If you're getting into affiliate marketing and want to keep your links organized while taking steps to grow your affiliate revenue, you’ve landed in the right place. Today, I’m sharing my top strategies for tracking affiliate links, keeping them organized, and ensuring you never miss out on potential earnings. So, let’s get started and make your affiliate marketing journey a whole lot smoother.
Why Tracking Affiliate Links is Crucial
First things first, let’s talk about why tracking affiliate links is so important. If you’re serious about affiliate marketing, you need to know which links are performing well and which ones need some love. Tracking your links helps you understand what’s working, where to focus your efforts, and how to optimize your strategies to boost your earnings.
Plus, it saves you from the chaos of unorganized links and missed opportunities when you need to grab an affiliate link fast.
So, how do you track affiliate links effectively? Let’s talk tools and techniques that make this easy-peasy.
Using Airtable for Affiliate Link Tracking
Airtable is my go-to tool for tracking and organizing affiliate links. It’s like a supercharged spreadsheet that’s easy to use and incredibly powerful.
Here’s how you can set up Airtable to keep your affiliate links in check:
1. Creating a Base: Start by setting up a base in Airtable specifically for your affiliate links. This will be your hub for all things affiliate.
2. Customizing Fields: Add fields for the affiliate link URLs, descriptions, performance metrics, and tags. You can customize it to track clicks, conversions, and any other data you find useful, if you wanna get super advanced.
3. Automating Updates: Use Airtable’s automation features to keep your data up-to-date. This could be setting reminders for link checks or automating data import from other sources.
I personally use Airtable for a lot of things, and using it to manage my affiliate links has been super helpful for me. It helps me stay organized and provides a clear overview of my affiliate marketing performance.
Pretty Links for WordPress Users
For my WordPress users, Pretty Links is a fantastic resource. It’s perfect for creating branded affiliate links and keeping them all in one place. While I use Airtable to keep my links organized, I still also use Pretty Links for the custom URLs, too.
For example, this is my affiliate link for one of my all-time fave tech tools that has made me thousands of dollars:
https://detailstodama–sslcheckout.thrivecart.com/cb-lifetime/?ref=tcts-blog
But if I needed that in a pinch, there’s no way I’d remember all those characters! So this is my branded (PrettyLink), pointing to that same product:
So much easier to remember and share!
Here’s how you can get started with Pretty Links:
1. Installation and Setup: Install the Pretty Links plugin on your WordPress site and set it up. It’s straightforward and quick.
2. Creating Branded Links: With Pretty Links, you can create easy-to-remember, branded affiliate links that look professional.
3. Organizing Links: Keep all your links organized within Pretty Links, making it simple to manage and track their performance.
Pretty Links serves as excellent affiliate tracking software, providing you with the tools you need to manage and monitor your affiliate links effectively. This is a paid tool, but I used the free version for YEARS. It may not seem terribly obvious when you sign up and install the plugin, but you don’t need to upgrade to paid. Free worked well for a long time for me.
Bookmark Affiliate Login Pages
While Thrivecart and Samcart are my favorite affiliate platforms to use, if you’re like me, you probably have a dozen different affiliate portals you log into, like GetRewardful, PartnertStack, Impact, GoAffPro, and so many more. I often forget who uses which program and how to access it. This is especially annoying when you need to know a specific url that contains the program’s name, like is true for programs hosted in GoAffPro.
Make it easy for yourself with this tip: create a folder in your bookmarks (or in your bookmark toolbar) just for affiliate program logins. I’m usually careful to rename the link with the brand AND platform, like:
Aff Portal – Tara Reid | Thrivecart
Tagging Affiliate Updates and Links in Gmail
Here’s a nifty trick for you: tag any email that has your affiliate link in Gmail so you can easily find it later. I also like to use that tag when an affiliate program manager/owner sends out updates about upcoming affiliate promotions, prizes, campaigns, or program changes.
Here’s how:
- Tagging Links: Create tags in Gmail for different sellers or products.
- Organizing Tags: Use a consistent tagging structure to keep everything neat and tidy.
This method helps you quickly access your affiliate links whenever you need them, without sifting through a cluttered inbox.
Tips for Effective Affiliate Link Management
Staying organized is key to successful affiliate marketing. Here are some additional tips to help you manage your links:
- Consistent Naming Conventions: Use consistent names for your links to easily identify them.
- Regular Updates and Checks: Regularly check your links to ensure they are working and up-to-date.
- Using Analytics: Don’t skip checking your link performance data to optimize your affiliate marketing strategy. Tools like an affiliate link checker can help monitor your links and ensure they remain active.
Bonus Strategies for Boosting Affiliate Sales
While we’re on the topic of affiliate marketing, let me share a couple of bonus strategies to boost your sales:
Four by For Footers:
This is my secret weapon for making extra affiliate sales from every email I send. By adding strategic links to the footer of each email, you can drive traffic to your affiliate offers consistently. Learn more about this strategy inside Four by For Footers.
Pay Your Pals:
If you’re looking to create and set up your own affiliate program in Thrivecart, check out my Pay Your Pals program. It’s designed to make the process smooth and efficient, helping you get your affiliate program up and running in no time. Get all the details here!
Income Booster Workshop Bundle for Service Providers:
If you’re a service provider looking to add extra income streams, my Income Booster Workshop Bundle is for you. It’s packed with strategies and tips to help you boost your income without taking on more clients. Check it out here!
Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, tracking and organizing your affiliate links doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With tools like Airtable and Pretty Links, and strategies like tagging in Gmail, you can stay on top of your affiliate marketing game.
Implement these strategies to streamline your affiliate link management and boost your earnings. Start organizing your affiliate links today and maximize your affiliate marketing success!
