In this guide
- Rakuten links carry identifiers such as
ranMID,ranEAIDandranSiteID(check the current names). - Store them on arrival and send them with the order ID, amount, currency and coupon.
- Report cancellations too, and use a unique order ID.
Rakuten Advertising runs one of the larger affiliate networks, and many retailers use it. As with other networks, the classic integration is a browser tag on the order confirmation page. As that tag meets blockers and privacy limits, advertisers add server-to-server reporting. This page explains the pattern in a way that fits a Tag Manager server container. Parameter names and endpoints change, so confirm them in Rakuten's documentation or with your account manager. See affiliate conversion tracking.
What arrives on the landing page
A Rakuten tracked link adds parameters that identify the merchant, the click and the publisher site. Their names have included ranMID, ranEAID and ranSiteID. Store the set you receive when the visitor lands, in a first-party cookie from your tagging subdomain, and keep them until the order. If your site has a multi-step checkout on another domain, carry them across.
Ask Ari instead of digging through reports
Ari reads your tracking and ad data and answers in plain words.
What to report
| Data | Notes |
|---|---|
| Merchant ID | Your Rakuten merchant identifier |
| Click parameters | The stored values from the landing page |
| Order ID | Your unique order ID |
| Items | SKU, quantity and price per item, as required |
| Currency | Three-letter code |
| Coupon | If used |
| Order total or discounts | As your programme's rules define |
Steps
Confirm the method
Ask Rakuten which server-to-server option your programme supports.
Store the click parameters
On arrival, in a first-party cookie.
Add them to the purchase event
With order and item data.
Send the server request
From a server container tag or HTTP request to Rakuten's documented endpoint.
Deduplicate
Use one order ID across the page tag and server.
Test
With a test order, checked in Rakuten's reporting.
Connected in minutes
Add your domain, install the pixel, connect your ad platforms and watch the first events land.
Cancellations and returns
Rakuten expects corrections for returned or cancelled items. Send them using the documented method, with the same order ID and the items affected. A tracking set-up that reports only sales overpays commissions.
Common problems
A realistic example
A fashion retailer on Rakuten sells mostly on phones, and a growing share of publishers' clicks arrive in app browsers. Its page tag credits fewer orders than the publishers expect. The retailer stores the tracked link parameters in a first-party cookie, adds them to the purchase event and reports from its server container using the method Rakuten documents, with a shared order ID. It also sends item-level returns so commissions are corrected. After a month, publisher disputes drop and the finance team stops chasing mismatches between network reports and its own orders. The work paid off in trust as much as in tracking quality.
Keep a short contact sheet for the programme: who at Rakuten handles technical questions, who in your team owns the tracking and where the documentation lives. Affiliate tracking problems are usually solved by one conversation with the right person, and a sheet that names them saves days. Add the date of the last test order and the result, so anyone can see when the set-up was last verified.
Orders from your store, back to the ad that earned them
Your store sends the order once. Open Tracked passes it on to each ad platform, cleaned and deduplicated.
Frequently asked questions
How do I track Rakuten sales from the server?
Store the tracked link parameters on arrival and send them with the order data from your server container, using the method Rakuten documents.
Which parameters matter?
Those Rakuten adds to links, such as ranMID, ranEAID and ranSiteID. Check the current names.
How do I avoid double counting?
Use one order ID and one primary reporting source.
How do I report returns?
With Rakuten's correction method, using the same order ID.
Where do I get exact specifications?
From Rakuten's documentation or your account manager.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
Fix your tracking at the source
Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.
The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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