Discount-Code & Affiliate Sales Mastery · Code placement, tracking and attribution · lesson 5 of 12 · 13 min

Link and code placement that works

Placement is conversion

A buyer who's convinced but can't find your code in the moment will often buy without it — or not at all. Good placement makes the next step obvious at the point of decision.

Placement by platform and format

Instagram / Facebook feed and Reels

Code in the first lines of the caption (after disclosure).
Code on screen near the end of the video.
Pinned comment with code and link instructions.
Link in bio or link page, clearly labelled.

Stories

Link sticker plus code text on the frame.
Repeat the code on the final frame.
Save to a Highlight named after the product or "Codes" so it keeps working.

TikTok

Code on screen and in the caption.
Pinned comment.
Where available, platform shopping or link features.

YouTube

Say the code clearly, and show it on screen.
Link and code at the top of the description, with disclosure.
Pinned comment.
Chapters so buyers can jump back to the relevant section.

WhatsApp and Telegram (broadcasts, channels, communities)

Only to people who've opted in. Include disclosure, the code and a short reason it helps them.

LinkedIn (for B2B products or services)

Code or link in the post or first comment, framed professionally with disclosure.

Making codes easy

Memorable: your name plus a number (AYESHA10) beats random strings.
Unambiguous: avoid characters like O/0 and I/l confusion.
Consistent: use the same code across platforms unless tracking requires different ones.
Tested: check it works on mobile checkout before posting.

Timing and repetition

Mention the code early (for people who are already convinced) and again at the end (for people who watched to the end).
For live streams, repeat the code periodically and keep it visible.
Don't over-repeat in captions — once clearly, plus a pinned comment, is usually enough.

Link hygiene

Use the exact tracked link from the campaign; don't shorten or change it with tools that strip tracking parameters unless the programme allows.
Check links open the right product on mobile.
Label link-in-bio entries clearly: "[Brand] headset — affiliate link, I earn commission".
Replace or remove expired links and codes to avoid frustrating buyers.

Where NOT to place your code

Many programmes prohibit certain placements. Common prohibitions include:

Coupon and voucher websites, unless explicitly allowed.
Bidding on the brand's name in search ads.
Spam: mass comments on other people's posts, unsolicited DMs, group spam.
Other creators' content or the brand's own page comments.
Misleading contexts: pretending to be the brand, or posting in communities where promotion is banned.

Violating placement rules can lead to reversed commissions and removal from programmes.

Worked example

Ali, a fitness creator in Manchester with followers in the UK and Pakistan, noticed viewers asking "what was the code again?" under his reels. He now: puts the code in the first caption line after "Ad |", shows it on screen at the start and end, pins a comment with code and link, and keeps a "Codes" Highlight. Questions about the code fall away, and his tracked sales become more consistent.

Hands-on: a 20-minute placement audit

Run this on every profile once a month and before every campaign launch.

PLACEMENT AUDIT                                             done?
Instagram  caption line 1: "Ad |" + code + what it gives     [ ]
           code on screen at start and end of Reel           [ ]
           pinned comment with code + link instructions       [ ]
           "Codes" Highlight updated, expired codes removed   [ ]
           link-in-bio entry labelled "(affiliate)"           [ ]
TikTok     code on screen + caption; pinned comment           [ ]
YouTube    code + link + disclosure in first 2 lines of desc [ ]
           spoken + on-screen code; chapter "Where to buy"    [ ]
WhatsApp   posted only to opted-in channel/community          [ ]
           disclosure + code + one-line reason                [ ]
Tests      every code tried at mobile checkout today          [ ]
           every link opens the right product on mobile       [ ]
           no tracking parameters stripped by a shortener     [ ]

Hands-on: tag your own links so you know what works

Where the programme allows it (check the brief), add UTM parameters to your own tracked links, or use the platform's sub-ID field, so you can see which placement drove clicks. Do not change or remove the programme's own tracking parameters.

from urllib.parse import urlencode, urlparse, parse_qsl, urlunparse

def tag_link(tracked_url: str, source: str, medium: str, campaign: str, content: str) -> str:
    """Add UTM tags while keeping every existing parameter (the programme's tracking) intact."""
    parts = urlparse(tracked_url)
    params = dict(parse_qsl(parts.query, keep_blank_values=True))
    for key in ("utm_source", "utm_medium", "utm_campaign", "utm_content"):
        if key in params:
            raise ValueError(f"{key} already set by the programme; do not overwrite it")
    params.update({"utm_source": source, "utm_medium": medium,
                   "utm_campaign": campaign, "utm_content": content})
    return urlunparse(parts._replace(query=urlencode(params)))

print(tag_link("https://shop.example.com/p/headset?ref=hamza", "instagram", "social", "headset_launch", "pinned_comment"))
# https://shop.example.com/p/headset?ref=hamza&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=headset_launch&utm_content=pinned_comment

If the brand shares Google Analytics 4 data with you, those tags show up as session source, medium and campaign, so you can compare the pinned comment against the bio link.

Measuring placement

"What's the code?" comments per post: should fall towards zero.
Code share of attributed orders versus link share: if most sales come by code, keep the code prominent in video.
Clicks by placement (from UTM or sub-IDs): move effort towards the placements that convert.

Do and don't

Do place the code where people decide. Do keep Highlights and pinned comments updated. Do test codes and links on mobile.

Don't post codes on coupon sites or spam other accounts. Don't strip tracking parameters. Don't leave expired codes live.

Video lecture: Link and code placement that works

Lecture coming soon · 15 chapters · about 9 minutes. Read the full transcript below.

Placement that works
Why placement matters
The checkout aisle
By platform
Private channels
Easy codes
Timing and repetition
In-app shopping features
Banned placements (common)
Example 1: Ali, Manchester
Example 2 (illustrative): Riyadh creator
Watch me do it: tag and test
Link hygiene
Common mistakes
Recap + try this now

Lecture transcript

Placement that works

Here's a painful number to imagine. A viewer watches your whole review, decides to buy, opens the shop, and can't remember your code. So they buy without it. Or they give up. You did all the persuading, and someone else, or no one, gets the credit. In this lecture you'll learn where to place your code and link on each platform, how to make codes easy to use, what placements programmes ban, a twenty-minute placement audit, and how to tag your links so you know which placement actually works.

Why placement matters

Why does placement matter? Because conversion is decided in a few seconds at the point of decision. A buyer who's convinced but can't find your code in that moment often buys without it, and your attribution disappears. Good placement makes the next step obvious. It doesn't need to be pushy. It just needs to be where the buyer is looking, at the moment they're ready.

The checkout aisle

Here's the analogy. Think of a supermarket. The chocolate isn't at the back of the store. It's at the checkout, where people make last-second decisions. Your code is the same. Put it at the checkouts of your content: the first line of the caption, on screen at the end of the video, the pinned comment, the top of the description.

By platform

Platform by platform. Instagram and Facebook: the code in the first lines of the caption, right after the disclosure, on screen near the end, in a pinned comment, and a clearly labelled link in bio. Stories: a link sticker plus the code on the frame, repeated on the last frame, and saved to a Highlight called Codes. TikTok: code on screen and in the caption, plus a pinned comment. YouTube: say it, show it, and put the code and link at the top of the description with your disclosure, plus a pinned comment and a chapter called where to buy.

Private channels

And the private channels. WhatsApp and Telegram channels, broadcasts and communities: only to people who've opted in, with the disclosure, the code and one line on why it helps them. On LinkedIn, for business products, put the link or code in the post or first comment, framed professionally, with disclosure. What never works: dropping codes into groups where promotion isn't allowed, or messaging people who never asked.

Easy codes

Make codes easy. Memorable: your name plus a number, like AYESHA10, beats a random string. Unambiguous: avoid characters that look alike, like the letter O and zero, or capital I and lower-case L. Consistent: the same code everywhere, unless the programme gives you platform codes for tracking. And tested: try every code at a mobile checkout before you post. It takes thirty seconds and saves a campaign.

Timing and repetition

Timing matters as much as position. Mention the code early, for people who are already convinced and want to buy now, and again at the end, for people who watched all the way through. In a live stream, repeat it every few minutes and keep it visible as an on-screen banner, because viewers join at different times. But don't over-repeat in captions. Once, clearly, near the top, plus a pinned comment, is usually enough. Ten mentions reads as desperate, and desperation lowers trust. The aim is that anyone who is ready to buy, at any moment, can find the code in under three seconds.

In-app shopping features

Platform shopping features change the picture. Where your platform offers in-app shops or product tags, like TikTok Shop's affiliate features or product tags on Instagram in markets where they're available, the platform can track the sale itself, inside the app. That's often more reliable than a link, because the buyer never leaves. But each feature has its own eligibility rules, markets, commission terms and disclosure requirements, and availability differs between the UK, the Gulf and Pakistan. So check whether the feature is live in your market, whether the brand's programme uses it, and how it interacts with your code. Don't assume a sale through a product tag also counts for your code.

Banned placements (common)

Now, where not to place your code. Many programmes ban coupon and voucher websites, unless explicitly allowed. They ban bidding on the brand's name in search ads. They ban spam: mass comments on other people's posts, unsolicited DMs, and group spam. They ban posting in other creators' comments or on the brand's own page. And they ban misleading contexts, like pretending to be the brand. Breaking these rules usually means reversed commission and removal from the programme.

Example 1: Ali, Manchester

First example. Ali, a fitness creator in Manchester with followers in the UK and Pakistan, kept seeing the comment: what was the code again? So he changed four things. The code now sits in the first caption line after Ad. It's on screen at the start and end. A pinned comment has the code and link. And a Codes Highlight keeps it findable. The what's-the-code comments disappeared, and his tracked sales became far more consistent.

Example 2 (illustrative): Riyadh creator

Second example, a realistic business scenario with illustrative numbers. A Riyadh beauty creator tags her link separately for her bio, her Stories sticker and her pinned comment, using UTM tags the brand allows. After a month, the brand shares its analytics. Illustratively, the Stories sticker drove most clicks, but the pinned comment converted best, because people who scrolled to the comments had already decided. She moves her strongest offer wording into the pinned comment and posts Stories on launch days only. Same effort, better results.

Watch me do it: tag and test

Watch me do it. I'm tagging my tracked link for the pinned comment. The programme's link ends in question mark ref equals hamza. I must not touch that. I run the small Python helper from the lesson: it reads the existing parameters, refuses to overwrite any UTM tag the programme already set, and adds source instagram, medium social, campaign headset launch, content pinned comment. I open the result on my phone. It lands on the right product, and the ref parameter is still there. I repeat for the bio link and the Story sticker with different content values. Then I run the placement audit checklist and test the code at a mobile checkout.

Link hygiene

A little link hygiene goes a long way. Use the exact tracked link from the campaign. Don't run it through a shortener that strips tracking, unless the programme allows it. Label link-in-bio entries clearly, for example: brand headset, affiliate link, I earn commission. Check links open the right product on mobile. And remove expired links and codes promptly. Nothing frustrates a buyer more than a code that no longer works.

Common mistakes

Common mistakes. Code only at the end of a long caption. Codes that look like passwords. Codes tested on desktop but not mobile, where most of your buyers are. Leaving expired codes live in Highlights. Stripping the programme's tracking with a shortener, or overwriting its parameters. Posting codes on coupon sites or in other people's comments. And over-repeating: once clearly in the caption, plus a pinned comment, is usually enough.

Recap + try this now

Recap. Put your code at the checkouts of your content: first caption line after the disclosure, on screen, pinned comments, top of descriptions and a Codes Highlight. Make codes memorable, unambiguous, consistent and tested on mobile. Respect banned placements. And tag your own links, without touching the programme's tracking, so you learn which placement works. Try this now: run the twenty-minute placement audit from the lesson on your main profile today. Next, tracking and attribution: what the numbers really mean.

Key takeaways

Place codes at the moment of decision: first caption lines, on screen, pinned comments, Highlights.
Make codes memorable, unambiguous, consistent and tested.
Label link-in-bio entries as affiliate links.
Respect programme placement rules — no coupon sites, spam or brand-name bidding unless allowed.

Try it

Audit your profiles: add the code to pinned comments, create or update a Codes Highlight, label link-in-bio entries and test every code on mobile.