Pinterest has become one of the premier social networks, and one that has been very effective for many affiliate marketers. Unfortunately, according to a recent announcement, they will be removing all affiliate links, redirects and trackers from all the pins on their platform. The pins themselves will remain up, of course, but the links will be removed.
Pinterist sent out an official statement, which said, “We are removing affiliate links to ensure we’re providing the best possible experience for Pinners. Recently, we observed affiliate links and redirects causing irrelevant Pins in feeds, broken links and other spammy behavior. We believe this change will enable us to keep the high bar of relevancy and quality Pinners expect from Pinterest.”
I think everyone can agree that Pinterest did have an issue with spammy posts, but it seems like overkill to ban all affiliate links. There were MANY high quality Pinners who provided valuable content to viewers, and made good money through their affiliate links. Of course, the vast majority of these individuals will no longer be participating, which will be a negative for both Pinterest itself, and their followers.
This is going to be a major hit to many profitable affiliates who have been making their living, at least in part, through this platform. They will need to quickly adjust. Have any of you been negatively impacted by this come? If so, comment below.
