Are Smartlinks Still Working in 2026?

The affiliate industry loves declaring things dead. Landing pages are dead. Facebook is dead. Email is dead. And every few years, smartlinks end up on that list too.

 

But according to both the D8 Ads team and our experience at Marksel, the reality is much simpler:

 

"Smartlinks still work — especially for multi-GEO traffic."

 

The challenge isn't whether smartlinks work. The challenge is making them work efficiently in today's environment.

The Real Problem Isn't the Smartlink

When performance starts dropping, many teams immediately blame the smartlink. However, as we discussed with Volodymyr Masiura, Head of Supply at D8 Ads, the issue is often somewhere else entirely.

 

"Most teams blame the smartlink when the real issue is broken tracking, unstable domains, or poor flow logic."

 

In other words, even the best smartlink cannot compensate for weak infrastructure. Tracking errors, domain issues, missing fallback scenarios, or inefficient routing logic can quickly impact EPC and campaign performance.

Why Infrastructure Matters More Than Ever

A few years ago, many teams could rely on traffic volume alone. Today, that's no longer enough.

 

Competition is higher, traffic sources are stricter, and optimization windows are smaller. Teams need visibility into what is happening across every step of the funnel.

 

As Ira Krotova from Marksel points out:

 

"Infrastructure matters more now than just traffic volume."

 

Performance today depends on having reliable tracking, stable domains, intelligent routing, and the ability to react quickly when something goes wrong.

The Cost of Reacting Too Late

One of the biggest mistakes teams make is discovering problems only after performance drops.

 

"No alerts or fallback logic. Teams often notice problems only after EPC drops."

 

By the time a traffic manager manually notices the issue, revenue has already been lost.

 

This is why more teams are investing in monitoring, automation, and proactive traffic management rather than relying on manual checks.

What High-Performing Teams Do Differently

The strongest affiliate teams don't build random flows. They build systems. They segment traffic properly, automate routine processes, monitor performance continuously, and create infrastructure that can scale alongside their campaigns.

 

As Ira summarized:

 

"Build systems, not random flows."

 

Or put another way: sustainable growth comes from process, not luck.

Final Thoughts

Smartlinks are far from dead. But the conversation has shifted from traffic volume to infrastructure quality.

 

The teams seeing the best results today are the ones investing in tracking, routing, monitoring, and automation — not because it's trendy, but because that's what modern performance marketing requires.

 

Big thanks to Volodymyr Masiura and the D8Ads team for sharing their perspective and joining this discussion.