How to Fix Broken Amazon Links (Without Losing Commission)

Gouri Menon

— 3 min read
How to Fix Broken Amazon Links (Without Losing Commission)

If you’re an Amazon affiliate or influencer, here’s a harsh truth: broken links silently kill your sales. You might be spending hours creating content — TikToks, Instagram posts, blog articles — but if your affiliate links are broken, dead, or sending users to the wrong marketplace, all that effort goes down the drain. And the worst part? Most creators don’t even know half of their links are broken until they notice a sudden drop in commissions.

Let’s talk about why this happens and, more importantly, how to fix it — without losing your hard-earned commissions.

Amazon links are surprisingly fragile. Even if you copy them straight from your dashboard, several things can go wrong:

  1. ASINs get discontinued – Products aren’t permanent. If Amazon removes an ASIN or it goes out of stock indefinitely, the link becomes dead.
  2. Regional redirect issues – Amazon has multiple marketplaces: amazon.in, amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, and more. A link created for one region might not work properly for users in another country, causing missed conversions.
  3. Tracking tag errors – Your affiliate ID is what ensures you get credit for sales. If the tag is missing or malformed, you might still send buyers to the product — but no commission lands in your account.

Even one broken link can cost you a sale, but hundreds of broken links across your portfolio? That’s a real revenue leak.

Before you fix anything, you need to know what’s broken. Here’s a simple step-by-step method:

  1. Audit your links – Make a list of all your affiliate URLs. Blogs, social posts, TikToks, Instagram bio links — everything.
  2. Check for dead ASINs – Open each link and see if the product page still exists. If you hit a “Product not found” page, that ASIN is gone.
  3. Test region redirects – Use a VPN or a tool like GeoPeeker to simulate users from different countries. Make sure your link takes them to the correct Amazon marketplace.
  4. Verify tracking tags – Click your links yourself and look for your affiliate tag in the URL. If it’s missing, you won’t get commission.

Doing this manually is possible but painful. Thankfully, there are tools that make this much easier — more on that in a moment.

Once you know which links are broken, you have options. Here are the most effective solutions:

Platforms like Geniuslink and PostTap allow you to create a single link that automatically redirects users to the correct Amazon marketplace based on their location. That means a visitor from India ends up on amazon.in, someone from the U.S. ends up on amazon.com, and your affiliate tag stays intact.

This solves two problems at once: broken regional links and lost commissions due to misplaced tags.

Tools like Hypelinks can monitor your portfolio of links and automatically replace dead ASINs with working ones — often without you lifting a finger. Some tools can even swap a product link for the same item from another seller if the original ASIN is gone.

The benefit? You preserve your content, your traffic, and your commission — no lost revenue, no tedious editing.

3. Manual Updates (for smaller portfolios)

If you don’t have hundreds of links, you can manually update:

  • Replace dead ASINs with active ones for the same product.
  • Ensure your affiliate tag is correctly appended.
  • Double-check regional URLs, especially if you have international traffic.

Bonus: Preserve Your Affiliate Tag

Even after fixing the link, the final hurdle is making sure your affiliate tag survives all changes. Here’s how:

  • Always generate links from your official affiliate dashboard or via a link management tool that preserves tags.
  • Check periodically — links can break when Amazon updates a product page. A quarterly or bi-annual audit keeps your links safe.
  • Consider using dynamic linking tools (Hypelinks, Geniuslink) because they automatically preserve your tag even when the underlying URL changes.

A little effort here goes a long way. A broken link might cost $10 today, $100 tomorrow, and hundreds over the course of a year. Keeping your affiliate tag intact ensures every click counts toward your revenue.

The Takeaway

Broken links are more than a minor inconvenience — they are silent killers of commissions. But fixing them doesn’t have to be painful:

  1. Audit your links regularly.
  2. Identify dead ASINs and regional redirect issues.
  3. Use tools like Geniuslink or Hypelinks to automate geo-redirects and dynamic link updates.
  4. Always preserve your affiliate tag.

By being proactive, you not only recover lost sales but also safeguard future revenue. The links you share are the bridge between your content and your paycheck — make sure that bridge doesn’t collapse.

So the next time you’re scrolling through your blog or TikTok stats and wonder why commissions are down… start with the links. Fix them, automate where possible, and watch your earnings stabilize.

✅ Pro Tip: For creators with large portfolios, investing in a dynamic link management tool isn’t optional anymore — it’s essential. One tool can save hundreds of hours, prevent revenue loss, and make your affiliate business much more scalable.

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