iGaming campaigns lose profit fast without precise, real-time tracking. This article shows how Voluum and HilltopAds help affiliates gain full control using S2S postbacks and granular analytics. Inside, you’ll find expert tracking tips and proven tactics to optimize and scale iGaming campaigns with data.
Welcome to an exclusive Expert Talk! In this episode (recorded at the SiGMA conference in Rome), Roman, Business Developer at HilltopAds, sits down with Kamila, Managing Director of Voluum, to discuss why ad tracking is crucial for affiliates and how to leverage data for better campaign results.
You can watch the full podcast on YouTube for all the insights and examples. But if you’re looking for a concise rundown, this article highlights the key takeaways – from the importance of real‑time analytics to best practices like server‑to‑server (S2S) postbacks, and more.
Voluum is a cloud‑based ad tracking platform. With real‑time analytics, AI-powered tools, and streamlined campaign management, Voluum transforms raw data into actionable insights. Paired with HilltopAds’ premium traffic, it provides everything you need to track, optimize, and scale like a pro, all while maximizing ROI. In short, Voluum helps affiliates see what’s happening in their campaigns and make data-driven decisions to boost profits.
Launch iGaming campaigns with HilltopAds
and get high-quality traffic and a highly engaged audience.
Real‑Time Tracking: the Game Changer in Modern Affiliate Marketing
Roman kicks off HilltopAds Expert Talk by making one thing clear: real-time data is a game changer for affiliates today. In the fast-paced world of online marketing – especially in competitive verticals like iGaming – decisions need to be made quickly.
Having up-to-the-minute stats on clicks, conversions, and spend allows marketers to react and optimize on the fly. Kamila agrees that tracking is not just a nice-to-have, but a must in modern affiliate marketing. It’s the foundation of making data-driven decisions.
If you’re running campaigns across multiple traffic sources or GEOs, a tracker like Voluum centralizes all your performance data in one dashboard. This means you can spot trends or issues immediately and adjust your strategy before burning through budget.
We recommend checking out our case study on promoting an iGaming offer to the Brazilian audience with Voluum tracking integration:
As Kamila notes, “tracking conversions isn’t just best practice – it’s essential” for serious affiliates, allowing them to manage ad spend and optimize campaigns effectively.
One big advantage discussed is granularity. Voluum and similar tools let you slice data by many parameters – GEO, device, OS, browser, ad placement, time of day, and more. This granular data is incredibly valuable.
For instance, in iGaming campaigns, user behavior can vary widely by country or operator, and regulations differ by region. Being able to break down performance by each parameter helps identify exactly where a campaign is thriving or struggling.
Is a certain mobile carrier yielding poor conversion rates? Did one creative perform better in Region X than Region Y? Tracking provides these answers. Without it, you’re essentially “flying blind.”
Roman and Kamila stress that affiliates who embrace real-time tracking and analytics gain a competitive edge – they can allocate budgets to the best-performing segments and cut off the underperformers in time, squeezing the maximum ROI out of each campaign.
Moreover, real-time alerts and feedback (a feature Voluum offers) can save campaigns. For example, if a landing page goes down or an offer cap is reached, a tracker can immediately notify you or pause traffic via automated rules.
This kind of responsiveness is only possible when you have a system diligently monitoring every click and conversion as it happens.
Read also our recent article on how to increase your brand awareness:
Best Practices for Accurate Tracking: S2S VS Pixel
One of the fundamental topics covered in the podcast is how to track conversions accurately. Roman asks Kamila to explain the two main methods affiliates use: pixel tracking (client-side) and postback tracking (server-to-server).
Kamila’s advice is clear – whenever possible, use server‑to‑server (S2S) postback tracking instead of simple pixels. Why? Because S2S postbacks are far more reliable and precise.
Unlike a browser pixel that can fail to load or get blocked, a postback sends conversion data directly from the advertiser’s server to the tracker, bypassing the user’s browser and any cookie limitations. This means even if a user has an ad blocker or if a browser like Safari blocks third-party cookies, your conversions will still be recorded.
Read our real-life case study on launching an iGaming campaign:
In fact, postback tracking can achieve near 100% accuracy, whereas pixel tracking can miss up to 20% of conversions due to browser issues. The difference is huge – imagine losing 1 in 5 sales because a tracking pixel didn’t fire!
Kamila points out that pixel/cookie tracking is increasingly unreliable in today’s privacy-first web. Many browsers restrict cookies, and mobile apps don’t support browser cookies at all, which makes pixel tracking inadequate for mobile offers.
“Pixels depend on the user’s browser environment, so they often don’t capture all your data,” she explains. A user might click an ad and convert, but if they closed the page too quickly or used a browser with strict tracking prevention, your pixel might never report that conversion.
On the other hand, S2S postbacks operate backend-to-backend, immune to those issues. The bottom line: if you have the option (and with Voluum and HilltopAds you certainly do), implement postback tracking for your campaigns.
It may require a bit more technical setup initially (generating a postback URL with the correct tokens and placing it with the advertiser or network), but the effort is worth it for the accuracy and completeness of your data.
As one industry source puts it, postback tracking works through direct server communication, making it immune to ad blockers, cookie restrictions, and browser privacy settings. In short, server-side tracking ensures you’re not “in the dark” when pixels fail.
Buy iGaming traffic with HilltopAds
and reach an engaged audience from 250+ countries.
Key Tracking Tips
In the podcast, the experts enumerate a couple of best practices for accurate tracking:
Always use unique click IDs and pass them through to the conversion event
This is the mechanism by which postbacks match clicks to conversions. Voluum automatically handles click IDs and provides a postback URL template for HilltopAds, making it straightforward to set up. Using unique IDs for each click ensures you can attribute every sale to the correct source/ad.
Double-check your tracking links and parameters
Roman and Kamila recommend verifying that all the necessary macros (tokens) are in place. For example, when connecting HilltopAds with Voluum, you’d include macros for campaign ID, creative ID, zone (placement) ID, etc., in your URL so that all those details get captured in Voluum reports. Missing parameters mean missing pieces in your analysis puzzle.
Test your tracking after setup
Simulate a conversion or use test URLs to see if the data goes through. Both speakers stress not to launch big campaigns until you’re confident the tracking is firing correctly. It’s better to catch mistakes early with a quick test than to realize later that you’ve spent budget with no data collected.
By following these practices – favoring postbacks over pixels, using proper tracking parameters, and testing your setup – you set a strong foundation for trustworthy campaign data.
Read our latest article featuring the 2026 sports events calendar:
Leveraging Granular Data to Optimize and Scale Campaigns
Collecting data is only half the battle – the real magic lies in analyzing that data and acting on it. Roman and Kamila dive into how affiliates can turn tracking data into tangible optimizations and higher ROI. Kamila suggests approaching it like answering a series of “basic questions” about your campaign’s performance.
For instance: Which traffic source is yielding the highest conversion rate? What times of day see the best user engagement? Which GEOs or carriers provide the most value? Are certain creatives or landing pages outperforming others? With a robust tracker, you can get answers to all of these.
Identify winning and losing elements
The first step is to pinpoint what’s working and what isn’t. Kamila recommends looking at your conversion rate (CR) and cost per conversion broken down by different segments. Maybe you discover that Country A has a great CR and low cost, while Country B is draining budget with few conversions.
That’s an insight to act on – you could reallocate more budget to Country A or pause Country B to improve overall ROI. Likewise, if one publisher zone or site ID is yielding a negative ROI, you can blacklist it, and if another is highly profitable, you can whitelist or increase bids on it. These micro-optimizations, multiplied across dozens of campaigns, significantly boost your bottom line.
Track the whole funnel
Another insight from the talk is not to stop at tracking just the final conversion. Successful affiliates measure as much of the funnel as possible. For example, Voluum allows setting up tracking for intermediate steps like landing page clicks or form sign-ups (micro-conversions).
Why does this matter? Because if you see a lot of clicks but few conversions, the problem might be after the click (e.g. the landing page or offer). Conversely, if hardly anyone clicks your CTA on the landing page, that page might need tweaking.
Tracking each stage – impression → click → landing page → conversion – gives a full-funnel view, so you know exactly where the drop-off occurs. As Kamila notes, having this granular visibility lets you optimize each stage rather than guessing. Perhaps you find that a particular landing page yields a 10% higher signup rate – you’d prioritize funnel paths toward that page to maximize overall conversions.
Use automation and AI (wisely)
Roman brings up that modern trackers like Voluum come with automation features. Kamila explains that automation rules can be a great ally once you’ve identified patterns. For example, you can set rules to automatically pause any ad or placement that spends a certain amount without converting, or conversely, increase budget for segments that exceed a desired ROI. Voluum’s AI-powered Traffic Distribution can even auto-rotate traffic towards best-performing offers or landing pages.
Kamila
Managing Director of Voluum
website: voluum.com
Marketers should “trust but verify” – use automation to save time, but still keep an eye on performance. The human touch in interpreting data is important; algorithms assist, but you set the strategy.
Budget optimization
A topic Roman is keen on is budget allocation for testing vs. scaling. The speakers suggest a balanced approach. When testing a new offer or traffic source, set aside a reasonable test budget – enough to gather meaningful data (they often mention not to judge an offer until you have at least a few conversions or a few thousand impressions worth of data).
Kamila advises new affiliates to treat data as an investment. The money spent on testing is buying you data; with a tracker, that data is incredibly actionable. Once you identify a promising combination (say, Offer X + Traffic Source Y + Creative Z works well), then you scale up budget on that “winning” combo – confidently, because your tracking data supports the decision.
This methodical testing and scaling cycle is what turns a modest campaign into a highly profitable one over time.
Launch ad campaigns with HilltopAds and get
- Advanced targeting options
- Direct traffic sources
- Self-serve platform
- Fully-managed service
- Postback tracking
The Bottom Line on Tracking
For Kamila, the key message is simple: if you are not tracking, you are not really marketing. No amount of experience or intuition can replace real performance data. She urges both beginners and advanced media buyers to adopt a tracking-first mindset: define your KPIs before launching a campaign, make sure they are tracked correctly, and regularly review your reports. Small insights in the data can lead to big wins, like spotting a device type or placement that converts far better than the rest.
As Kamila says, “Tracking is the source of truth. It tells you what works and what does not.” Affiliates who listen to their data can adjust strategy faster, test new angles, and grab opportunities earlier, while those who fly blind or rely only on platform stats risk overspending and underperforming.
There is also a clear synergy between Voluum’s tracking and HilltopAds’ traffic. Pairing a strong traffic source with a powerful tracker creates a loop for growth: quality traffic → detailed tracking → smart optimizations → better results. HilltopAds brings the opportunities, Voluum measures and refines them.
This is why it is worth investing time into your tracking setup and analysis. Data-driven optimization sits at the heart of profitable affiliate marketing. Use the tips from HilltopAds and Voluum to audit your campaigns, implement S2S postbacks, track every meaningful metric, and keep refining your approach.
Kamila
Managing Director of Voluum
At the end of the day, success in affiliate marketing comes down to understanding your data. The winners are those who track diligently and act on what the data tells them. If you have that setup – a good tracker and a willingness to optimize – then scaling up becomes not only possible, but sustainable.
Watch the full podcast for more examples and detailed discussion, and stay tuned for future Expert Talks where we explore other facets of digital marketing with industry leaders. Happy tracking and happy scaling!