitaro-to-FB-CAPI templates and more, so most of this status mapping happens once in the interface instead of by hand on every new funnel.
FAQ
- What's the difference between dep and qualified in status mapping?
- Dep is the fact of a deposit; qualified is the network's confirmation that the deposit (or lead) passed its own quality check. It doesn't fire on every conversion, but it's the most precise signal you can feed the pixel.
- Should registration (reg) be sent to the pixel as its own event?
- Usually yes — it's an earlier, more frequent event that gives the algorithm something to learn from while deposit volume is still low, which matters most in the first days of a campaign.
- How should a hold status be handled in mapping?
- Don't count it as a final conversion right away — either wait for the network's confirmation or pass hold as a separate status without full value, so the pixel doesn't retrain on deposits that end up rejected.
- Can the same mapping scheme be reused across every affiliate network?
- No — each network can use its own status terminology and logic, so mapping needs to be checked and rebuilt per network, or some conversions will get lost or double-counted.
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