For affiliate networks
Trace every hop in an affiliate link to verify your tracking ID survives.
Affiliate links typically pass through 2–4 hops: cloaker, network, partner redirect, then the merchant. Each hop can drop tracking parameters.
Run any link through this checker before publishing — if your tracking ID doesn't appear in the final URL, your commissions are at risk.
Understand the anatomy of a typical chain: your cloaked link (yoursite.com/go/product) 301s or 302s to the network's click endpoint, which logs the click and sets attribution cookies, then forwards to the merchant — sometimes via one more partner redirect. Every hop is code someone else maintains, and networks reorganize their redirect infrastructure without telling publishers. The link that worked at signup can silently rot months later while still 'resolving' to the merchant's homepage, minus your ID.
The failure modes worth checking for specifically: a hop that drops the query string entirely (your ID vanishes), a hop that lands on the merchant's homepage instead of the product page (deep link broken — you might still get commission, but conversion rates crater), a JavaScript or meta-refresh hop that HTTP-level tracing can't follow (attribution becomes cookie-dependent), and a redirect to an HTTP URL mid-chain (some browsers and networks treat that hop as tainted).
Timing matters as much as correctness. The classic commission leak isn't a link that never worked — it's a link that broke when the merchant migrated domains, the network updated its endpoint, or a product was discontinued and its URL began redirecting to the category page. A monthly re-check of your top-earning links catches the rot while it's costing you days of commissions, not quarters.
Cookie-based attribution adds an invisible layer this checker can't fully see but the chain strongly hints at: the network's click endpoint must actually be reached (not skipped by an overzealous cloaker caching the final URL), and it must respond with a 2xx/3xx — an endpoint returning errors mid-chain means clicks arrive at the merchant with no attribution cookie ever set.
Where LinkPilot fits: cloaking your affiliate links behind short links you control means that when a chain breaks, you fix the destination once in your dashboard instead of editing every post, video description, and email where the link ever appeared. Pair that with periodic chain checks here and your affiliate infrastructure becomes maintainable instead of archaeological.
Confirm tracking IDs survive every hop before publishing a campaign — the cheapest possible insurance on commission revenue.
Diagnose why a network isn't crediting clicks back to your account: trace the chain and find the hop where your ID disappears.
Verify that link cloaking still resolves to the right merchant URL after a network update — cloakers hide breakage from you as effectively as from readers.
Confirm links land on the intended product page, not the merchant homepage — homepage landings quietly destroy conversion even when attribution survives.
Re-check your top-earning links monthly; merchant domain migrations and network endpoint changes break chains without any notice to publishers.
Pre-configured variants tuned to specific platforms and use cases.