Traffic filtering

Overview

Traffic filtering means redirecting traffic based on defined criteria (geo, ISP, OS, etc.) or excluding it from your reports.
This feature is helpful for those working with more complex funnels where you may have different landing pages for different locations or different offers for mobile and desktop visitors.
The ability to sort traffic by a specific criterion is critical, as some offers may not be paid due to so-called proxy users, often associated with fraud. To avoid losing reputation, it is sometimes better to filter traffic this way. In RedTrack, we offer one of the best and most expensive proxy bases, which sets us apart from similar services.

Supported filters can be viewed and applied in Campaigns → edit → Funnels → Filters → Add filter.

How filters work

RedTrack allows you to create custom filters that can be added either as pre-set templates or directly on the Campaign level.

1. Choose the method of adding a filter you want to work with:

Directly in the campaign

Pre-set template

Go to Funnels → choose the needed one (if you have multiple funnels) → Filters → choose the filter from the Add filter drop-down → choose the Type and the Value for it (type and value define how the filter works out) → Save changes:

1. Go to Tools → Filter presets → Create new preset → give it a name → choose the filter → add Type and Value (type and value define how the filter works out) → Save:

Filter by

Most of the filters are self-explanatory. That being said, some of them are specific in a way:

Filter’s name	Filter specifics
Proxy type	This filter has the following types: Anonymous Proxy protects the user’s personal information by hiding identifying information about the client’s computer. Transparent Proxy does not hide identifying information about the client’s computer (other than what is required for authentication and identification). Hosting Proxy displays the IP addresses of users on the internal network.
Subs	The sub-value you want to put inside the filter should be the same as you have received from your source of traffic with the click. If several values under the same sub are to be used, simply put them in the same field separated by a comma: Important! If you want to filter a sub with an empty value, you must put {null} in the sub value when applying the filter by Sub:
Unique path	This filter ensures that returning users are redirected through specific paths within a campaign, based on their visit history. This is particularly useful in cases where multiple offers are available in a campaign funnel (e.g., to avoid showing the same offer multiple times, or to ensure consistency). The “Unique path” filter can work in two modes: – Using it with the “Exclude” type ensures that users are shown a different path (offer) each time they visit. – Using it with the “Include” type ensures that users are consistently shown the same path (offer) they saw on their first visit. How it works: Using this filter with “Exclude” type: 1. User clicks an ad → lands on Offer 1. 2. On the next visit, the same user is redirected to a different offer (e.g., Offer 2). 3. On the third visit → Offer 3. 4. After all paths are used, the stats are reset and the cycle starts again. Using this filter with “Include” type: 1. User clicks an ad → lands on Offer 1. 2. On subsequent visits, the user is always redirected to Offer 1, as long as they’re identified as the same user. 3. Once the tracking window expires or data is reset, they may be sent to a new offer. How users are identified: RT tracks users based on a combination of their IP address + User Agent (UA) (which includes device and browser details). If both IP and UA remain the same, the system recognizes the user and applies the filter. If either the IP or UA changes (e.g., the user switches to another device or network), they will be treated as a new user and may see the same offers again. Retention window: User path history is stored for 7 days. After all paths are visited, or the 7-day window expires, the stats are reset, and path assignment starts from the beginning.

Type

Include vs Exclude

• Include type means that the page will be available for a certain group of people only.
  All the conditions should be met for the click to be sent to this funnel.

Example

Your filters are:
Filter by countries → Include → Germany
Filter by OS → Include → Windows

Result:
Your funnel will be shown only for people from Germany with Windows OS, non-matching clicks from Germany and MacOS will be redirected to another funnel or the default fallback URL (make sure you set it up). 

• Exclude type means that your offer will be shown for everyone except those values in the filters.
  Only one of the conditions can be met for the filter to be triggered.

If there are 2 or more conditions set, all of them should be met.
No matter if it is the “Include” or “Exclude” condition.

Example
Considering the click is coming from the US in all the cases below

Include: US
Exclude: sub1 – 123
https://domain.com/67dbdac1f9cbc639f88?sub1=123 – blocked/fallback
https://domain.com/67dbdac1f9cbc639f88?sub1=245 – accepted

Exclude: US
Exclude: sub1 – 123
https://domain.com/67dbdac1f9cbc639f88?sub1=245 – blocked/fallback
https://domain.com/67dbdac1f9cbc639f88?sub1=123 – blocked/fallback

Include: US
Include: sub1 – 123
https://domain.com/67dbdac1f9cbc639f88?sub1=123 – accepted
https://domain.com/67dbdac1f9cbc639f88?sub1=245 – blocked/fallback

Contains vs No contains

Contains and No contains filter types work the same way as Include/Exclude but for partial matching.

Example

If your filter is Subs → Set contains 12345, but the Subs data will have 123456 upon the click, the system will count this click with 123456 as matching the filter.

2. To apply this filter template, go to your campaign settings → Funnels → choose the needed one (if you have multiple funnels) → Filters → choose the added filter preset from the Select a preset field → Save changes to the campaign:

2. Choose the filter according to your needs.
Most of the filters are self-explanatory. That being said, some of them are specific in a way:

Some filters explained

Filter’s name	Filter specifics
Proxy type	This filter has the following types: Anonymous Proxy protects the user’s personal information by hiding identifying information about the client’s computer. Transparent Proxy does not hide identifying information about the client’s computer (other than what is required for authentication and identification). Hosting Proxy displays the IP addresses of users on the internal network.
Subs	The sub-value you want to put inside the filter should be the same as you received from your traffic source with the click. If several values under the same sub are to be used, put them in the same field separated by a comma: Important! If you want to filter a click with an empty sub value, you should put {null} instead the sub value when applying the filter by Sub:
Unique path	This filter ensures that returning users are redirected through specific paths within a campaign, based on their visit history. This is particularly useful in cases where multiple offers are available in a campaign funnel (e.g., to avoid showing the same offer multiple times, or to ensure consistency). The “Unique path” filter can work in two modes: – Using it with the “Exclude” type ensures that users are shown a different path (offer) each time they visit. – Using it with the “Include” type ensures that users are consistently shown the same path (offer) they saw on their first visit. How it works: Using this filter with “Exclude” type: 1. User clicks an ad → lands on Offer 1. 2. On the next visit, the same user is redirected to a different offer (e.g., Offer 2). 3. On the third visit → Offer 3. 4. After all paths are used, the stats are reset and the cycle starts again. Using this filter with “Include” type: 1. User clicks an ad → lands on Offer 1. 2. On subsequent visits, the user is always redirected to Offer 1, as long as they’re identified as the same user. 3. Once the tracking window expires or data is reset, they may be sent to a new offer. How users are identified: RT tracks users based on a combination of their IP address + User Agent (UA) (which includes device and browser details). If both IP and UA remain the same, the system recognizes the user and applies the filter. If either the IP or UA changes (e.g., the user switches to another device or network), they will be treated as a new user and may see the same offers again. Retention window: User path history is stored for 7 days. After all paths are visited, or the 7-day window expires, the stats are reset, and path assignment starts from the beginning.

Types of filtering

In RedTrack, we have including, excluding, contains and no contains filters.

1. Including something makes the page available only to a specific audience.

All the conditions should be met for the click to be sent to this funnel.

Example

Your filters are:
Filter by countries → Include → Germany
Filter by OS → Include → Windows

Result:
Your funnel will be shown only for people from Germany with Windows OS, non-matching clicks from Germany and MacOS will be redirected to another funnel or the default fallback URL (make sure you set it up). 

2. Excluding means your page will be shown to everyone except those who match the filter values.

Only one condition can be met for the filter to trigger.

3. Contains and No contains filter types work the same way as Include/Exclude, but for partial matching.

Example

If your filter is Subs → Contains 12345, but the Subs data will have 123456 upon click, the system will count that click as matching the filter.

Special cases and exceptions

1. If two or more conditions are set, all must be met.

2. Separate filters for different landing pages and/or offers under the same funnel can be added.
You can add as many landers and offers as you need, with different filters.

Go to Funnel templates → Create new funnel → give your funnel a name → select a type (only offer, with landing page, with pre-landing and landing page) → add the (pre)landing pages and/or offers you want to use and set the filters following the logic described above for each of the lander/offer → save the changes.

To use that funnel in the campaign, choose this funnel template in the funnels section of your target campaign.
When a template is used, you won’t see all the setup details, as they are managed in the Funnel templates section only and are applied to all the campaigns using this funnel.