This factor counts how many recognized Amazon amzn.to short links appear in a page’s rendered body — a whole-number occurrence count. A higher count signals heavier Amazon affiliate linking, but the count alone never proves a link carries an affiliate identifier, and it relates to position within a measured result set rather than causing a page to rank.
| Factor ID | RG-AFF-019 |
|---|---|
| Family | Affiliate & ads |
| Measurement | Occurrence count |
| Measured zone | Rendered, script-free page body |
What it measures
This factor counts the recognized Amazon amzn.to shortened URLs on a page. It is a straight tally of how many times the Amazon short-link domain appears in the page’s rendered, script-free body — a proxy for how heavily a page leans on Amazon affiliate destinations.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear counts case-insensitive occurrences that begin with http://amzn.to/ or https://amzn.to/. Full Amazon URLs (for example amazon.com product links) are not included by this factor — only the amzn.to short form is matched. Each matching occurrence adds one to the count, so the same short link used several times is counted several times.
What RankGear looks for
<a href="https://amzn.to/3xY7abc">Check price on Amazon</a>
<a href="http://AMZN.TO/2Qk9zZ">Buy now</a> ← matched (case-insensitive)| Link on the page | Counted? |
|---|---|
https://amzn.to/3xY7abc | Yes |
http://AMZN.TO/2Qk9zZ | Yes — matching is case-insensitive |
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0ABCDEFGH | No — full Amazon URL, not the short form |
https://amzn.eu/d/abc123 | No — a different Amazon short domain |
How to optimize it
Treat this as an observation, not a target. Use the fewest links needed to support genuinely useful product recommendations rather than inflating the count. Keep destinations current, disclose compensation clearly, and mark sponsored relationships. Neither a higher nor a lower count is inherently better — read it alongside the page’s purpose and the rest of your affiliate signals.
Important considerations
- The count does not prove an affiliate identifier — a matched
amzn.tolink may carry no affiliate tag at all. - Repeated short links count repeatedly: the same URL used three times adds three to the total.
- Other Amazon formats score 0 — full
amazon.comURLs, regional short domains, and any non-amzn.tolinks are not counted. - The inherited display name for this factor contains a double space (“Number of Affiliate Links – Amazon”); that is a label quirk, not a measurement detail.
- Correlation is not causation: this count relates to position within a measured result set and is a prioritization signal, not a guarantee that changing the number will move rankings.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.