ShareASale tracking domain
What is shareasale.com?
shareasale.com is an affiliate tracking domain operated by ShareASale. It is not malware, adware, or phishing — it registers affiliate clicks and forwards visitors to the merchant. If you found it in a link, a redirect chain, or your analytics, someone (possibly you) published a ShareASale affiliate link.
shareasale.com hosts classic ShareASale tracking links (r.cfm / m.cfm / u.cfm paths). With ShareASale merging into Awin, links for migrated merchants stop crediting even while they still redirect — every shareasale.com link in your content should be checked and, for migrated merchants, regenerated on Awin.
How shareasale.com links work
Typical ShareASale 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.
When shareasale.com links break
The failure signals Afterlink's validator detects on ShareASale links:
- ▸"merchant not found"
- ▸"program suspended" / "merchant account has been closed"
- ▸"merchant has been deactivated"
- ▸Missing sscid on the merchant landing page
Frequently asked questions
Is shareasale.com safe / legitimate?
Yes. shareasale.com is official ShareASale tracking infrastructure, not malware or phishing. It appears in links because ShareASale routes affiliate clicks through it to register attribution before forwarding visitors to the merchant.
Why is shareasale.com in my browser bar or analytics?
You clicked (or your visitors clicked) a ShareASale affiliate link. The domain appears briefly mid-redirect while the click is registered, then forwards to the destination site.
Can shareasale.com links break?
Yes — ShareASale links fail when merchant migrated to awin or the destination page dies. The domain keeps resolving either way, which is why broken ones look alive.
Related
Check every affiliate link you've ever published
If shareasale.com links are in your content, some may already be dead. Afterlink scans your entire YouTube channel or website, follows every redirect chain, and alerts you the day a link breaks.
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