What is AffiliateWP External Referral Links?
When WordPress users need to track affiliate referrals across multiple websites, AffiliateWP External Referral Links offers a sophisticated solution for cross-domain affiliate tracking. This powerful free add-on extends AffiliateWP’s functionality to enable affiliates to promote external WordPress-based pages while ensuring proper commission attribution on your main e-commerce site.
What Makes AffiliateWP External Referral Links Different
Unlike standard affiliate plugins that work within a single WordPress installation, AffiliateWP External Referral Links specializes in solving the complex challenge of tracking referrals when affiliates promote separate marketing websites that link to your main sales site. This unique approach allows businesses to maintain dedicated marketing sites while ensuring affiliates receive proper credit for their referrals.
- Seamless cross-domain affiliate tracking without database sharing
- Cookie-based referral persistence across external site navigation
- Automatic affiliate ID appending to outbound links
AffiliateWP External Referral Links Features for WordPress Users
Cross-Domain Referral Tracking
The core functionality of AffiliateWP External Referral Links revolves around its ability to track affiliate referrals across different WordPress installations. When an affiliate shares their referral link to your external marketing site, the plugin captures the affiliate ID from the URL parameters and stores it as a cookie in the visitor’s browser. This ensures that even if visitors browse multiple pages on the external site, their affiliate attribution remains intact.
Automatic Link Modification
One of the most impressive features is the automatic modification of outbound links. Any link on your external site that points back to your main e-commerce site automatically has the affiliate ID appended, ensuring seamless referral tracking. This works with both inline content links and navigation menu items, providing comprehensive coverage for all potential conversion paths.
Configurable Cookie Settings
The plugin offers flexible cookie management options, allowing you to set custom expiration periods for referral cookies. This means you can control how long an affiliate’s referral credit lasts, accommodating various marketing strategies and customer journey timelines. Whether you want 24-hour attribution or extended tracking periods, the configuration options provide the necessary flexibility.
How to Install AffiliateWP External Referral Links
Quick Installation
- Ensure AffiliateWP is installed and activated on your main site
- Download the External Referral Links add-on from AffiliateWP
- Go to Plugins → Add New on your external WordPress site
- Click Upload Plugin and select the downloaded file
- Install Now → Activate the plugin
- Configure the settings to match your main site’s parameters
Who Should Use AffiliateWP External Referral Links?
Multi-Site Business Owners
If you operate multiple WordPress sites with different purposes – such as a blog, review site, or landing page site that drives traffic to your main e-commerce platform – this plugin is essential. It allows you to leverage separate marketing properties while maintaining accurate affiliate tracking across your digital ecosystem.
Affiliate Program Managers
For businesses running sophisticated affiliate programs where affiliates need to promote specialized landing pages or microsites, AffiliateWP External Referral Links provides the technical infrastructure to support these advanced marketing strategies. This is particularly valuable for product launches, seasonal promotions, or niche marketing campaigns.
AffiliateWP External Referral Links vs Alternatives
| Feature | AffiliateWP External Referral Links | Manual URL Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-domain tracking | td>Automatic cookie-based trackingManual parameter passing required | |
| Link modification | Automatic affiliate ID appending | Manual link editing needed |
AffiliateWP External Referral Links Pricing
AffiliateWP External Referral Links is available as a free add-on for existing AffiliateWP users. You’ll need an active AffiliateWP license on your main site, which starts at $99 per year for a single site license. This makes it an incredibly cost-effective solution for businesses already using AffiliateWP’s core platform.
Pros and Cons
✅ Pros
- Free add-on for AffiliateWP users
- Seamless cross-domain tracking
- Automatic link modification saves time
❌ Cons
- Only works with non-pretty affiliate links
- Requires separate WordPress installation
- No visit tracking on external site
Frequently Asked Questions
Does AffiliateWP External Referral Links work with pretty permalinks?
No, this add-on only works with non-pretty affiliate links using URL parameters like ?ref=123 or ?ref=username.
Can I track visits on the external site?
No, visit entries are only created when the outbound link is clicked to return to the main site where AffiliateWP is installed.
Do I need AffiliateWP on both sites?
You only need AffiliateWP installed on your main e-commerce site. The External Referral Links add-on is installed separately on the external marketing site.
How long does the affiliate cookie last?
You can configure the cookie expiration period in the plugin settings, from hours to months depending on your tracking needs.
Can affiliates promote multiple external sites?
Yes, you can install the External Referral Links add-on on multiple external sites, all tracking back to your main AffiliateWP installation.
Is this plugin compatible with WooCommerce?
Yes, it works seamlessly with AffiliateWP’s WooCommerce integration and all other supported e-commerce platforms.
Final Verdict
AffiliateWP External Referral Links is an essential tool for businesses operating multi-site affiliate marketing strategies. While it has some limitations regarding pretty permalinks and visit tracking, its ability to maintain accurate affiliate attribution across domains makes it invaluable for sophisticated marketing setups. It’s particularly well-suited for businesses with separate marketing properties that need to track conversions back to a central e-commerce platform.
