Guide

Affiliate link hygiene: keep it clean, honest, and maintainable

Affiliate links can earn well — but only if they stay intact. Broken redirects, messy naming, and unclear disclosures kill both conversions and trust.

Start with structure (not tools)

A good structure makes your affiliate links readable and easy to audit. One simple convention:

  • /go/tool-name for the main offer
  • /go/tool-name-pricing for pricing pages
  • /go/tool-name-alt for alternatives/comparisons

This pairs nicely with the system in link management.

Disclosure: keep it obvious

When you do add affiliate links, put a short disclosure near the first outbound link on a page. Keep it plain language: “Some links may be affiliate links. If you buy, we may earn a commission.”

This site is being built content-first. When affiliate links are added, we’ll do it transparently.

Use safe link attributes

For affiliate links, it’s common to use rel="nofollow sponsored" on outbound links. If you open links in a new tab, include rel="noopener". 

<a href="https://merchant.com" rel="nofollow sponsored noopener" target="_blank">
  Check pricing
</a>

Don’t break attribution when updating destinations

If your affiliate network changes link formats, update the destination behind your short link — not every blog post. This is the whole point of using a stable redirect.

If you need an audit workflow, use Fix broken links.

Track performance the simple way

Start with UTMs for placement tracking (bio, hero button, comparison table) and keep a spreadsheet of your top links. Guide: UTM tracking that stays maintainable.

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