VigLink operates a platform that monetizes content by pricing, buying and selling site-to-site clicks for publishers. The company monetizes content for over 300,000 sites and works with more than 40,000 merchants. It processes more than 10 billion pageviews and over 500 million clicks each month. VigLink recently acquired LinkSmart, whose publisher network delivers over a billion pageviews per month and includes editorial sites such as BuddyTV and Purch. The acquisition brings LinkSmart's publisher inventory into VigLink's network. The company was founded in 2009 and is led by CEO Oliver Roup; it is based in San Francisco, CA. VigLink automates affiliate linking by converting normal links into affiliate links and inserting new affiliate links into a website's text. The company launched the VigLink Exchange last fall, a competitive bidding marketplace that awards links to the merchant offering the largest payment. VigLink works with roughly 300,000 sites (including Elle, Road & Track, and CNET) and 35,000 merchants, processing more than 500 million clicks each month. Links sold through the Exchange currently represent a minority of traffic but are a "strong and growing share," and the company plans to double down on the Exchange. Its technology also works on mobile websites and apps, which the company says enhances the need for its product on smartphones. VigLink became profitable in the fourth quarter of last year. VigLink provides a small snippet of code publishers install that detects outbound links to merchant sites and converts them into affiliate links, sharing revenue with publishers. The company typically takes a 25% cut of affiliate commissions and says its service is more convenient than signing up for individual affiliate programs. It is rolling out a new product that automatically inserts affiliate links for relevant keywords, while capping links per article at four and keeping the feature optional to remain unobtrusive. Since launching in February 2010 the service has been embedded on 15,000 sites serving roughly 2 billion pageviews per month. VigLink says it has generated a “meaningful” amount of revenue for publishers but does not disclose exact figures. The company acquired competitor DrivingRevenue in August, and competes with firms such as Skimlinks. VigLink provides a JavaScript snippet publishers add to their sites that automatically converts standard product links into affiliate links. The company maintains its own accounts with affiliate programs and houses publishers under those accounts to simplify onboarding. VigLink monitors publisher sites for spam and misuse to avoid account bans and ensure compliance. It is currently in private beta and plans to launch publicly in the next few months. The company’s revenue model is taking a percentage of the affiliate fees it generates, though the exact cut has not been finalized. Oliver Roup is the CEO and spokesperson quoted in the article.

Total raised

$26M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Nov 2014