Yesterday we rolled out the Affiliate Link Encoder (ALE), yet another innovative tool that offers Affiliates the option of direct linking to their AvantLink merchant partners in the context of articles, blog posts, forum threads or anywhere else for that matter! A simple JavaScript we provide takes direct merchant links and appends Affiliate tracking details so credit will be applied for all customer referrals, not just those referrals that click through configured tracking links from the network.

With a couple of weeks of live BETA testing from select Affiliates, the ALE has proven extraordinarily handy to forum administrators or bloggers because often times their members post direct links to merchant web sites. Now those direct links posted through user generated content will credit referred sales accordingly. It can also save substantial time for a content writer because they will no longer have to configure tracking links using the Custom Link Builder or prefabricated campaigns through the Affiliate tool center.

Affiliates, for active partnerships with any merchant in AvantLink, just add the ALE script to your site template or page and direct link away. The ALE will take care of the rest!

From the Affiliate Link Encoder detail page on our site:

Once the javascript is installed on a page or site-wide template, Affiliates using the ALE will not have to login to the network to get tracking links. Simply add the merchant homepage URL or any deep link URL and the ALE will take care of the rest. Check it out! When the ALE javascript is in place test by hovering or clicking on a direct AvantLink merchant link, then viewing the source code of the document.

So far, the ALE has seen good reviews and attention from a few ABestWeb heavies (we announced the ALE there yesterday). Note the following comment from Haiko de Poel, Jr., owner of ABestWeb.com:

I think it’s an invaluable addition to the Avantlink repertoire of linking options and wicked smart also … WTG!

Read the tool announcement thread on ABW for more comments: Introducing the Affiliate Link Encoder

We welcome your comments at ABW or here on the blog. Thank you for your continued support.

Gary & AvantLink