Is there a reliable way to identify whether a link is an Amazon affiliate link before clicking it, like specific URL patterns or tags to look for, and does it make a difference if the link has been shortened or redirected through another service?
Yes—look for Amazon URL parameters like tag=yourtag-20 (US) or ascsubtag= / linkCode= in the querystring, plus common affiliate endpoints like amzn.to (Amazon shortener) and amazon.com/gp/product/ASIN?...tag=...; if it’s shortened/redirected (Bitly, PrettyLinks, etc.), you generally can’t confirm without expanding the redirect (e.g., curl -I / redirect checker) to see whether it ultimately resolves to an Amazon URL carrying a tag or the newer “affiliate-encoded” tracking on the redirect chain.
On Amazon, affiliate links usually include a tracking parameter like tag=theirID-20 (US) in the URL, or you’ll see /ref= plus a tag= later in the query string. If it’s shortened (amzn.to) or routed through a redirect, you often can’t confirm without expanding it (URL expander, or copy/paste into a text editor) and checking the final destination URL. In BizzOffers we see most legit affiliates still pass a visible tag= somewhere.