What Is Dub? Link Attribution, Short Links, and Affiliate Tracking Explained

Dub is a link attribution platform that combines short links, conversion analytics, and affiliate program management in one product. It fits teams that already drive traffic through links and need to connect those clicks to leads, sales, and partner payouts — rather than tracking clicks in one tool and revenue in another.

The core idea is stated on the site as "Turn clicks into revenue": a link is the starting point, and attribution is what turns it into a measurable outcome.

The three capabilities Dub unifies

Dub's product page groups its offering into three areas, each solving a different part of the same problem.

Short links

Create and manage short links at scale, with advanced features, folders, and role-based access control. The site lists these link-level capabilities:

• Branded short links on custom domains
• Built-in QR codes, generated automatically with each short link
• Device and geo-targeting
• A/B testing
• Deep links
• Link expiration, link cloaking, password protection, and custom previews
• Tags, UTM builder, and folders
• Webhooks

Dub claims custom domains can boost click-through rates by 30%, and presents that as a benefit of matching links to your brand rather than as a guaranteed result.

Conversion analytics

Dub describes a "powerful attribution engine" for understanding how marketing drives revenue. The homepage example shows a link (acme.link) with clicks, leads, and sales figures alongside a revenue number, plus a contact record with lifetime value, account type, and subscription duration. That is the shape of the output: link-level traffic joined to downstream conversion and revenue data.

Affiliate programs

Dub positions this as an "all-in-one partner management platform for building profitable affiliate and referral programs." The homepage shows a partner table with per-partner revenue and payouts, which is the practical view an affiliate manager needs: who generated revenue, and what they are owed.

How the pieces connect

The value is in the chain, not any single feature:

1. A click arrives through a Dub short link.
2. Attribution ties that click to a lead or sale.
3. For affiliate traffic, the same conversion is credited to the partner who drove it, producing a payout figure.

If you only need shorter URLs, a basic shortener is enough. Dub becomes relevant when you need the click-to-revenue link, or when affiliate payouts must be calculated from tracked conversions.

Who it is for

Based on the site's own framing, Dub targets:

• Marketing teams measuring which channels and links produce revenue
• Growth and startup teams running referral or affiliate programs
• Teams managing many links who need folders and role-based access control

The site also references an Enterprise offering and a Startup Program, and shows a "Start for free" and "Get a demo" path. Pricing details are not specified in the available material, so check the pricing page directly before assuming a plan structure or cost.

Practical checks before adopting it

• Domain setup: Using a custom short-link domain requires DNS records. The site shows A and CNAME record configuration, and marks a domain as "Pending" until records are verified — so plan for a DNS step, not just a settings toggle.
• Attribution scope: Confirm the attribution engine covers the conversion events you care about, since that is the feature the whole product is built around.
• Affiliate fit: If partner payouts are a requirement, verify the partner management and payout views match how you actually pay partners.
• Access control: Role-based access control matters if multiple people or teams will manage links.

Bottom line

Dub is best understood as one system for three jobs that are usually split across tools: creating links, attributing conversions, and managing affiliate partners. Choose it if connecting clicks to revenue — and to partner payouts — is the problem you are solving. If you only need short URLs, the extra capability is likely more than you need.