Affiliate network (merging into Awin)
ShareASale Affiliate Link Checker
ShareASale links are now a special case: the network is being folded into Awin, and links for migrated merchants quietly stop paying. A shareasale.com link can keep redirecting to the store months after the merchant moved — which is exactly why every ShareASale publisher should audit their entire back catalog now.
How ShareASale links work
Typical link
https://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=123456&u=7890123&m=45678&urllink=merchant.com%2FproductClassic ShareASale links run through shareasale.com/r.cfm (or m.cfm / u.cfm) with your user ID (u), the merchant ID (m), and optionally a urllink deep-link destination. On click, ShareASale sets its sscid tracking cookie and redirects.
With the Awin merger, merchants progressively move to Awin’s infrastructure. Old ShareASale links for a migrated merchant may redirect without crediting you, or land on a "merchant not found" page.
Link domains
shareasale.com
Tracking parameters
| Parameter | Role |
|---|---|
| b | Banner/link ID |
| u | Your affiliate user ID |
| m | Merchant ID |
| urllink | Destination page (for deep links) |
| sscid | Click ID appended to the merchant URL |
| afftrack | Your sub-ID |
How ShareASale links break
Merchant migrated to Awin
The defining failure of the ShareASale era’s end. Your old link may still reach the store, but attribution happens on Awin now — your ShareASale link no longer credits you. These links need to be regenerated on Awin.
Merchant closed their program
The link shows "merchant not found" or "program suspended". ShareASale historically hosted many small merchants, which churn more often than enterprise brands.
Dead urllink destinations
Deep links carry the destination in the urllink parameter. Small-merchant catalogs change constantly, so the tracked page often 404s while the tracking hop works.
Error signals Afterlink detects
These are actual failure fingerprints from Afterlink's validation engine for ShareASale links:
- ▸"merchant not found"
- ▸"program suspended" / "merchant account has been closed"
- ▸"merchant has been deactivated"
- ▸Missing sscid on the merchant landing page
How Afterlink checks ShareASale links
Afterlink extracts every link from your YouTube channel or website, recognizes ShareASale links by domain and parameter signature, then runs five checks on each one: the full redirect chain (including JavaScript and meta-refresh redirects), network error-page detection, destination verification against the embedded target, tracking parameter analysis, and deep-link decay detection (product page silently replaced by a homepage). Every link gets a clear verdict — working, warning, or broken — with the evidence attached.
Frequently asked questions
Do my ShareASale links still work after the Awin merger?
Only until the merchant’s migration completes. After that, old shareasale.com links stop crediting you even if they still redirect. Regenerate links through Awin for every migrated merchant — and scan your old content to find all of them first.
How do I find every ShareASale link I’ve ever posted?
Search your content for shareasale.com — or let a scanner do it. Afterlink extracts every affiliate link from a YouTube channel or website and flags the ShareASale ones automatically, including shortened ones.
What does a broken ShareASale link look like to a visitor?
Usually a ShareASale error page ("merchant not found") or a redirect to the merchant homepage without tracking. Both look "fine enough" that viewers rarely report it.
Troubleshoot ShareASale
- ShareASale Links Not Working? Diagnose and Fix Them
- ShareASale Link Redirects to Homepage Instead of the Product — Fix
- ShareASale Tracking Not Working? How to Verify and Fix Attribution
- ShareASale Program Closed or Merchant Left? What Happens to Your Links
- How to Test ShareASale Affiliate Links (Complete Procedure)
Related networks
Check every affiliate link you've ever published
If you've published ShareASale links, some of them are probably broken right now. Afterlink scans your entire YouTube channel or website, follows every redirect chain, and alerts you the day a link breaks.
Run a free scan