How to Tell If an Affiliate Program Closed (Network by Network)
You can tell an affiliate program closed by clicking your link and reading where it lands: Awin shows a closed-merchant page ("this link is inactive"), Impact shows "this offer is no longer available", CJ shows "advertiser not found", ShareASale shows "merchant not found", and Rakuten shows "merchant unavailable". If the link redirects to the merchant’s homepage with no click ID in the URL, the program likely closed or moved networks. Your network dashboard’s advertiser directory gives the authoritative answer.
The universal signals
Regardless of network, a closed program produces one of three behaviors:
- ▸A network-branded error page — the clearest signal, with wording specific to each network (see below).
- ▸A redirect to the merchant homepage without any tracking parameter (no awc, cjevent, irclickid, tduid, sscid…). The network dumps unattributable traffic at the brand’s front door.
- ▸A redirect loop or generic "link invalid" page on the tracking domain.
Network-by-network closure pages
Awin: closed programs land on a closedMerchant page; content includes "this link is inactive", "advertiser not found", or "programme not found". Awin also hosts migrated ShareASale merchants — old ShareASale links for those merchants die separately.
Impact: "this offer is no longer available", "campaign has ended", or "sorry, this link is no longer valid" — often on the brand’s vanity tracking subdomain (pxf.io / sjv.io), which keeps resolving.
CJ Affiliate: "advertiser not found", "this advertiser is no longer active", or "link expired" on its unbranded tracking domains (jdoqocy.com, dpbolvw.net, tkqlhce.com…).
ShareASale: "merchant not found", "program suspended", or "merchant account has been closed" — increasingly common as merchants migrate to Awin.
Rakuten: "merchant unavailable", "offer expired", or "advertiser not found" on click.linksynergy.com links.
Partnerize: "campaign not found" or "this campaign has ended" on prf.hn links.
In-house programs (TUNE, Post Affiliate Pro, FirstPromoter, Refersion): usually no error page at all — the site loads normally and attribution silently stops. Only test clicks checked against your dashboard reveal these.
Confirming in your dashboard
Error pages are strong evidence; your network dashboard is proof. Check the advertiser/merchant directory for the program’s status ("expired", "declined", "closed"), and check whether your recent clicks on that program dropped to zero. If the merchant vanished from the directory entirely, they left the network.
What to do with links to a closed program
Don’t just delete them — that traffic has value. In order of preference:
- ▸Find the merchant’s new network (search their site’s affiliate page) and regenerate links there.
- ▸Replace with a competing merchant’s program for the same product category.
- ▸Point the link at your own relevant content as a fallback rather than leaving a dead redirect.
Catching closures automatically
Every closure page above has a recognizable fingerprint — URL patterns and page wording. Afterlink’s validator ships with these fingerprints for every major network and checks your entire link inventory against them on every scan, so a program closing turns into an email alert the next day instead of a quarterly revenue mystery.
Frequently asked questions
A merchant left my network — will they tell me?
Rarely, and often not before your links are already dead. Some networks send program-closure notices for programs you’ve joined, but they’re easy to miss and never list which of your published links are affected.
My link redirects to the merchant homepage — closed program or dead product?
Check the final URL for a click ID. Click ID present: tracking works, likely a dead product page (deep link decay). No click ID: probably a closed or migrated program. Your dashboard settles it.
Do closed-program links hurt SEO or my channel?
Their main cost is lost revenue and a poor visitor experience. There’s no specific platform penalty for a dead affiliate link — but a description full of broken links erodes audience trust fast.
Go deeper
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