Custom link

Affiliates have the option to create custom links directly from their dashboard. They can select specific page in your store, add their own tracking parameters, and even shorten these links if needed. This customization helps affiliates to better target their audience and track the effectiveness of their campaigns.

How to create a Custom Link?

Let’s say an affiliate only wants to promote Product A. While the Product Links page in the dashboard displays the entire product list, the Custom Link feature allows the affiliate to create a link directly to Product A (or any specific product or collection page) without having to sift through a long list of products.

To promote Product A, affiliate can log in to their Affiliate Dashboard, find the Custom Link page and then click Create now.

Now copy and paste the URL of the specific product or collection page from merchant's store into the field.

After clicking Create, the link will be shown in the list under the Custom Links tab for the affiliate to copy and use at any time.

Using Shortened Links

If the affiliate prefers a cleaner, shorter link for sharing (for instance, on social media), they can use the Shortened Link option. After generating the custom affiliate link, they can click the option to shorten it, making it easier to share while still maintaining full tracking functionality.

Affiliates can customize the shortened link field by filling in a name or keyword that makes the link easier to share and recognizable for customers.

For example, in the screenshot below:

• The default product link is: https://bixgrow-demo-store.myshopify.com/products/sponge-chocolate-cake

• The generated affiliate link is: https://bixgrow-demo-store.myshopify.com/products/sponge-chocolate-cake?bg_ref=VQ9q75ODfg&utm_source=aff

• The shortened affiliate link is: https://bixgrow-demo-store.myshopify.com/Evelyn

As you can see, the new shortened link is shorter, more organized, and easier to share.

Adding Tracking Parameters to Custom Link

Once an affiliate has created their custom link, they may want to track where their traffic is coming from, such as clicks from social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, ect. The app allows affiliates to add tracking parameters to their custom links, making it easier to monitor the performance of their campaigns from different sources.

Let’s say the affiliate wants to share their custom link on Facebook and track how many clicks are coming from there. They can do this by adding a custom tracking parameter to the link. Here’s how:

1. Create the Custom Link: First, generate the custom affiliate link as usual (e.g., https://bixgrow-demo-store.myshopify.com/Evelyn).

2. Add a Tracking Parameter: After the link, add ?utm_source=facebook (or another parameter that identifies the source) to track traffic from Facebook.

For example: https://bixgrow-demo-store.myshopify.com/Evelyn?utm_source=facebook

How to Track Clicks

By adding tracking parameters, affiliates can easily monitor where their clicks are coming from within their dashboard or by using tools like Google Analytics. This allows them to understand which channels are driving the most traffic and adjust their marketing efforts accordingly.

This feature helps affiliates optimize their promotional strategies by giving them insights into which platforms or campaigns are most effective, leading to better performance and higher commissions.

Merchants can also log in to the affiliate dashboard to help creating custom affiliate links.

Enabling Custom Links for Affiliates

Merchants can choose whether to allow affiliates to customize their affiliate links. To enable this feature, kindly go to Settings > Affiliate Link and then toggle on the Allow Affiliates to Custom Link option.

If you decide not to allow affiliates to create custom links, simply leave this feature disabled.

Hiding the Custom Link Section

If you prefer, you can hide the custom link section from the Affiliate Dashboard. This might be useful if you want to keep the process simple for affiliates or if you want to maintain control over the links being used. To do this kindly go to Settings > Affiliate portal > Customize Affiliate Dashboard and then click on the eye icon next to the Custom Links section.