One problem with many websites, especially those that have been around for a while, where various content management systems, server technologies and file extensions have conspired to wreak havoc on the site’s file structure; is that a lot of links may be broken — leading to “404” errors from missing pages and files; a diminished user experience; and lost revenues — and the bigger and older the site, the more likely it is to be affected.

This is not just a concern for your own website, but for your sponsor’s site as well.

Sharp affiliates carefully examine the sites they send traffic to, looking for leaks that are not credited by the sponsor. For example, some paysites use pop-under or exit console ads trying to sell cam or dating sites, or competitor’s sites, to visitors that didn’t purchase a membership — do you as the traffic-sending affiliate get credited for those sales?

It’s important to remember that many sites offer multiple tours; so be sure you follow your own affiliate link, rather than type-in or otherwise access the site you’re sending the traffic to — the leaks may not appear for surfers arriving via affiliate links, but may when visitors arrive via the front door — so know all the facts before making your judgment on a particular program.

Of course, dealing with your own website’s linking structure may be overwhelming enough without having to analyze sponsors too. Fortunately, automation and technology offer a wide variety of helpful solutions for examining your own site’s infrastructure — although performing manual audits might still be best when analyzing the sponsor sites you link to.

For example, Google Analytics and other website stats packages will handily reveal 404 and other errors; while reciprocal link checkers are built into many adult software packages, such as TGP/MGP and tube site scripts. Traffic trading scripts and services such as Linkspun include link checking; while WordPress users have a range of plugins available; and those with modest needs can use an online tool such as the one offered by Submit Express (linkmonitor.submitexpress.com).

There are many more options available and you may already have the tools at hand; but just as with periodic file backups, it seems a tiresome chore — until it’s too late and you lose your data — or in this case, your site is full of dead links and you’re sending that hard-earned traffic to a sponsor that isn’t crediting you for the revenue you generated.