An affiliate link is an ordinary web address with a tracking code attached — when someone clicks it and buys, you earn a commission. Here is how they work, how to create and track one, and how to stop losing commission on international clicks.
An affiliate link is a normal link to a product or page, with a small tracking code added that says “this visitor came from me.” It usually looks like a store URL ending in something like ?tag=yourid, or a network redirect with your ID inside it. The page it opens is the same one everyone sees — the code is the only thing that changes.
When someone clicks your affiliate link and buys within the program’s cookie window, the retailer sees your code and pays you a commission. You earn nothing extra from the buyer; the retailer shares a slice of the sale for sending them a customer. That is the whole model — the link is just how the credit gets attributed.
Four steps, from click to commission.
A tagged link in a post, video description, email or bio — carrying your unique tracking code.
When someone clicks, the retailer stores a cookie that remembers you referred them, for a set window.
If they purchase within that window, the sale is attributed to your code.
The retailer pays you a percentage of the sale. No extra cost to the buyer.
Already have an affiliate link? Paste it to get a short, clean, trackable version — and route international clicks to the right store.
Paste a link, add the redirection rules you need, and get a short link — free.
Sign up for the retailer or network you want to promote — Amazon Associates, or a program on Impact, CJ, Rakuten or Partnerize — and wait for approval.
Open the exact product, category or landing page on the retailer’s site. The more specific the page, the better it converts.
Use the program’s link tool (or a generator) to turn that URL into a link carrying your tracking ID. This is the affiliate link.
A raw affiliate link is long and leaks your tracking parameters. Shorten it so it looks clean, and — if your audience is international — route each click to their local store so the sale still counts.
Promoting Amazon? Our free Amazon affiliate link generator builds a correctly tagged link for any of the 20 Amazon marketplaces — and our disclosure generator writes the compliance line you need to post alongside it.
An affiliate link usually points at one country’s store. When a reader abroad clicks a US link, they often land on a page that can’t ship to them — and the sale, and your commission, is gone. A Geo-Smart-Link fixes that: one short affiliate link that sends each visitor to their own local store, tag intact, and tells you what happened.
US → amazon.com, UK → amazon.co.uk, each with your tag.
A tidy gsl.li link instead of a long, parameter-heavy URL.
Clicks by country, device and source — the data networks hide.
Shorten them, route international clicks to the right store, and see which content actually drives sales. Free to start.
Build a correctly tagged Amazon link for any of the 20 marketplaces, free.
Open pageSend each reader to their local Amazon store so international clicks still pay.
Open pageWrite the FTC-compliant disclosure line to post alongside your affiliate links.
Open page