Affiliate Linking Service Skimlinks Raises $16M More

Skimlinks, which helps online publishers make money through affiliate links, is announcing that it has raised $16 million in Series C funding.

Affiliate programs allow publishers to get a cut of the revenue when their link drives a purchase on an e-commerce site. Skimlinks (and competitor VigLink, which raised an $18 million round last summer) makes the process easier through automation. CEO Alicia Navarro told me last year that one of her big goals is “intelligent linking,” i.e., affiliate links that are automatically updated without any work from the writer or editor.

Founded in 2006, Skimlinks says it has built a network of 1.5 million websites and apps, including Vox Media, Time Inc, Gawker Media, and Condé Nast. It also says that in 2014, it generated $625 million in sales for more than 20,000 retailers.

The new funding was led by Frog Capital, with participation from previous backers Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Greycroft, Sussex Place Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. Skimlinks has now raised a total of $24 million.