Sometimes I take a general search term from my store or particular product and add my code to the link
https://www.zazzle.com/store/calart_creations/products?qs=kids?rf=238657603659529882
Pay attention to the question marks (?) and ampersands (&).
These are query strings. The ? tells the browser, hey, we're starting a query string and this is the first parameter. All subsequent parameters start with a &.
Properly written the above links should be
https://www.zazzle.com/store/calart_creations/products?qs=kids&rf=238657603659529882
Start with a question mark, use an ampersand for everything else you add. If you're copying a url from a Zazzle search or with department specified etc, it's likely it already has the leading ? in it, like this example
https://www.zazzle.com/s/tie-dye+pillow?q=pillow&sgsc=pillow&dp=252069331272338358
so when you add your referral ID you want to make sure to use the & and not ?
https://www.zazzle.com/s/tie-dye+pillow?q=pillow&sgsc=pillow&dp=252069331272338358 &rf=238657603659529882
For my products and others people product I take the link direct from the product page I click on the link icon and copy the URL from there. Example
https://www.zazzle.com/z/yyp9m7w2?rf=238657603659529882
the same for collections and stores...
I've never looked into it myself but I have read here in the forums that Pinterest "doesn't like" short URLs.
Anytime I share a link, whether on Pinterest or elsewhere, I always use the full URL and then just tack my RF# and a tracking code onto it. These two links go to the same product, the first one is just the short URL copied from the Share button menu.
https://www.zazzle.com/z/qd1fuzmw
https://www.zazzle.com/thin_blue_line_back_the_blue_police_shot_glass-256599521195929927
The full URL contains a lot of detail, the short one doesn't include any. Since I have no idea how this may or may not effect being found and indexed by search engines and being found in the wild, I feel it's better to play it safe and always use the full, descriptive URL. Also, as a shopper myself, I always look at where a link is going before I go there by mousing over it. If I see something like the above short URL that tells me nothing, I am immediately suspicious. So for both reasons, I personally always use full URLs.
