Why is my affiliate link not working? 7 causes and what to check
Your affiliate link doesn't resolve, redirects wrong, or doesn't pay commissions. The 7 most common reasons affiliate links break, and the diagnostic checklist for each.
Quick answer
Affiliate links fail in seven common ways: 404 (page gone), soft 404 (out of stock), tag stripping, redirect chain broken, program discontinued, region-locked, or wrong tag format. Most return a perfectly clean status code, which is why generic uptime checkers don't catch them.
A link that "doesn't work" can mean a dozen different things — and the fix depends on which one. The list below covers the seven failure modes that account for almost every broken-affiliate-link case, ordered roughly by how easy each is to diagnose.
The 7 most common causes
Hard 404 (page is gone)
Symptom
Click leads to a "page not found" error. Status code 404. Easiest case.
Fix
Replace the link. The product or content is gone. Check if a similar product exists; if so, regenerate the affiliate link to the new URL.
Soft 404 (out of stock with 200 OK)
Symptom
Page loads with status 200 but shows "currently unavailable" or no buy button. Looks fine to a basic checker.
Fix
Replace with a similar in-stock product, or wait if the product is temporarily out. See Amazon variant out of stock for the variant-specific case.
Tag stripped in redirect chain
Symptom
Page loads, product is in stock, but no commission credited. Tag missing from final URL.
Fix
Trace the redirect chain. Switch to direct-to-merchant integration. See affiliate tag stripping for the full breakdown.
Redirect chain broken (intermediate step fails)
Symptom
Click leads to a strange intermediate page (network landing, error message, or hangs).
Fix
Test the link in private browsing. If an intermediate step fails, the network or aggregator has a bug. Switch to a direct link if available, or contact the network.
Affiliate program discontinued
Symptom
Link resolves but the program no longer exists. Either no commission credited or a "program not found" message in the network dashboard.
Fix
Programs migrate, get acquired, or shut down. Search the merchant in your network — they may have moved. If discontinued entirely, replace with a competitor in a similar niche.
Region-locked product or program
Symptom
Link works in one country, fails (homepage redirect or "not available in your region") in another.
Fix
See Amazon affiliate link goes to homepage for the locale-specific version. For non-Amazon programs, check whether the product or affiliate program is restricted to certain countries.
Wrong tag format (case, locale, formatting)
Symptom
Tag visible in URL but no commission. Often after switching tracking IDs or regions.
Fix
Verify the exact tag in your network dashboard — case-sensitive, locale-specific, sometimes with different separators between regions.
A monitoring tool that distinguishes between these seven cases — instead of treating everything as "broken" or "OK" — saves hours of manual diagnosis and surfaces the silent failures (tag stripping, soft 404, region drift) that creators almost never catch on their own.
Stop checking links manually.
Affiliyo monitors every affiliate link in your portfolio daily, follows the full redirect chain, and flags the silent failures most checkers miss. Free up to 10 links.
Join waitlistFAQ/People also ask
Questions, answered.
Hard 404 returns HTTP status 404. Soft 404 returns 200 OK but shows "out of stock" or "unavailable" text on the page. Soft 404 needs content reading, not just a status check — generic uptime tools miss it.
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