How affiliate marketing and ‘Skimlinks’ could affect your backlink strategy

The bread and butter of any successful digital PR strategy is earning high-quality, relevant coverage - and with that often comes an added bonus: high-authority backlinks in editorial articles. What sets PR apart from traditional marketing or advertising is that this coverage is earned, not paid for. But in recent years, that line has started to blur.

The rise of affiliate marketing programmes - now worth over $18.5 billion globally, according to Cognitive Market Research - has led to more partnerships between brands and publishers that blur the boundary between editorial storytelling and commercial content.

So, what was once a clear divide between PR and paid media is changing - and fast.

News publications in the UK are under more pressure than ever. The decline of local journalism, falling print circulation, a shift to digital, and widespread newsroom redundancies have all made it harder for publishers to stay profitable. In response, many outlets have turned to affiliate marketing as a key revenue stream, forming partnerships with affiliate agencies to monetise the links included in many of their articles.

For digital PR pros, understanding the impact of this shift is now essential. What was once a straightforward goal (secure a backlink through earned media) is now more complex, with commercial considerations shaping editorial decisions more than ever.

So, what does this mean for digital PR tactics? In this blog, we’ll break down how affiliate schemes work, how they’re affecting PR results, how to spot when affiliate links are being used, and what you can do to adapt your strategy.

What’s in this article:

What is affiliate marketing?
What are Skimlinks and how do they impact SEO?
Should brands opt in for affiliate marketing?
How to spot when affiliate links are being used
Key takeaways

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing isn’t a new concept - but the way it intersects with digital PR has evolved significantly.

In simple terms, affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where publishers earn commission by driving traffic or sales for a brand. This is tracked through unique affiliate links, which are embedded in online content. If a reader clicks on the link and makes a purchase, the publisher receives a cut of the sale.

As traditional advertising revenues continue to decline and more publishers introduce paywalls, affiliate marketing has become a vital revenue stream for many media outlets - including major national and local news sites.

This has a direct impact on digital PR. Brands are now setting up affiliate agreements with the same publications their PR teams are pitching to - and increasingly, we’re seeing PR-driven content filled with affiliate links, often inserted automatically via tools like Skimlinks.

In some cases, brands may not even realise this is happening. Many earned backlinks are being converted into affiliate links after publication, with little visibility or input from the PR team. And that raises important questions around link value, tracking, and how we measure success.

What are Skimlinks and how do they impact SEO?

Skimlinks is a tool used by many online publishers to monetise outbound links. It works by automatically converting regular URLs into affiliate links. When a link to your site appears on a publisher’s website, Skimlinks adds a redirect through its platform, allowing it to track purchases and attribute commission.

Crucially, this process is automated - meaning journalists have no control over whether a link is turned into an affiliate one. That means even fully earned links, published as a result of a press release or digital PR campaign, can be altered after publication, often without the actual journalist’s knowledge.

For PR teams and brands, this creates a growing problem, as affiliate links like those generated by Skimlinks don’t offer the same SEO value as standard backlinks. Google treats affiliate links as “hints” rather than signals - and unlike a regular follow or nofollow link, they often pass little to no SEO ranking value. As a result, many of the links earned through PR coverage on high-authority news sites may no longer contribute to your backlink profile or help improve your rankings.

In short:

Links earned via PR are being automatically converted into affiliate links
These links often don’t carry direct SEO value
You may not be able to prevent or change this if the publisher uses Skimlinks

That said, all is not lost! Affiliate links can still drive high-quality referral traffic and boost brand visibility, which may result in indirect benefits like increased brand searches and more organic links in the future.

Should brands opt in for affiliate marketing?

As a brand, deciding whether to opt into affiliate marketing schemes comes down to what you value most: referral traffic and visibility, or SEO performance.

If your goal is to drive clicks and sales through high-traffic publisher sites, affiliate links can be useful. But it’s important to be realistic about the trade-off - affiliate links offer little to no SEO benefit, and in many cases, they won’t contribute to your backlink profile.

Opting in can also create challenges for PR teams. If you’re regularly earning coverage in major publications, but those links are being converted into affiliate links via Skimlinks or similar platforms, you’ll likely see reduced SEO impact. Requesting changes or removals can also risk straining relationships with journalists, who often have no control over how links are handled after publication.

If you’re not sure what the right approach is, start by benchmarking against your competitors. A competitor analysis can help you understand who in your niche is using affiliate partnerships to drive traffic.

How to spot when affiliate links are being used

Affiliate links are often hidden behind redirects, so they’re not always obvious at first glance. However, there are a few tell-tale signs you can look for:

Disclaimers at the top or bottom of articles

Many affiliate-based articles include a short statement to maintain transparency. Common examples include:

“This article includes affiliate links. We may earn commission from purchases made through the links in this piece.”

“We may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.”

Redirected or masked URLs

If you hover over a link and see that it redirects through platforms like go.skimresources.com, awin1.com, or clk.tradedoubler.com, that’s a strong indicator it’s an affiliate link. These links are typically longer and contain tracking parameters.

Commercial-style content

Articles that round up products (e.g. “10 Best Garden Tools for Summer” or “Top Electric Cars in 2025”) are often designed with affiliate links in mind, especially when hosted on lifestyle or consumer sections of national news sites.

Unusual link behaviour

If a link briefly redirects before landing on the retailer’s site, or opens with a tracking code, it’s likely routed through an affiliate network.

Browser extensions and tools

There are free Chrome extensions like “Redirect Path” or “NoFollow” that help you detect affiliate redirects or non-standard link attributes.

Key takeaways

The links between PR and advertising are blurring. What once was clearly earned media is now being intertwined with affiliate links. As media outlets search for new revenue schemes, digital PR coverage is being monetised, changing the relationship between backlinks and your SEO efforts.
Skimlinks can undermine digital PR and SEO efforts. Although links earned through PR are editorially placed, Skimlinks automatically converts them into affiliate links. Google then treats these links differently and they won’t pass on SEO value in the same way.
Brands have a decision to make between referral traffic and visibility. Opting into affiliate marketing programmes won’t boost your search rankings, so you must decide what works best for your brand.
Affiliate links aren’t always obvious. But tell-tale signs like disclaimers, redirect URLs, and product round-up content can help you spot when they’re being used

Want to know if affiliate links are affecting your coverage? Speak to our team about running a backlink audit.