If you notice that a Visitor Hash is being generated for every customer in your shop system, don't worry — this is not a bug and not a sign of overtracking. This article explains what the Visitor Hash actually is, when a sale is genuinely attributed to an affiliate, and how you can verify this yourself in just a few seconds.

What is the Visitor Hash?

The Visitor Hash (also referred to as Visitor ID or Visitor Cookie) is a technical identifier that is automatically generated as soon as a visitor lands on your website — regardless of whether they arrived via an affiliate link or not. The tracking code loads in the background and creates this hash as a kind of anonymous fingerprint for the user's browser session.

Does a Visitor Hash mean it's an affiliate sale?

No. A Visitor Hash alone says nothing about whether a purchase will be attributed to an affiliate. The hash is purely technical — think of it like an empty drawer: it exists, but nothing has been assigned to it yet.

When is a purchase actually counted as an affiliate sale?

For a sale to be validly attributed to a publisher, at least one of the following three conditions must be met:

1. The customer clicked on an affiliate link containing the correct parameters — at minimum a_aid={Partner_Id} and a_cid={partnerprogramm_id}. Only this click creates a connection between the Visitor Hash and a specific publisher.
2. The customer redeems a coupon code at checkout that has been assigned and released to a publisher in selecdoo.
3. A lifetime commission connection already exists between the customer number and a publisher, established through a previous valid affiliate sale.

If none of these three conditions are met, the purchase will not be recorded as an affiliate sale — even if a Visitor Hash exists.

Why is the Visitor Hash generated for every visitor then?

The Visitor Hash serves two important technical purposes. First, it acts as a fallback for the API: if a visitor enters the shop without an affiliate link and later — within the same session or on a return visit — clicks an affiliate link, the system can correctly attribute the click thanks to the hash that already exists. This ensures no valid sale is lost.

Second, it is the technical foundation for lifetime tracking: in order to assign a customer to a publisher on a long-term basis, the system needs this persistent identifier. But the same rule applies here — the connection is only created once a valid affiliate relationship has been established first.

How can I verify this myself?

Take any Order ID from your shop that you know for certain is not an affiliate sale and search for it in selecdoo — you won't find it. That's your proof: no entry in selecdoo means no affiliate sale.

Alternatively, you can run a test order at any time. Important: delete all cookies beforehand or open an incognito window, navigate to your shop without using an affiliate link, complete a purchase — without a coupon and without an existing lifetime connection — and then search for the Order ID in selecdoo. It will not appear.

How can I make the Visitor Hash only be created on an affiliate click?

By integrating the tracking through Google Tag Manager. In this case, the Visitor Hash will no longer be generated on every page visit, but only when a visitor actually clicks an affiliate link containing the correct parameters.

Important: this setup has one significant consequence. Since the Visitor Hash no longer exists in advance for every visitor, the system cannot automatically assign returning customers to a publisher at a later point in time. The lifetime commission option is lost as a result, because the technical foundation for the long-term link between a customer number and a publisher is missing.

Summary

Every shop visitor automatically receives a Visitor Hash — this is technically necessary and completely normal. This hash is only linked to a publisher when the visitor clicks an affiliate link, redeems a partner coupon, or activates an existing lifetime connection. Without one of these three conditions, the purchase will not appear as an affiliate sale in selecdoo and will therefore not be compensated or invoiced.