Creating affiliate links

Use this guide to turn ordinary product URLs into revenue-generating affiliate links.

AI Helper: Generate Your Deeplink Automatically

You can now our specialized GPT assistant to generate correct Deeplink templates.

👉 Open Deeplink Setup GPT

Simply:

1. Paste your sample affiliate link(s) from your network dashboard.

2. The assistant will detect your format and build a proper Deeplink template for External Importer.

3. Copy the suggested template into your Deeplink Settings.

1. Start with Clean, Direct URLs

Import products without any affiliate parameters. External Importer will handle the tracking bits later.

Tip: You don’t have to join affiliate programs up front. Your site will work fine with direct links; you can add monetization once you’re approved by an advertiser or network.

2. Add New Domains

1. Automatic – Every time you import a product from a new domain, that domain is added to External Importer → Settings → Deeplinks.

2. Manual – To add merchant domains manually, go to the same page and enter them yourself.

3. Choose a Link-Building Method

Affiliate programs fall into two broad categories. Configure each domain accordingly:

Method	Used by	How It Works	What You Configure
A. Deeplink (redirect)	Most affiliate networks (Admitad, AWIN, Impact, etc.)	Visitor hits the network’s tracking URL → network records the click → visitor is redirected to the product	A single Deeplink template
B. Affiliate-ID parameter	Direct programs (Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network, etc.)	Your unique ID is appended to the product URL; no extra redirect	The parameter name (e.g., tag=) and your affiliate ID

4. Set Up Deeplinks (Redirect Method)

1. Generate a valid affiliate link for any non-homepage product in your network panel.

   

   Example:

   https://ad.admitad.com/g/383ee6455773fd57830a7d95a12660/?ulp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lightinthebox.com%2Fen%2Fp%2Fkids-girls-rainbow-dress-purple_p7923807.html

2. Replace the encoded product part with the template token:

   https://ad.admitad.com/g/383ee6455773fd57830a7d95a12660/?ulp={{url_encoded}}

3. Paste this template into Deeplink for the corresponding domain.

   

Template tokens you can use

Token	Replaced with
{{url_encoded}}	Percent-encoded product URL
{{url}}	Plain (unencoded) product URL
{{post_id}}, {{author_id}}, {{author_login}}	Useful sub-IDs for tracking clicks

Verify: Refresh a product page on your site, click its button, and confirm the redirect lands on the correct product page.

5. Set Up Affiliate-ID Parameters (Direct Method)

Some affiliate programs—like Amazon Associates—don’t use redirects. Instead, they rely on a tracking parameter directly in the product URL.

Correct Setup (Example: Amazon)

Affiliate link example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XKF5RM3/?tag=yourtag-20

Breakdown:

• Parameter name: tag=

• Affiliate ID: yourtag-20

In Deeplinks settings for Amazon (or any similar domain):

Enter the full parameter:

tag=yourtag-20

This includes both:

• The parameter name (tag=)

• Your unique ID (yourtag-20)

External Importer will automatically insert it into the correct place in all product URLs from that domain.

Common Mistakes (Don't Do This)

The following inputs are incorrect or discouraged:

Incorrect Input	Why it’s wrong
yourtag-20	❌ Missing parameter name
?tag=yourtag-20	❌ Do not include ? — it will be added automatically if needed
&tag=yourtag-20	❌ Do not include & — External Importer handles it

Even though External Importer may try to correct these, always use the clean param=value format for best results.

6. Edit Anytime, Track Instantly

External Importer rewrites links on the fly. Change your Deeplink or ID settings whenever you:

• Switch affiliate networks

• Update to a new tracking ID

After each change, check your network’s reporting panel to ensure clicks are being registered.