SubIDs in Commerce

What is a SubID?

A SubID is an individual campaign or domain that can be associated with a parent campaign/domain for your Sovrn Commerce integration. SubIDs allow publishers to:

Create distinct campaigns tied to individual placements
Track performance at a granular level
Support large networks of publishers or managed placements
Automatically create new campaigns within your account

What’s New (August 2025): Required Use of Fully Qualified URLs

To improve transparency, automate approvals, and meet advertiser expectations around traffic quality, Sovrn now requires all SubIDs to be encoded fully qualified URLs (e.g., ?subId=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fplacement123), rather than generic names or numeric values.

SubID FAQs

How are SubIDs generated?

SubIDs are created by sending an API call or using a properly formatted redirect link. When submitted correctly, SubIDs will be processed and appear in your Sovrn account as individual campaigns within 5–20 minutes.

Each SubID undergoes a Network Quality check, just like your original parent campaign. This ensures all placements meet Sovrn's quality standards before being monetized.

How do I get started with SubIDs?

To use SubIDs, your account must be enabled for SubID integrations. Reach out to support@sovrn.com with a brief description of your intended use.

How do I properly format a SubID creation?

Your SubID request must include a fully qualified, encoded URL. Here's the required structure:

https://redirect.viglink.com?
key=PARENT_API_KEY
&subId=ENCODED_URL_OF_PLACEMENT
&u=MERCHANT_URL

Example:

https://redirect.viglink.com?
key=abcd1234
&subId=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fplacement123
&u=https://www.macys.com

Once the formatted link is clicked or requested, the SubID will be created in your dashboard if the merchant is approved and all parameters are valid.

Can I append other parameters to a link with SubIDs?

Yes, Sovrn Commerce supports additional parameters like UTM tags or CUIDs for tracking. These can be appended to the end of your URL.

What if I’m not seeing a SubID appear?

There are a handful of reasons why you may not see a SubID appear on the platform. If it has been more than 20 minutes and the SubID is still not appearing:

Check the following:

Is your subId a properly encoded full URL?
Is your key= correct?
Is the u= parameter a supported merchant?
Has your account been enabled for SubIDs?

If everything checks out and your SubID still hasn’t appeared after 20 minutes, please contact support@sovrn.com.

How do I change the parent API key for the SubID call?

Please contact support@sovrn.com to initiate this process.

How can I monitor performance?

You can track SubID performance through:

Sovrn Dashboard: View SubIDs as separate campaigns/domains
Reporting APIs: Use the Transactions or Aggregates endpoints for deeper insights

Have other questions?

If you still have questions, please contact Sovrn Support.