Common Viglink Installation Mistakes

Viglink Installation Can be Tricky

Viglink is an affiliate network used by many bloggers and webmasters. It can also be installed on some revenue-share sites, such as Wizzley and Seekyt.

Its big advantage is that it gives you access to a much wider range of merchants than you'd have otherwise. The last time I checked, more than 30,000 online retailers had signed on with Viglink, including Walmart, Target and Kohl's. Plus, you can also find smaller companies with very unique products that offer a very favorable commission rate, if you happen to sell some of their merchandise.

There's another very big advantage to using Viglink. If it's installed on your website, and you forget to add an affiliate link, it will often do so for you. Say, for example, you mention the word "Amazon" in your copy. This will quickly be turned into a link back to the giant online entity. If someone clicks on this link, and makes a purchase, you'll earn money on the sale.

Because of this automatic link insertion feature, forum owners can also make extra income if someone mentions a word or phrase that could be turned into an affiliate link. For instance, I imagine this could be lucrative if someone was running a tech forum.

However, there are a couple of drawbacks to Viglink, which you should know about before signing up. The company will take a cut of your commissions. For Amazon, that will be a 25 percent share. Some people may not find this arrangement acceptable. However, the base commission is probably higher than what you'd earn on your own, especially if you don't have a large number of sales each month.

The biggest downside though, is the installation process. It can be tricky, time consuming and costly, if you don't do it properly. That's also true if you do everything right, and Viglink delays in approving your site for Amazon and eBay sales, and you didn't realize this.

This is what happened to me, and it was exceedingly difficult to get fixed. I offer my story as a heads up. If you decide to use Viglink, you must follow through to make sure it's properly set up. This can mean repeated emails and telephone calls, coupled with a wait to hear from customer support.

Viglink Amazon Approval Is Not Automatic

My first experience with Viglink was on Wizzley, a highly visual revenue-share site that's optimized for affiliate sales. Using Viglink there has the distinct benefit of having all of your affiliate accounts and sales consolidated. This is a very good time-saving feature, and it also allows you to use eBay, which, otherwise, you couldn't earn with. Plus, you can branch out and find interesting products on Cafe Press and other specialty gifts stores, without having to sign up as an affiliate with each merchant separately.

I first tried to install Viglink in the fall of 2013, and assumed all was well. However, I became suspicious after a few days when no clicks registered on my dashboard. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a straight answer from customer service. After two weeks of no activity, I removed my Viglink ID from Wizzley.

Later, I learned that Viglink requires separate Amazon and eBay approval. The customer service rep told me he would approve me for eBay, but hesitated on approving me for Amazon. However, numerous other Wizzley writers were happily affiliating their Amazon links through Wizzley.

Although I see the great benefits of using Viglink, new users should be made aware that they may not be able to use Amazon right away on their Viglink account.

Update: I've recently found out that some other merchants, such as Walmart, require additional approval. Right now, I am only approved for one of my Viglink campaigns.

Repeated Calls to Viglink Customer Service

Repeated inquiries to Viglink customer service, about why my account did not receive full Amazon approval, went unanswered. Meanwhile, I was able to successfully use Viglink on Seekyt. Then, I installed it on two of my blogs, working with another customer service person, who quickly approved each of them for Amazon and eBay sales.

However, at this point, I also once again tried using Viglink on Wizzley. However, even though I know it was installed properly, there was no activity in my account. After questioning the second customer service representative, I was assured all was well. However, it wasn't.

Your Experience with Viglink

One More Try

Soon after, I once again tried to use Viglink on Wizzley. This time, I finally saw clicks in my Wizzley channel. However, it was also clear that I wouldn't be earning from them, because I saw no green semi-circle indicating they were "monetized clicks." This happened despite repeated assurances that everything was working.

After contacting customer service once again, a year after my first go-round with Viglink on Wizzley, I finally heard back from a third rep. She was very gracious, and explained that my Wizzley channel had never been approved, despite the fact that three of my other channels were fully working for Amazon, eBay and every other merchant as well. She advised me to watch this channel closely over the next week, which I plan to do. So far, though, it looks as if it's working. I also see a green bar on the top of my dashboard that says everything is "wired" and ready to earn.

How to Use Viglink

Keep Asking Viglink Questions

Viglink is a new and fast-growing company, and I attribute this lack of communication and spotty customer service to this rapid expansion. Increasingly strict Amazon requirements may also be part of the problem. At one time, if you could not have your own Amazon account, you could still earn though a back door provided by Viglink. However, this has changed, as Viglink strives to keep pace with these new rules.

This is why it's important for new Viglink publishers to keep asking questions, repeatedly, if necessary, if they think anything is amiss.

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Until you see a green bar across the top of your channel, telling you that everything's working, as well as monetized clicks for this channel, you should probably assume that successful installation didn't happen.

I now know that Viglink generally does not approve someone for Amazon sales unless they first see Amazon clicks in your account. However, I had two weeks of Amazon clicks on my first attempt, but, somehow, this didn't matter. So, if you decide to use Viglink, don't worry about being overly persistent with customer service, because this might be the only way you get your problem resolved.

Don't Forget to Turn It On

Successful installation of Viglink is one hurdle. But you also need to turn Viglink on for each of your channels. Otherwise, it won't work. To do this, go to your Viglink Settings Page. You can find this on the top of your dashboard, under the "Manage" tab.

Scroll down and you will see a button. Move the button to the "On," position, as you can see with the blue button shown below. This might seem as if it's one more annoying step, but this button is useful in case you decide you no longer want to use Viglink on a certain site. In that case, you would simply switch it off. (If I was using it on my own blog or website, I would also remove the Viglink code.)

Successful Viglink Installation

After what feels like a marathon installation process, Viglink appears to finally be installed on my Wizzley channel. Although it might seem as if using Viglink is more trouble than it's worth, I don't think this is the case, once you are successfully wired.

On my blogs, especially, Viglink will save me a lot of time and trouble because I no longer have to log in to various individual affiliate accounts when I want to create a link. Now, I can simply find a product and rest assured that Viglink takes care of the rest.

With tens of thousands of merchants, using this network also opens up a whole new world of possibilities on Wizzley.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Comments

ologsinquito (author) from USA on March 17, 2015:

Hi Z10Beats, somehow I missed your comment. Sorry about that. Yes, definitely please contact support. Linda, thanks for answering. That's the only way to get this resolved.

Lisa on January 25, 2015:

November 19, 2010 at 10:26 amThis is getting a bit more sjuiectbve, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like Mixview' that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you're listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of neighbors will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune Social is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on January 06, 2015:

Linda, I don't know because I don't use Weebly. It's very easy to install on Tumblr though. Customer service should be able to help, or maybe there is a YouTube video. Wish I was of more assistance.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on December 26, 2014:

They do have good support. I like the versatility of using them, especially on Wizzley.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on December 26, 2014:

I've also run into a situation where the code doesn't verify, but the installation apparently works. But if I were you, I'd contact Viglink customer support, to straighten this out. Good luck.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on December 25, 2014:

Hi suzette, sorry I missed your message. Thanks so much for reading.

Linda, the installation process can be very frustrating. From what I can gather, when you use Viglink on a new site, it does not start working until clicks are registered. This can take a day or two. Then, you see a green bar on your dashboard, for that channel, saying that all is wired and everything is working. Until I see that, I assume that it's not.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on November 03, 2014:

Hi MsDora, thanks for all that you share and thank you for reading this.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on October 30, 2014:

Kimbesa, if you suspect something isn't working, you're probably right, and it probably isn't.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on October 30, 2014:

teaches and Jackie, I didn't know about Viglink either until another HP writer told me about it. But it has the potential to really simplify things.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on October 30, 2014:

Hi Alicia, I think it's going to be worth it in the end, but it was quite the challenge getting everything wired properly. Thanks for reading.

ologsinquito (author) from USA on October 29, 2014:

Linda, it is so complicated to install. Then it is so easy to use, once everything is set up.