[Beta] Choose attribution parameters for landing page URLs

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At a glance: Use consistent, complete URL parameters in your website landing page links to get the best campaign granularity while maintaining accurate attribution in AppsFlyer Web Attribution.

About URL attribution parameter classes

AppsFlyer reads campaign parameters from your landing page URL (the link a user clicks) and uses them to attribute sessions and events to the correct media source, campaign, and (when available) deeper hierarchy such as ad set and ad.

The parameters that you include determine the measurement results of your campaign. In other words, the same landing page can produce very different results depending on which parameters you include.

The URL parameters can belong to one of two classes: PID and UTM.

  • The PID class includes the AppsFlyer URL parameters.
  • The UTM class includes the standard UTM parameters.

For more information about how AppsFlyer Web Attribution processes URL parameters, see About traffic source resolution.

Supported PID and UTM parameters

AppsFlyer Web Attribution supports the following parameters.

# Parameter Used for Parameter class Available in the dashboard Raw data field
1 pid Media source PID Yes media_source
2 c Campaign name PID Yes campaign_name
3 af_c_id Campaign ID PID Yes campaign_id
4 af_adset Ad set name PID Yes adset_name
5 af_adset_id Ad set ID PID Yes adset_id
6 af_ad Ad name PID Yes ad_name
7 af_ad_id Ad ID PID Yes ad_id
8 utm_source Media source UTM Yes media_source
9 utm_medium Media type UTM No media_type
10 utm_campaign Campaign name UTM Yes campaign_name

Choose the right attribution parameters

AppsFlyer evaluates URL parameters independently for each reporting field (such as Media Source or Campaign) using a specific priority waterfall. This approach allows you to support AppsFlyer attribution alongside other tools, such as Google Analytics, by using both the PID class (AppsFlyer-native) and the UTM class (standard marketing) in the same URL.

AppsFlyer Web Attribution checks the priority order for each field individually. If a parameter from the higher-priority PID class is not present for a specific attribute, the system automatically falls back to the corresponding parameter in the UTM class to determine the correct value for that field.

Scenario A. URL with PID class only (AppsFlyer reporting)

Use the PID class when AppsFlyer reporting is your primary goal.

Example


www.website.com?pid=facebook_int&c={{campaign.name}}&af_c_id={{campaign.id}}

Result: AppsFlyer identifies the media source using pid and the campaign using c.

Scenario B. URL with UTM class only (fallback)

If pid is missing, AppsFlyer falls back to the UTM class.

Example

 
 www.website.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}

Result: AppsFlyer identifies the media source using utm_source and the campaign using utm_campaign.

Scenario C. URL with both PID and UTM classes

AppsFlyer allows you to include parameters from different classes (e.g., PID and UTM) within the same URL. This is useful when you need to support AppsFlyer attribution alongside other analytics tools, such as Google Analytics or internal measurement systems.

AppsFlyer processes attribution fields, such as Media Source and Campaign, independently. For each specific field, the system follows a priority waterfall to determine which value to record. Generally, the PID class takes precedence over the UTM class for that specific field.

Example 1: Overlapping parameters


www.website.com?pid=facebook_ads&c=summer_sale&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=seasonal_promo
  • Media Source: AppsFlyer detects both pid and utm_source. Following the priority waterfall for this field, it records facebook_ads.
  • Campaign: AppsFlyer detects both c and utm_campaign. Following the priority waterfall for this field, it records summer_sale.
  • Result: AppsFlyer uses the higher-priority PID class values, while external tools can still read the UTM values.

Example 2: Mixed parameter classes


www.website.com?utm_source=facebook&c=summer_sale
  • Media Source: AppsFlyer detects utm_source. Since no PID class equivalent (pid) is present, it records facebook from the UTM class.
  • Campaign: AppsFlyer detects c. Since no UTM class equivalent (utm_campaign) is present, it records summer_sale from the PID class.
  • Result: AppsFlyer successfully attributes the event using values from both classes because each field is resolved independently.

Other Best Practices

Keep parameter values in a consistent case

Parameter values are case-sensitive. For example, utm_source=channel1 and utm_source=CHANNEL1 are treated as different media sources.

Best practice: Define a casing convention (lowercase is common) and apply it across all URLs.

Use question marks only once

Rules:

  • Use only one question mark (?) before the query parameters in the URL.
  • Don’t use additional question marks in the URL.

Correct:

  • www.website.com?parameters

Incorrect:

  • www.website.com??parameters
  • www.website.com?parameter1?parameter2

Don’t use anchor signs (#)

Don’t use anchor signs (#) in the URL.

Why: parameters after # may not load and may not be recorded by the web SDK.