Definition

Deep link decay

Deep link decay is when an affiliate deep link stops reaching its specific target page and instead lands on a homepage, category page, or search results — usually because the product was discontinued or the site restructured. Tracking often still works; conversion collapses.

Decay is the stealthiest major failure mode because every component reports success: the link redirects, the site loads, clicks register. Only comparing the intended destination against the actual landing page reveals it — which is exactly the check Afterlink's validator performs (Signal 5) on every link.