Methods and systems for monetizing editorial user-generated content via conversion into affiliate marketing links

A method performed by a computer having a memory and a processor for monetizing editorial and user-generated content via conversion to affiliate links, the method comprising:

• receiving an indication that a first URL has been posted to a selected website or clicked on by a user on the selected website;
• with a processor, comparing a domain name of the first URL to a predetermined list of merchants and, upon a match between the domain name of the first URL and at least one of the merchants,
• upon determining that the at least one merchant supports deep linking, converting the first URL into a second URL using a standard deep linking method, wherein the second URL is an affiliate URL, and
• upon determining that the at least one merchant does not support deep linking, converting the first URL into the second URL using an alternate deep linking method;
• and
• after converting the URL into the second URL at a first time, automatically validating the accuracy of the second URL at one or more second times.

A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, that when executed by a computer having a memory and a processor, cause the computer to perform a method for monetizing content, the method comprising:

• storing information related to a plurality of merchants collected from a plurality of affiliate networks;
• receiving an indication of a URL;
• and
• when it is determined that the URL is associated with at least one of the plurality of merchants,
• selecting one of the plurality of merchants associated with the URL, and
• converting the URL based at least in part on whether the selected merchant supports deep linking.